Plural Impressions: Marching with King then and Now
[MLK, Jr. Memorial : Washington, D.C.]

As the current site of the MLK, Jr. memorial is threatened by the rising tidal basin, I see a necessary opportunity to also address
the insufficiencies of the current memorial, by relocating it, re-contextualize it and expanding it’s narrative beyond the sculptural. A
memorial of King, as a singular figure carved from stone, in a singular bound site, does not alone capture the expanse of his dream.
A public memorial should reflect collective memory, be represented in a medium that reflects the time, and in a location where
context adds to the narrative. King is collectively remembered for his words and the amount of people who gathered to hear and
unite with these words and each other. In Washington, D.C. specifically, he is remember for a speech he gave to a march of 250,000
people who gathered from around the country for jobs and freedom, on August 28th 1963. King’s new memorial creates a ground
that includes and unites us, the people, who marched with him, and continue to march today. A national call for footprints will be
used as stencils, applied as paint to asphalt or imprints in concrete, to create patterns of marching on designated avenues, plazas,
and streets. Together, these streets define the expanded King memorial, and connect seats and symbols, of and where, change is
implemented. The design reimagines existing structure, such as Constitution Avenue, as a part of the national mall ground, not as a
boundary or obstruction, and redefines the current spatial order of the mall. King’s new pedestal is the common ground, among us.

Harvard University GSD: Option Studio - Washington Common, Martin Luther King, Jr., Upended [Module 1: 7 weeks]

Instructor: Gary Hilderbrand