NORTH CAROLINA FREEDOM PARK

2017 AIA Triangle Merit Award (Unbuilt)
2017 AIA North Carolina Merit Award (Unbuilt)

Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Project Size: 1 acre
Budget: $5 million

There is power and truth in what lies beneath the surface. Just as the oak tree relies on structure that is hidden from view, North Carolina’s growth and prosperity has depended greatly on the contributions of countless men and women – many of whom have been hidden below the ‘surface’ of our state’s written history. The North Carolina Freedom Park seeks to expand on North Carolina’s history and bring the hidden branches of the Freedom story to the surface. Paths carve through the site to acknowledge movement, create a place to reflect and a place to gather, and negotiate topography. The excavation process symbolically reveals the legacy of the state’s African Americans, whose rich and varied contributions are etched into the site’s retaining walls.

Billy Askey and Edwin Harris served as Lead Designers, and Teri Canada served as Project Manager, during previous association with Perkins+Will.