The LeConte-Woodmanston Plantation was established as an inland swamp rice plantation in what is now Liberty County, Georgia. The complex system of dikes needed to direct water through the rice fields was made possible by the enslaved Africans that brought with them their knowledge in agricultural and engineering practices. This proposed Memorial Chapel remembers the beauty of the site and the importance of the people that worked Woodmanston. The chapel is designed as a space that seeks direct responses to the site while offering ways to enrich positive communal bonds, as many of the descendants of the original slaves remain in close proximity. The chapel is seen as a multi-function space, used for worship, art exhibitions, weddings, concerts, movie showings, educational events, along with numerous other community gatherings, in order to bring members of the community back on to Woodmanston. Along with the open worship space, the structure houses a separate multi-purpose room, outdoor decks, a meditative space that could double as an altar for outdoor weddings, as well as a large wall that could be used for movie projections. The Fibonacci series was employed as a tool in the ordering and proportioning of the plan and elevations. The space was created by organizing 13 foot blocks in different variations on the Fibonacci series. Conceptually, the Fibonacci series suggests infinity, which, in turn, can be tied to the omnipotence and omniscience of God. The Fibonacci series also illustrates the building of community. Community is built through the harmonious organization of individuals, just as the chapel is designed through the harmonious organization of the individual blocks. The grid created by these individual blocks also harkens to the pattern of rice fields created by the slaves of Woodmanston. Early site diagraming led to circulation patterns that resembled the Nile River delta. Historically, the Egyptians buried their dead along the western edge of the river, and planted their crops along the eastern edge, mimicking the life cycle in the rise and fall of the sun. A long path was created along the east-west axis of the site to serve as a datum. This early development led to a design that started with colder, darker spaces that progressed to lighter, more open spaces along the axis, so that the user passes through the darkness of the west to the light of the east. With its strong sense of place, formed through its natural beauty and history, a site of such significance should not be shut out through the construction of a building, so the prosed chapel was designed as an open air chapel to allow constant contact with the sights, sounds, smells, and aura of the site. Passive systems were integrated within the design in order to deal with the cooling needs associated with the hot and humid conditions of Georgia. The east-west orientation is best for a building in such a climate. The vertical shading devices at the east and west facades, along with the horizontal shading device on the southern face, allow for natural lighting while cutting down on solar heat gain and allowing for natural ventilation. The ramp system created along the northern edge of the interior also serves to cool the building through the stack effect, as warm air rises up and out an opened roof area. The building is elevated in order to facilitate natural ventilation while also mimicking the elevated paths of the dike system running through the plantation. Found throughout the site is a large number of cypress trees, which was found, through oral histories of local slave descendants, to have significance to the story of slavery. Escaped slaves used to seek shelter in the cypress, as it hid their scent from any tracking dogs. Cypress, locally harvested and milled, was used for the shading devices, enveloping and defining the sanctuary, reinterpreting the idea of a safe haven within the cypress. With the primary function of the space being one of worship, religious archetypes were looked into, then brought into a contemporary language. The east-west orientation is one of importance to sacred spaces in all cultures, and throughout time. The elevated building also rises closer to the heavens, much like the grand entries of cathedrals. Where the roof is subtracted to allow for the stack effect, it is added to the other side of the northern wall, so that the concrete corner, the only area cemented to the ground, appears as a cross in elevation. The chapelʼs threshold is placed over an existing pond, not only because of the cleansing effects of water, but also the Biblical significance of water. The concept of axis mundi, the connection of man and God; earth and Heaven; profane and Divine, was also explored. A strong horizontal path passes through the building creating a horizontal axis mundi which terminates at a personal meditative space. Along this horizontal axis there is also a vertical axis established by allowing a direct line of vision up through the sanctuary and to the heavens. The personal meditative space is also open above, so that the horizontal axis terminates within this space of reflection, and is then turned heavenward. One last element was created to tie together ideas of the siteʼs history and its people, the organization of space, religious archetypes, and the development of community. At the eastern and western ends of the sanctuary, above the elevated path, the cypress screen is removed for the creation of rose windows. Again, the religious archetype is abstracted and brought into a contemporary language. Designed around the vertical quilting techniques of west African cultures, the cloth screens would carry on the traditions of those original slaves. The gridded pattern plays off of the organization of the chapel, and resembles the patterns of the rice fields, as depicted in etchings from the slave ship Sandown. Every year, new quilts could be created, bringing together the community while ensuring that the quilting tradition can continue to be passed down generation to generation.