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Diana memorial gets off the ground

by Victor Jayanetti, Our London Correspondent

A three million pound memorial fountain to Diana, Princess of Wales were finally confirmed on Wednesday, nearly five years after her death in Paris, following a car accident.

The culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, who stepped in after the memorial committee became deadlocked and spent months arguing about which design to choose, decided to go for American landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson, whose o3m design is based on a large oval stone ring.

Gustafson's fountain will now be built next to the Serpentine, a 40-acre artificial lake in Hyde Park, London, with work beginning almost immediately. It is expected to be in place by the sixth anniversary of Diana's death in August 2003. The competition for the fountain originally attracted 58 entries, whittled down to Gustafson's design, perceived as relatively traditional, and a 16ft dome of water by Bombay-based designer and former Turner Prize winner Anish Kapoor. Rosa Monckton, a friend of Diana's who chaired the committee, said: "I'm sure that Gustafson-Porter is the right choice to create an appropriate memorial to Diana."

The winning design has water pouring into the structure from the top of a hill at the Serpentine bridge and running down in two directions. Both end in a pool in a dished hollow.

At night the shape, which can be planted with plants and trees, would be lit up. The water will be shallow enough for children to paddle and play in and spectators would be able to touch the water.

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