Located in Montgomery, Alabama, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice is the first national memorial to victims of lynching. Constructed of over 800 modules representing counties where lynchings took place, the monument is inscribed with the names of over 4,000 innocent victims.

We were highly aware throughout the process that the structural system was both integral to the monument and, if not done correctly, ran the risk of distracting from the overall messaging and cumulative effect. Although the primary structure is exposed, the design intent was to have the structure seem to disappear from the observer’s perspective. To help achieve this goal, we limited cantilever depth and introduced a series of limited perimeter columns that support the cantilevers. A careful balance was struck between load-bearing columns and suspended modules to maintain the same size profile for all vertical elements and further blur the structural system where needed.

We evaluated various materials for use as the suspended module, including fiberglass, GFRC, and corten steel. Ultimately, we selected steel shells for their ability to reduce loading demands on columns and cantilevers. We applied strict performance criteria to the roof steel design to limit deflections and ensure a visibly clean horizontal plane. A combination of member sizing, camber, framing configuration, and adjustment capabilities built into the attachments of the modules allowed for a precise control of the roof level.

As historical research continued even during the project development, more counties were added to the memorial during the design phase. We generated a parametric control tool to allow for the Equal Justice Initiative and Mass Design group to reorganize the 800 modules in order to list county and victim names in an order that satisfied the memorial experience.