The memorial was designed and constructed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a tribute to Kalam and to display the cultural heritage and ethnic diversity of India.

The lecture was supposed to be 4000 words, but only after speaking the initial two sentences, Kalam collapsed and he was confirmed dead of a sudden cardiac arrest later at a hospital.

The Indian Government proposed to perform Kalam's funeral service at Raj Ghat-(Ekta Sthal) in New Delhi, and build a memorial there.

In July 2016 Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar officially laid the foundation stone on the occasion of the first anniversary of Kalam's death.

[11][15] With an amalgamation of Mughal and Indian architecture, the memorial is designed in a way to display the cultural heritage and ethnic diversity of India, making it a symbol of national integration.

[18][20] The outer precinct around the memorial consists of landscaping, with the plantings sourced from neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana.