CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS
ARCHITECT’S TEAM OVERCOME BUDGET OBSTACLES BY PROPOSING USING ONLY TWO PANEL COLORS, BUT ROTATING THOSE PANELS NINETY OR ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DEGREES TO OFFER THE ILLUSION OF A MULTITUDE OF COLORS WHEN EXPOSED TO THE REFLECTION OF SUNLIGHT.
warranted a unique, intriguing design. Architect Phil Freelon headed the culture-rooted project, along with HOK, creating what is now the newest attraction in Atlanta.
Trials and tribulations began back in 2008 during fundraising attempts for the new
building. The economic recession put a damper on expected financial support
forcing the architects to rethink his original design. Initially the plan, which included a design modeled after interlocking arms, had to be redesigned and scaled back to nearly half the size.
The curved walls of the Center required the architects to brainstorm for engineering solutions that would accomodate the shape. Trespa® Meteon® panels were just the solution they were looking for. Trespa® Meteon® Metallics feature a directional colored surface and special effects which can be created by installing these panels with random orientation. Also, Trespa offers a very large maximum sheet size (7’ x 14’), which helped keep budget costs in check. Trespa® Meteon® panels’ design flexibility, large panel sizes and vast selection of colors made it the perfect exterior cladding choice for this stunning project.
After years of planning, the Center for Civil and Human Rights opened on June 23, 2014. The three-story building is a work of art and tells the legacy of civil rights around the world. The exterior walls mimic a set of interlocking hands while the various neutral-colored Trespa® Meteon® panels that resemble human flesh tones. The vision behind the shape and color choices was to represent many people of different races coming together in support of a common cause: civil and human rights.
The curved design concept continues inside the 43,000 square foot Center with large, curved rooms, mood lighting and an intentional color scheme to match each exhibit individually. Visitors can’t help but feel emotion during their visit, from extreme sorrow to uplifting inspiration. The building is designed to provoke specific feelings that parallel with the exhibit’s content.
The curved rooms surround visitors with civil and human rights history, and the accompanying sound bytes are chilling to listen to, while walking through each room. The front façade of the building features floor to ceiling windows,
providing extraordinary light. A tour through the Center is an emotionally evoking experience. Located in Atlanta, the Center for Civil and Human Rights is a mere two miles from the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site and directly adjacent to the Coca Cola Museum.
“We chose the Trespa® Meteon® product because of its flexibility,
durability and its ability to create a dynamic multi-faceted
appearance that matched the building’s design geometry, further
enforcing the Center’s value and purpose.”
- Marc Johnson, Associate and Project Architect, HOK
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