Wreath of Honor

Honoring the tragic deaths of five military personnel in July 2015, the City of Chattanooga commissioned artists Shane Albritton and Norman Lee of RE:site Studio to develop and construct their memorial proposal entitled the “Wreath of Honor”. The memorial features a sculptural wreath composed of stainless-steel arc bands tethered to five limestone pillars, each representative of one of the victims. WMWA was tasked to develop a planting plan for the memorial. Our approach emphasized the structural form of the artist’s design, while not detracting from the visual significance of the memorial. Strengthening the choreography of the five pillars, five white oaks were planted to tightly encircle the memorial, while native grasses and perennials spread out into the broader landscape.