CYCLE The Chattahoochee Brick Company in Atlanta, GA has a controversial history that has been buried physically and metaphorically. Chattahoochee Brick Company was a large participant, contributor, and enabler of the convict-lease system in Georgia following the end of the Civil War. The convict-lease system was a “re-enslavement” of Black Americans following Emancipation. Despite its widespread use in the American South and the lasting impacts it has had on black people, most Americans are unaware of the practice and the true horrors endured by those victimized by it. The convict-lease system is just one example of how civil rights for Black Americans have been cyclical in nature. Black people in America have endured oppression in various forms, have overcome those opressions through protests, and have had to earn their emancipation to achieve a level of “equality,” only to become oppressed again by the same oppressive systems and people, starting the cycle anew. Cycle aims to educate people through the construction of a new memorial and museum on the grounds of the old Chattahoochee Brick Company about the oppressive systems integral to America’s development that have been buried. Cycle will be a part of the City of Atlanta’s larger redevelopment of the Chattahoochee River for a new Greenway. The goal is combat the ignorance people have about these systems that have been watered down or relatively ignored in typical educational settings. Through education, the cycle may finally break.
MEMORIAL COURTYARD
AERIAL PERSPECTIVE
SITE SECTION
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
SITE PLAN
LEGEND A. MEMORIAL MUSEUM B. MEMORIAL C. EXISTING BRICK D. ENTRY PLAZA E. WATERFRONT PLAZA F. GREENWAY PLAZA G. SCULPTURE GARDEN H. RECREATION FIELDS I. PLAYGROUND J. WALKING TRAIL AREA K. RETENTION POND L. VEGETATED NOISE BUFFER M. WATERFRONT ACCESS