In 1980, artists were invited to submit designs and a jury was assembled consisting of experts in the fields of art and design. The following year, out of 137 designs submitted to the competition, the jury chose the design by Karin Daan. With the triangle on the water as its central point, Daan expanded the design to make her work as monumental as possible without disrupting its surroundings. The government of Amsterdam allocated a place for the erection of the monument, but construction did not begin for another seven years. Many organizations and individuals made donations for the monument, with individual contributions from the Dutch Parliament, the government of Ruud Lubbers, the city of Amsterdam and the province of North Holland.
