Martin Luther King Memorial

The civil right movement was based on a strong sense of collectivity, and on the ability of Martin Luther King and others to speak to the people and to inspire them to act. The memorial commemorates those leaders and celebrates the crowd as a powerful means of expression.

The idea is to create a place for free speech which would allow people to act. The project therefore identifies a gathering point, a speaker’s corner, a place of freedom, a place to promote dreams.

The architectural concept of the memorial therefore is to establish a base for the crowd, a base which would evoke density and activity – a classical base for a vivid monument.

Making reference to the section of the Lincoln and Jefferson monuments, the base contains a parking area for buses while its upper surface provides a stage-like configuration. It celebrates the process of arrival, meeting and proceeding to the mall and acts as gathering point for demonstrations and rallies.