The National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) is reinventing itself – and reopened to the public on November 8, 2025. Eleven years after the Center first opened, the architectural extension by Perkins & Will expands the space by fifty percent. Yet what truly transforms the institution lies within: the Center becomes a place where history, the present, and personal agency intertwine.

ATELIER BRÜCKNER has created a design for Atlanta that understands participation as an attitude. The concept combines the transformation of existing galleries with newly conceived immersive experiences. Each gallery has its own character; each emotion finds its space. Moments of empathy alternate with spaces of contemplation. Newly introduced “Join In” and “Reflection Zones” are integral to the visitor journey – recurring, distinct environments that invite engagement and pause. The goal of the new design: not merely to tell history, but to make it tangible – and to inspire people to shape the present.

A highlight of the redesign is the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Gallery”, which places King’s legacy at the heart of the Center – both spatially and emotionally. The exhibition deliberately portrays the man behind the legend. In his recreated office, a phone rings; pick up the receiver, and you’ll hear original recordings of his companions, mentors, and friends – voices that carried his vision forward. Books, photographs, and handwritten notes bring him close, offering intimate insights into his inspirations. From a blank sheet of paper on his desk rises a floating cloud of pages, extending into the bright main space of the MLK Collection, where original King documents are displayed – a poetic metaphor for thoughts becoming action. The redesigned gallery is a statement: Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of us – and we all have the power to act.

The thematic core of the exhibition remains the struggle for civil rights, yet the path through it is new. The narrative now unfolds along a clear, intuitive route without detours or floor changes. In the “Join In” Zones, visitors explore tools for civic engagement, while the “Reflection Rooms” offer quiet retreats with armchairs and tissues – places to process what has been seen, especially for those whose family histories live on within these walls.

The renewed “Civil Rights Gallery” guides visitors from segregation and the fight for equality to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The story begins with “Why Atlanta: illuminated city scenes showing churches, universities, and barbershops reveal the grassroots of the movement. A film bridges past and present; e-cards send greetings from historical Atlanta. At the “Lunch Counter Experience” visitors sit at a faithfully recreated diner – the stools begin to shake as insults echo through their headphones. Like the activists of the 1960s, they experience what it means to hold one’s ground.

Graphic design, lighting, and media seamlessly connect the existing and new galleries into a coherent spatial experience. The graphic language evolves the Center’s visual identity – with refined typography, a nuanced color palette, and King’s original handwriting glowing as a motif in the MLK Gallery.

In the “Join In” Zones, interactive stations invite visitors to explore civic engagement – for instance through a jukebox where music and the Civil Rights Movement merge. Visitors can listen to songs that became symbols of resistance and discover how art became activism. The “Reflection Zones”, in contrast, provide calm moments – accompanied by quotes, warm light, and a subdued atmosphere. Lighting guides emotion: gentle in moments of reflection, bright and precise in moments of information.

Media elements are deliberately embedded in the architecture. They deepen the narrative and create emotional transitions between spaces – through projections, sound, and filmic sequences that bring history to life.

In December 2025, the Center will open “Broken Promises” a newly conceived gallery on unfulfilled commitments in the history of social justice – tracing setbacks and progress from the Reconstruction Era to today. In spring 2026, the Family Gallery “The Change Agent Adventure” will follow, where children learn playfully what it means to be a “Change Agent.”

With the expansion of the NCCHR, its impact grows as well. The Center is no longer a traditional museum, but a place of encounter, learning, and active participation. The spatial design encourages empathy – and calls on each of us to stand up for humanity.

DATA:
Civil Rights Gallery: 250 sqm
Martin Luther King Gallery: 110 sqm
Family Gallery: 250 sqm
Broken Promises: 200 sqm
Planning Period: 2023 – 2025

Client: National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta, USA
ATELIER BRÜCKNER: General Planning, Exhibition Design,
Scenography, Graphic Design
Media Design & Production with: medienprojekt p2
Lighting Design with: Available Light
Content Development with: Lord
Architecture: Perkins & Will