Title: Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School
Location of Proejct: Atlanta, Georgia
Project Completion Date: August 2016
Firm Name: Perkins and Will

Short Description: Located within downtown Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood, the renovation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School is the result of a competition by Atlanta Public Schools to reimagine a neglected urban school. Originally built in 1973, the Brutalist-inspired building required major upgrades including a more defined main entry/administration, bringing daylight into existing classrooms, and new athletic fields. The design solution recognizes the owner’s limited budget in addressing these major upgrades while also relocating and improving shared components that include the Auditorium, Cafeteria, and Media Center.

Architect's Statement: The site’s relationship to an existing park on the South side of the school informed a new, more defined main entry that includes the construction of an all-glass 2-story administration program, along with a student plaza and access road. An existing Cafeteria and Media Center, buried within the school and away from natural daylight, moved to the perimeter of the building, while a new auditorium relocates in their former place. A new student common area occupies the former open auditorium footprint while becoming a newfound space within the heart of the school. To bring more natural daylight into existing classrooms, vertical windows are cut into the concrete façade with projecting colored fins. This approach recognizes the original architecture style while giving the school a fresh, vibrant look. Boldly painted environmental graphic treatments in key areas throughout the building provide a backdrop for the MLK narrative while renewing the school’s strong identity and inspiring students.

Making a truly significant design impact at both a physical and emotional level on a limited budget framed many of the challenges faced on the project. While the original intent was to provide a fresh look and renewed identity in terms of aesthetics, the functional diagram of the school and its site also needed rethinking to make it more user-friendly and part of the community. Often these interventions were unaccounted for in the original budget, yet inherent to the success of the project.

Middle School is also a vital bridge between elementary and high school while a period when students, often for the first time in their lives, begin actively seeking a sense of purpose and place. Students at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School arrived on their first day of class to find their once dark, Brutalist-designed school transformed into a bright, day-lit space, filled with brightly colored murals and inspirational words from historical civil rights heroes, including quotes from the school’s namesake.

The graphic theme comes from the school’s namesake – bringing modern relevance to Dr. King’s message and legacy. The iconic image of Dr. King is featured throughout the building alongside quotes from the Nobel Prize Winner. One major hallway has an extensive, hand-painted mural of civil and human rights leaders. Prominently displayed in the new school entry is a graphic display of a “promise” from the school administration that sets the tone for their commitment to all those that enter the school.

Each day, these middle school students are reminded of the commitment the school has made to them, their families, and the community, which reinforces their sense of purpose in achieving their life goals. They are encouraged and inspired to reach for their dreams by notable figures that have themselves changed history. For a project that had minimal budget resources, the design team created a high-impact solution that breathes new life into an outdated facility while creating a physical representation of the entire school community’s purpose and place.