STATION 5: COMMUNITY

Slavery was an economic institution that grew to dominate society in the south. A society absent of slavery enables greater meritocratic economic opportunity, which fosters social equity throughout business, politics, and other institutions. But, in the world of escaped slaves, it is an unfamiliar and alien society. This station creates a community and market atmosphere freed from the burdensome imposition of slavery. It is a democratic space, with each bay and stall being given an equal section of courtyard space and facade space. However, simply because a person was no longer suffering under the yoke of slavery did not mean they found themselves in a society with which they were entirely familiar and comfortable. For many escaping slaves, the only community they knew was behind them.

The fifth station creates a common space suitable for civic meetings or a local market. Pointed arches are arranged around a central courtyard space with each bay equal in size, creating a loggia that can be used as a bazaar or marketplace arcade. The flexibility of this space allows for the multitude of programs a community requires from its pubic gathering spaces. The loggia is composed of a repetition of tall lancet arches set around square bays. The arches are white concrete and the walls are black masonry units. This creates a clear contrast between the walls and the arches penetrating and supporting them. The floor is similarly contrasted between the white concrete and the black masonry. The central third of the loggia is open from both sides, creating the marking of a threshold, or a gate, to the plaza. The gate axis is perpendicular to the axis of the market. It indicates two communities intersecting and exchanging.

These contrasting elements are used to create a delicate, ethereal atmosphere. The way in which elements interact structurally with each other, with the visually lighter concrete supporting the visually heavier masonry, creates an aesthetic tension that feeds the ethereal, yet strange, atmosphere. The floor pattern creates a sense of disorientation, serving the atmosphere of confusion and uncertainty.