At the crossroad between Peachtree Street and the house Museum of Margaret Mitchell, this studio exposes the alarming history that challenges current politics of appearance and use. In an effort to stitch areas of midtown back together, an Activist Center is proposed on the site that could house various non-profits. There are also large indoor and outdoor spaces for meetings and holding large-scale events.
Sketches and the first iteration of the exchange artifact.
Second artifact created with the help of local residents.
An artifact was first created with the intent to exchange information, knowledge, and histories by interacting with Atlanta and its citizens. This project analyzed the history of African quilting patterns to reveal how enslaved people used them for communication. They were pictorial storytelling devices at a time when literacy was forbidden. The quilts hold stories and meaning metaphorically but can also physically hold items through a transformation into a rucksack. The prototype was recreated by asking Atlanta citizens to illustrate their own story in a square of fabric, which combined to create a second quilt/bag. The encounters and dialogue between citizens and their histories of social transformations expose the political, social, and ecological desires of the community.
The building structure repetition is based on traditional "A-B" quilting patterns. The sketch on the left shows the process of opening the site to create a central courtyard and separate auditorium by shifting and rotating an "A" section of the building.
Ground floor plan. The activist center has a large atrium with surrounding spaces to be used by local non-profits.
The site is transformed into an instrument of physical and social change by creating a public and accessible building to act as a third space for city residents. The central building is similar in form to a classic shopping arcade. However, instead of stores, it acts as a hub to give legitimacy to surrounding non-profits by creating individual office spaces that bolster smaller charities. It also contains shared spaces to host functions and further their outreach, like an auditorium and outdoor stage. The secondary building is a cafe and a large auditorium.
Section of the cafe and auditorium building. The building is constructed as a barrel vault with arched supports periodically.
The auditorium’s tilt creates a courtyard between the two buildings and welcomes people from the south end of the site into the space. Furthermore, the side entrances on the main building allow users to travel freely across from the sidewalk into the courtyard. The building is built with brick which is abundant and a common material in Georgia. The arched overhangs provide proper shading to the large interior atrium while the operable skylights allow for ventilation throughout the building.
Wall detail of the window and balcony conditions. The arches extend past the windows to create the optimum overhang to block summer light from the south
