This inspiring “space for action” connects people of all ages to the struggle for human equality, past and present, here in the U.S. and beyond. 

First conceived as two L-shaped buildings joined like the “interlocking arms” of civil rights protesters, the design’s current form – much like two hands cupping – shelters three floors of exhibits, galleries, a broadcast studio, retail store, and event space. Tracing a 30-foot change in elevation from the upper to the lower entry plazas, the two curved, exterior walls are clad in a riprap of multi-hued tiles that mirror humanity’s diversity. 

These two walls, which project out from the glass interior, impart an iconic stature that looks much larger than the true building footprint. SYKES played a critical role in shaping these complex structures, analyzing the degree of curvature, thickness and rigidity for the walls and their streamlined edges. The structural steel members covering the walls’ concrete forms extend well beyond the building corners. These “fins” are exposed to concentrated wind forces, so stabilizing these wing-like projections – without sacrificing their elegant shape – was a key challenge.

Sykes took the lead on the superstructure as well, analyzing the building’s horizontal support systems on all floors and designing a monumental staircase and balcony that link the middle and upper levels. The staircase nearly floats in the 20-foot space between the levels, with only a single vertical pier for support.

Visible through the glass façade, the staircase joins the civil rights galleries on the main level with the globally focused human rights exhibits one floor up. The lowest elevation holds a chrysalis of rare content – a rotating selection of Dr. King’s manuscripts and artifacts from the 13,000 items in the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr., Collection housed at Atlanta University.

Expansive art and photographic portraits, video testimonials, and depictions of life in Jim Crow America – including a mock, sit-in lunch counter that echoes the jeers and physical taunts Civil Rights protesters faced – engage museum visitors in a moving and highly interactive experience.