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War Memorial likened to a 'urinal' | NEWS.com.au

DESPITE resembling a urinal, the Australian War Memorial in London is much less offensive than its nearby New Zealand equivalent, a British art historian said.

Richard Shone, editor of leading monthly art periodical The Burlington Magazine, described the Australian monument at Hyde Park Corner as "a little chic" and questioned its positioning in the bustling city centre.

"I still think that perhaps isn't quite the right memorial to have in that very, very famous public space there - that long, marble line that sort of looks like a urinal in a disco with the water streaming down it at night," Mr Shone said.

"But it's far less offensive and more dignified than the New Zealand one.

"The New Zealand one seems to me very bad, the black spikes sticking up seems very aggressive ... the war is over!"

Earlier, Mr Shone had criticised the New Zealand memorial, also in Hyde Park, as a "bristlingly unlovely installation" as part of a campaign against tasteless, poorly-executed public artworks in the city.

Designed by John Hardwick-Smith and Paul Dibble and dedicated in 2006, the New Zealand War Memorial - known as The Southern Stand - consists of 16 cross-shaped pieces of bronze standing up to 4.5m high.

It carries New Zealand motifs - a fern leaf, a rugby ball, a Maori symbol, a farmer, and Anzac poppies, with some of the stands laid out to resemble the Southern Cross constellation.

Meanwhile, the Australian memorial was designed by Sydney-based architectural firm Tonkin Zulaikha Greer in association with artist Janet Laurence and was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II on November 11, 2003.

It is in the form of a long curving wall of Australian granite, with falls of water, and is set with the names of the 24,000 home towns of Australian men and women who served during the two world wars.

The names of 47 battle grounds are superimposed over the town names, which are intended to reflect the impact of the casualties on their families and communities.

"It's not so bad, but again, I wonder if it's the right place for it, where people are rushing past and don't have time to read it," Mr Shone said.

"It also obscures certain views in that area, the New Zealand one even more so."

Mr Shone said as memorials commemorated the deceased, they "should be very, very good".

He called for trees and gardens to play a greater role in memorialising people "rather than sticking something in the middle" of public spaces.