Architect's Design Selected For New Center For Civil And Human Rights In Atlanta

For several months the Center for Civil & Human Rights (CCHR) in Atlanta has been studying architectural submissions competing to create its new space in downtown Atlanta. The winner has now been chosen: the Freelon Group based in Durham, NC will partner with HOK, an Atlanta-based architecture and design firm to build the center, under Freelon's direction.

The design of the CCHR features a "powerful image of interlocking arms" that symbolize the empowerment of peoples with opposing interests that find common ground. Sustainability being a primary consideration, the design features a terra cotta clad building that surrounds an open courtyard where exhibits and events will be held. There will be another exhibit space indoors, as well as a separate area where the Morehouse College's Martin Luther King Jr. Collection will be housed and exhibited. This exhibit is expected to bring several hundred thousand visitors to the Center every year. Right between the Georgia Aquarium and the New World of Coca-Cola, two of Atlanta's most popular tourist attractions, the location makes it more likely that CCHR will become a unique tourist attraction as well.

The Georgia State Legislature, Coca-Cola (donated 2.5 acres of land), Home Depot, and Denny's are among the big donors to the CCHR, but many smaller Atlanta businesses and private individuals have been providing considerable momentum to the $125 million, 100,000 square foot Center as well.

Groundbreaking for CCHR is expected this winter, and the grand opening is targeted for 2012.

USA Today, Center for Civil and Human Rights