harriet tubman underground railroad visitor center AWS
HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD VISITOR CENTER Church Creek, MD Cultural / Institutional
The design for the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, expresses the importance of traveling northward to escape the circumstances of slavery through an integrated site, building, and exhibit design. Conceived as a series of abstracted forms that can be interpreted in many ways—from the farmstead vernacular of the region to stations along the
Underground Railroad—the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center immerses visitors in the story of Tubman’s life. Functioning as the principal point of welcome to a national heritage corridor of interrelated sites, the center engages and educates visitors, while also orienting them to other sites in the area and encouraging further exploration.
Entry
Woods View Clearing provides a framed view of the North
Wetlands
Woods
LEGACY GARDEN
A Farming
Return as Tubman did
PAVILION ADMIN OFFICES P
Exterior Orientation
ADMIN BUILDING
GOLD E
N HIL
L RD
Overflow
VISITOR CENTER
P
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
A
P
MD 33
5
P
P
Main Entrance
Moving towards the North
P
Story Starts
Visitor Center Floor Plan
Visitor Center Building Lobby / Welcome Space
Tubman’s Life in the Eastern Shore
Support Spaces
Tubman’s Role on the Railroad
Main Axes
Gift Shop
Tubman’s Legacy
Car Entrance
Library
Tubman’s Journey to Freedom
Multipurpose
Stations
Pedestrians
P Parking
Master Plan
Orientation Theater
N
Framed Views of the Woods and North
N
Joined by a shared entry plaza and terrace, the two structures of the complex, one exhibit and one administrative, frame the view north. The space between the buildings grows wider as visitors venture north—a metaphor for freedom—and the view to the south is truncated, suggesting a sense of oppression similar to that associated with the slaveholding states. Clad in zinc panels, the three exhibit volumes will develop a dull, self-healing patina—a similar outcome hoped for the nation’s attitude towards slavery—while the southern volume, finished in wood siding, will weather to gray overtime. Just as the journey north was not a perfectly linear one for runaways, the design of the interpretive spaces allows visitors to take detours away from the main route to discover and learn. Views out offer a constant connection to the Blackwater landscape, the memorial garden, and freedom, enhancing the overall interpretive experience. Upon exiting the center, visitors are directed to the memorial garden where they are offered a direct route north, that then weaves through the site via various loops and returns—a metaphor for Tubman’s willingness to return to the region. Views along the pathway change from wooded areas to fields and marshes, all of which were part of the daily life of the free and enslaved at the time.
Past & Present Axis
Moving towards the North
Concept Diagrams
View Opens to North
View of Exhibit Building
View of Admin Building
Lobby
Exhibit Entrance
Gift Shop
Tubman’s Legacy Gallery
Tubman’s Home Exhibit
Tubman’s Role Exhibit
The building received LEED Silver Certification and incorporates many sustainable design strategies including vegetative roofs, skylights and sun tubes, rainwater capture for plant watering, bio-retention ponds, low-flow toilet room fixtures, and geothermal heat exchange system.
Entry
“God set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; he meant I should be free.” — Harriet Tubman, 1865
Exterior
The design for the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, expresses the importance of traveling northward to escape the circumstances of slavery through an integrated site, building, and exhibit design. Conceived as a series of abstracted forms that can be interpreted in many ways—from the farmstead vernacular of the region to stations along the
Underground Railroad—the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center immerses visitors in the story of Tubman’s life. Functioning as the principal point of welcome to a national heritage corridor of interrelated sites, the center engages and educates visitors, while also orienting them to other sites in the area and encouraging further exploration.
Entry
Woods View Clearing provides a framed view of the North
Wetlands
Woods
LEGACY GARDEN
A Farming
Return as Tubman did
PAVILION ADMIN OFFICES P
Exterior Orientation
ADMIN BUILDING
GOLD E
N HIL
L RD
Overflow
VISITOR CENTER
P
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
A
P
MD 33
5
P
P
Main Entrance
Moving towards the North
P
Story Starts
Visitor Center Floor Plan
Visitor Center Building Lobby / Welcome Space
Tubman’s Life in the Eastern Shore
Support Spaces
Tubman’s Role on the Railroad
Main Axes
Gift Shop
Tubman’s Legacy
Car Entrance
Library
Tubman’s Journey to Freedom
Multipurpose
Stations
Pedestrians
P Parking
Master Plan
Orientation Theater
N
Framed Views of the Woods and North
N
Joined by a shared entry plaza and terrace, the two structures of the complex, one exhibit and one administrative, frame the view north. The space between the buildings grows wider as visitors venture north—a metaphor for freedom—and the view to the south is truncated, suggesting a sense of oppression similar to that associated with the slaveholding states. Clad in zinc panels, the three exhibit volumes will develop a dull, self-healing patina—a similar outcome hoped for the nation’s attitude towards slavery—while the southern volume, finished in wood siding, will weather to gray overtime. Just as the journey north was not a perfectly linear one for runaways, the design of the interpretive spaces allows visitors to take detours away from the main route to discover and learn. Views out offer a constant connection to the Blackwater landscape, the memorial garden, and freedom, enhancing the overall interpretive experience. Upon exiting the center, visitors are directed to the memorial garden where they are offered a direct route north, that then weaves through the site via various loops and returns—a metaphor for Tubman’s willingness to return to the region. Views along the pathway change from wooded areas to fields and marshes, all of which were part of the daily life of the free and enslaved at the time.
Past & Present Axis
Moving towards the North
Concept Diagrams
View Opens to North
View of Exhibit Building
View of Admin Building
Lobby
Exhibit Entrance
Gift Shop
Tubman’s Legacy Gallery
Tubman’s Home Exhibit
Tubman’s Role Exhibit
The building received LEED Silver Certification and incorporates many sustainable design strategies including vegetative roofs, skylights and sun tubes, rainwater capture for plant watering, bio-retention ponds, low-flow toilet room fixtures, and geothermal heat exchange system.
Entry
“God set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; he meant I should be free.” — Harriet Tubman, 1865
Exterior
