The award winning New Zealand War Memorial in Hyde Park Corner in London has been called a "bristlingly unlovely installation" by Richard Shone, editor of The Burl-ington Magazine and an art historian, in The Times newspaper.

The comments were made as part of a campaign by museum and gallery chiefs against "free-for-all" tasteless poorly executed public artworks.

The Memorial, called Southern Stand, has won many top design awards since it was dedicated on Armistice Day in 2006.The award winning New Zealand War Memorial in Hyde Park Corner in London has been called a "bristlingly unlovely installation" by Richard Shone, editor of The Burl-ington Magazine and an art historian, in The Times newspaper.

The comments were made as part of a campaign by museum and gallery chiefs against "free-for-all" tasteless poorly executed public artworks.

The Memorial, called Southern Stand, has won many top design awards since it was dedicated on Armistice Day in 2006.The Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, commissioned by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, reflects the enduring bonds between the two nations, not only through the sacrifices of the two World Wars, but in cultural, trade and immigration links.

The Memorial has won New Zealand's top design award, The Best Awards, managed by the Designers Institute of New Zealand, which recognises the country's outstanding graphic, product and spatial design. The Memorial won a gold award for the design of Public and Institutional Spaces and has been named Supreme Winner across all categories.

Judges commented on a 'powerful' and 'provocative' design that 'speaks strongly of New Zealand as a nation having its own identity and celebrates the future'.

The New Zealand Society in London had also named one of the architects, Jon Rennie, New Zealander of the Year and the dedication ceremony won top honours by the Visual Communications Association in London.

The memorial is a collaborative project between Athfield Architects Limited and Dibble Art Company.

It consists of 16 vertical bronze standards, each adorned with individual text, patterns and sculptures of symbolic or iconic meaning to New Zealanders. The Southern Cross constellation has been worked into the design so as to be instantly recognisable when lit at night.

14/02/08