DIGI—04.2024
also a means of elevating one’s voice.
In Washington D.C. the loudest voices are often the most powerful, political ones. As a way of being heard, marches, parades, speeches and theatrical events are held on temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent platforms throughout the city.
North of the National Mall is a piece of land that post-civil war homed a community of African-Americans. After being displaced for the purpose of a park, it became a place for voices to be heard like that of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. While formally named Meridian Hill Park, it remains locally known as Malcolm X Park as an homage to its history, the traces of a voice once heard.
Because of Meridian Hill Park’s history, there is an opportunity to turn an open park into something more, a park of platforms. A bench becomes a platform for friends. An empty wall, the voice of an artist through the medium of paint. A large performance space, the meeting place for rallies. The solid structure but fluid activity of these spaces create a framework for community adaptability. A platform becomes more than a raised surface. It is an opportunity to express one’s voice through play, art, music, theater, observation, collaboration and speech.