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| Sector |
Public realm |
| Project type |
New build |
| Services provided |
Product / system manufacture Product / system supply |
| Year completed |
2019 |
| Project location |
West Midlands |
| Client |
Foreign & Commonwealth Office |
| Consultant |
George King Architects and FIRA |
| Products used |
Callisto granite paving |
The Sousse and Bardo Memorial, designed by George King Architects, is dedicated to the 31 British nationals who lost their lives in two terrorist attacks in Tunisia in 2015.
The memorial features a stainless steel ‘Infinite Wave’ sculpture, formed from 31 individual streams, one for each British national who lost their lives.
The landscaping surrounding the sculpture continues the theme of flowing water with a series of Marshalls Callisto granite concentric circles that flow from the centre of the sculpture.
The radius design required 200 unique granite blocks sized specifically to form the flowing arch that graduates into the hillside and drew upon the skill and experience of the Marshalls design team.
The team re-modelled the initial concept a number of times to overcome issues with the faces of the concentric circles leaning as the blocks graduated up the ascent. The first solution was to draw the circles from the lowest point, on the outside, to the highest point in the middle, with an equal gradient. This created a peak in the middle where the two halves of the circle met, which did not follow the design intent set out by the architects. The final remodelling saw complex mathematics used to place each unit precisely to soften the shape and create the graceful design that was ultimately installed.
Foundation levels were a crucial part of project delivery. Each individual piece was designed to drop at differing rates but give a flat base for ease of installation. The positioning of the base of each stone had to be just as precise as the visible surface for it to form the clean sweeping curves of the arrangement. This in turn resulted in the production of an easily understood foundation design to assist the contractor’s installation of each stone.
In addition, the 70 different sizes of paving had to be individually designed to create the desired ripple effect.
This project utilised the full extent of the design team’s capabilities. Being involved at an early design stage allowed Marshalls to aid both the specifier and the contractor to deliver the client’s vision.
