Piecing in the Past

Buckhead Storylines, Buckhead, GA

Through an interpretive planning process, Signature Designs envisioned a series of inviting urban installations that superimpose pictures of the past on contemporary streetscapes thereby revealing Buckhead’s history. 

Services

• Interpretive Planning

• Graphic Design

• Content Research & Writing

• Interpretive Signs

Design Approach

Signature Design started the interpretive planning process by bringing together diverse groups of stakeholders who, through the sharing of oral histories, brought to light the significance and beauty of everyday life, past to present, in Buckhead. These stories then informed the development of themes and approaches to sharing this hidden history with the general public through installations that reveal what happened in key places in Buckhead at particular moments in time. 

For example, at Loudermilk Park an interpretive installation layers the urban landscape with images of the past. The installation is comprised of two parts: a two-sided interpretive sign that provides stories and content, and a translucent historical photo collage that allows visitors to see the past and present together. By literally peering through the scenes, urban explorers can adjust their viewpoints to align the see-through images with the contemporary streetscape. Visitors can witness the bustling center of historic Buckhead as it was a generation ago (c. 1940) with its streets full of people not so dissimilar from those walking the streets on any given day in the present.