The Scramble - Opening April 2021

The Scramble is conceived as a space that honors and builds upon the City of Chattanooga’s Art and Nature concept for the downtown area. It serves as a connection from Walnut Plaza to the Aquarium. The Scramble utilizes local cut stone from nearby Sequatchie County and has beautiful swirl patterns referencing the movement of water and the Tennessee River. Underlying the Scramble is an innovative stormwater collection, filtration, recirculation and irrigation system based on re-purposing the previously existing funicular foundation vault. The goal of the stormwater system is multi-fold; first to divert and capture urban stormwater, second to aerate and cleanse the water before it enters the Tennessee River, and lastly to use the stormwater as an amenity and for providing irrigation rather than utilizing potable water. The sculpted landscape itself references angular rock outcroppings in the region and is intended to visually and experientially tie to the nature themes of the Aquarium Plaza, and the sculpted precast concrete elements are made of a high-performance low-carbon footprint concrete mix design comprised of 70% recycled material. The climbing and scrambling aspects of the installation are a homage to the climbing culture in Downtown Chattanooga including The Block and the Walnut Wall in Coolidge Park. Even the angular forms of The Scramble are intended to visually link to the other parts of the City including the architecture of the Hunter Art Museum, the top of the Aquarium buildings, The Block and the angled slopes in Renaissance Park.

Created by Michael Singer Studio - Read the full artist statement here.

The Scramble is made possible by: The City of Chattanooga, Public Art Chattanooga, The Lyndhurst Foundation and The Benwood Foundation.