MLK Living Lab

Atlanta, USA

Landscape Architects: Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners

Location: Atlanta, USA
Year: Ongoing

A winning entry in Atlanta’s Green Infrastructure Design Challenge, MLK Living Lab combines resilient, educational, and social strategies into a vibrant public space. The design centers on stormwater capture solutions that are legible and serve a pedagogical and economic function for students and local residents of this underserved community. Partnering with Spelman College and the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA), Starr Whitehouse will integrate the site into existing educational and workforce training initiatives, such as classes in environmental science at Spelman, and vocational training at Atlanta CREW and the Green Infrastructure Resilience Institute. This strategy will not only posit the site as an education and economic engine for the community, it will also give the City access to maintenance support and performance metrics funded through existing community initiatives. Placing community involvement at the fore of the project, Starr Whitehouse will facilitate and implement feedback at every stage to ensure productive and ongoing use of the space, crafting protective elements that enhance the neighborhood that they defend.