Architects Laud Plans For F.D.R. Memorial

Two architects defended the proposed Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial against charges that it resembles an "unplanned cemetery inspired by Stonehenge" to a packed audience in Hunt Hall last night.

The winning design for the memorial, a series of vertical tablets irregularly spaced, reflects uniquely "the twentieth century concept of truth and reality which is inexpressible in sensible qualities," stated Bartlett H. Hayes, Jr. '26. Hayes, who was on the competition jury, praised the design because its "fluidity and spiritual emphasis" allow observers to participate in "an experience of monumental quality."

Edmund N. Bacon, professional advisor to the memorial commission, said that the design would blend into nature and become part of the Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin without dominating it. The rejected designs, Bacon stated, were formalistic and geometric, while the eight soaring tablets "directly transmit the words and thoughts" of the late President.