Indian Ocean Tsunami Memorial, Darwin Centre London Building, NHM Project, Design Image

Indian Ocean Tsunami Memorial

Monument to victims, London design by Carmody Groarke, architects, England, UK

28 Oct 2010

Tsunami Memorial

Design for memorial to victims of Indian Ocean Tsunami revealed

Design: Carmody Groarke architects

Location: Darwin Centre garden, Natural History Museum

Tsunami Support UK (TSUK) today revealed the design for a memorial for the UK victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The single granite monolith will be sited in the Darwin Centre garden at the Natural History Museum thanks to a £550,000 grant from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is expected to be completed next spring.

Michael Holland, Chairman of the Memorial Project Board, said: “The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was one of the worst natural disasters in living memory, hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives and the impact of the devastation was felt across the world. The design of the memorial reflects the views and feelings of UK survivors and bereaved families and is the product of months of dialogue between them and our wonderful design team of Carmody Groake and M3 Consulting. The huge, single geological fragment will create a powerful reminder for generations to come of this a momentous event within the Earth’s natural history.

“We are immensely grateful to the DCMS for funding the memorial and to the Natural History Museum for making space available in its grounds – we can think of no better place to remember the lives of the 151 UK citizens who perished in the tsunami”.

Kevin Carmody and Andy Groarke said: “It has been a huge privilege to work with the survivors and bereaved families to design a permanent memorial in such a beautiful space. Our collective intention is to make a fitting, engaging and unique memorial – a place for contemplation and remembering for generations to come.”

Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum, said: “Making sense of the natural world is an important part of the Natural History Museum’s mission and I hope this memorial will not only bring comfort to those who lost loved ones in the tsunami but also be a reminder to us all of the sometimes destructive force nature can be.”

Tsunami Memorial London – Further Information

Tsunami Support (UK) (registered charity no.1121935) was born out of the Tsunami Support Network co-ordinated by the British Red Cross in the immediate aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004.

– Membership is restricted to those directly affected by the tsunami and their close friends and relations. Its objectives are:

– To provide a point of contact in the UK to offer support and information to people affected by the tsunami and through which people can contact each other to provide mutual support

– To seek to raise awareness of the needs of those directly affected by the tsunami

– To plan for tsunami anniversaries and commemorative events

– To relieve the needs of UK citizens and residents affected by the tsunami by providing support, practical advice, and help in obtaining financial assistance

– To cooperate with any statutory authority in the provision and/or management of a memorial to the tsunami victims and of any tsunami commemorative event in the furtherance of the above objects.

Carmody Groake

Indian Ocean Tsunami memorial images / information from Carmody Groarke

Location: Darwin Centre garden, Natural History Museum, London, England, UK