Alabama State University

Levi Watkins Learning Center
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The Levi Watkins Learning Center (LWLC) at Alabama State University (ASU) stands as a foundational hub for academic excellence and historical preservation on campus. Beyond its role as a premier research library, the center houses a vital living museum and interpretive space dedicated to the profound civil rights activities that shaped both the university and the city of Montgomery. Commissioned to take the design lead on several prominent areas within the facility, our team executed a comprehensive, “turn-key” build-out from concept to completion. Working in close collaboration with ASU administrators, archivists, and staff, we translated the university’s historic vision into an immersive, highly engaging physical environment.

Our design contributions engineered multiple high-impact exhibits intended to weave history seamlessly into the daily campus experience. This included a striking, central information wall in the main lobby and welcome area that anchors the facility’s historical significance the moment visitors step inside, alongside a large-scale display that transforms the high-traffic student cafeteria into a space for continuous cultural reflection. Additionally, we designed two dedicated mini-museum rooms. One space focuses specifically on the life, strategy, and enduring impact of civil rights giant E.D. Nixon, while the second honors the diverse collection of local individuals, ASU faculty, and student activists whose collective courage fueled the movement.

To bridge the gap between historic archives and modern learners, we blended tactile preservation with interactive technology throughout these spaces. Multi-touch displays allow visitors, students, and researchers to actively navigate timelines, access digitized oral histories, and explore media archives at their own pace. Meanwhile, secure, high-clarity custom artifact showcases were seamlessly integrated into the architecture, allowing visitors to get exceptionally close to rare historical artifacts and documents without compromising preservation and security standards. By moving history off the pages of a textbook and into an experiential environment, this turn-key project honors the university’s heroic past while giving the LWLC the modern tools to educate and inspire future generations.