[CROSSING HISTORY]
The cemetery’s unique blend of history requires a particularly delicate operation. One that is simultaneously subtle and sensitive to the site yet overt and dignified in vision for the deceased. These seemingly contrasting values give rise to an intervention attempting to facilitate understanding of the site and its history, while allowing visitors to discover the intricacies of the site in a meditative manner.
The proposed design crosses the site in a diagonal manner linking the different strategic parts of the site, in the form of two ‘tangible’ and ‘intangible’ paths serving different functions. The Tangible Path ramps up from the Church/S. Washington intersection to the existing concrete plinth, then bends in direction to the existing Elm tree, turning into a bridge with close proximity to the tree canopy. This path links the Berm, located roughly at the center of the presumed cemetery, to the natural valley where the Elm is located, stands as a testimony of the contrast between life and death. The two areas are contrasting spatially yet similarly meditative.
The second diagonal, the Intangible Path, happens when the morning sun hits the memorial pillars creating incremental shadows on the landscape. The inclined sepia-tinted glass wall reflects the path downwards to the pre-historic site to its west, combining the onlookers with the ancient history of the site. The two paths crossed at the Plinth where a pit is located. This void extends to the soil below, linking our time to the old. During functions it turns alive when filled with flowers.
The Memorial pillars located close to the urban deck are finished with battered metal surface etched with the names of the Freedmen who led different lives. As incomplete as their lives may have been, symbolized with the different shapes, heights, and orientations of the pillars, they stand unfettered, strong, and complete.