Winning design for French war memorial revealed

The winning entry for a French memorial at the National War Memorial Park in Wellington. Picture: Supplied

The French Embassy has revealed the winning entry for a war memorial in Wellington after a contest between 43 designers.

An entry by Auckland-based architecture firm Patterson Associates, called "Le Calligramme", was chosen from local and international entries and will be installed at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington.

French ambassador Florence Jeanblanc-Risler said it would be "a piece of France in New Zealand".

"The monument will honour the longstanding bonds between our two countries, the shared values and aspirations that have shaped our history," she said.

French Secretary of State for Veterans and Remembrance Jean-Marc Todechini will visit the proposed site for the memorial during a visit next week.

The $870,000 design will be paid for by the French Defence Ministry, and includes stone shipped from Caen in the north of France. It will be constructed next year and opened in 2018.

The memorial park was opened as part of WWI centenary commemorations last year and already features an Australian memorial.

WINNING ENTRY

"Le Calligramme" by Patterson Associates, architects, Paul Baragwanath, culture and art adviser, and Suzanne Turley, landscape architect.

THE FINALISTS

"L'Arc de Paix (The Arc of Peace)" by Kingsley Baird (artist) and Adam Flowers (CCM Architects) with Professor Annette Becker (French historian), Allen Wihongi (Maori cultural adviser) and Alistair Cattanach (structural engineer).

The Arc of Peace

"Carrière de Mémoire (Quarry of Memory)" by Andrew Sexton Architecture.

"Les Fleurs Sauvages" by Amanda Bulman and Nicolas Zilliox (bbc architects), Jake Yocum (artist), Richard Ainsworth (architect), Nick Denton (architecture graduate), and Hamish Moorhead (Moorhead Landscapes).