DR. BENJAMIN MAYS HISTORIC SITE AUDITORIUM DESIGN NARRATIVE

In our brief studies of the life of Dr. Benjamin Mays, we have become more excited for the possibilities of the form and details of the chapel. It is with even more rigor that we seek to design a structure that justly and accurately celebrates the life of Benjamin Mays.

Dr. Mays’s life purpose seems to be striving for education against overwhelming odds and paving the way for others to achieve the same, if not better, opportunities for education. This was one of the key premises to the Civil Rights Movement…equal education for all. But the movement was about so much more than that and many sacrifices were made for the betterment of all.

Dr. Mays held two ideas that permeated his life. One idea is the dignity of all human beings and the second is the incompatibility of American Democratic ideals with American social practices.

Dr. Mays was a man that stood proud and tall and by doing so he impressed most that he encountered. He believed that men and women should “aim at the stars and grasp for the moon”.

Some quotes that resonate with the Meadors team (many from Quotable Quotes by Benjamin E. Mays):

It is not your environment, it is you – the quality of your minds, the integrity of your souls, and the determination of your wills – that will decide your future and shape your lives.

Whatever you do, strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead and no man yet to be born could do it any better.

The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.

Whatever one touches, his aim should always be to leave that which he touches better than he found it.

To be able to stand the troubles of life, one must have a sense of mission and the belief that God sent him or her into the world for a purpose, to do something unique and distinctive; and that if he does not do it, life will be worse off because it was not done.

When we build fences to keep others out, erect barriers to keep others down, deny to them the freedom that we ourselves enjoy and cherish most, we keep ourselves in and hold ourselves down; and the barriers we erect against others become prison bars to our own souls.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Benjamin Mays chapel seeks to emulate the life and philosophy of Dr. May’s life. The chapel take the form of the small rural church that Dr. Mays grew up in – Old Mt. Zion Baptist Church. However, the chapel reinterprets the design and form to reflect more specifically the life and times of Dr. Mays. It would be inauthentic to simply replicate the church and would not suit the life and legacy of Dr. Mays. Instead the architectural form takes its ques from the simple gable country church with engaged steeple tower.

The chapel is oriented east as numerous sacred churches are oriented to look to the rising sun with the steeple connecting the chapel with the North star. However, the steeple is shifted east and disengaged from the chapel form. The shift of the chapel represents stepping out of comfort and standing against social injustice. In that moment, a person is both strong and vulnerable – strong in their belief of standing for what is right, but vulnerable in that they are subject to ridicule and abuse – physical and emotional. The chapel starts with a solid base to represent self and strength of belief, the steeple transforms to be more transparent to reflect the vulnerabilities of standing alone and being fragile in that honest moment. The shift to transparency also represents the idea of less about self and more about God – “He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30)”.

The steeple has a traditional silhouette that recalls the spire pointing to the heavens, the lantern to shine the light to the world, the belfry to announce and proclaim, and the tower base as the foundation of strength. It is through the tower base that one enters the Benjamin Mays chapel. It is because of the sacrifice of few, that others can follow the footsteps. Therefore, as the tower represents the standing up for equality, the entry represents the path of the masses toward equality – entering through the sacrificial efforts of others.

There is a void where the tower would have engaged the chapel. The void serves to remind us of the sacrifice of others. Due to their sacrifices others can enjoy freedoms achieved through their lives. However, we must be reminded of their personal, physical, and emotional sacrifices given. This void is a point of reflection and will be a focal point before entering the chapel to the north or the outdoor chapel to the south.

Just behind the steeple, there is a garden wall that acts as a barrier set forth by the social injustices of the nation and the world. The wall is meant to contain, however, as people take a stand the wall will crumble. The balance between solid and void in the wall increases to be more void as it gets closer to the steeple.

Behind the garden wall is the outdoor chapel.

Material thoughts:

·        Cypress siding is a material that represents sacrifice and everlasting life. As Mt. Zion was probably white painted cypress or cedar siding, the majority of the structure will be similarly represented. There will be moments of naturally sealed cypress with saw marks to portray the honest scars left on those that sacrificed for the movement.

·        Cedar is used on the roof to represent holiness, eternity, and peace. This comes about due to the tree’s endurance through tumultuous periods in history.

·        The garden wall will be constructed of board formed concrete where the formwork leaves behind the scars of the form on the soft concrete. The wall will be covered with a vine to represent hope of life to overtake the obstacles.