TOQW Tower of Quiet Witness
In collaboration with SCAD · ARCH 747 — Grad Studio IV: Interdisciplinary Focus
Abstract
The Tower of the Quiet Witness is an M.Arch design project for a museum complex and vertical landmark at the former Chattahoochee Brick Company site on the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta. Heavy concrete volumes step into the landscape, pairing partially subterranean galleries with an upper exhibition pavilion, an auditorium and an outdoor amphitheatre. A reflecting basin crossed by a straight pedestrian bridge establishes a strong horizontal route, while the tower provides a vertical counterpoint for observation and contemplation. Ramps, terraces, deep apertures and light shafts organise the passage between enclosed galleries and open views. The project explores how mass, shadow, water and movement can give a cultural institution both a civic presence and spaces of quiet attention. Site sections and circulation studies develop the relationship between the museum, the monument and the ground.
Brief
Shape a museum and contemplative tower as one landscape sequence. Connect galleries, gathering spaces and water courts through accessible routes, using slope, concrete mass and controlled daylight to move from civic life to quiet reflection.
