The Scramble

The Scramble is a sculpted streetscape project that repurposes existing infrastructure into a striking interactive space and an innovative stormwater collection and filtration system. The project revitalizes a crucial link within the downtown Ramble, connecting the arts district to the heart of downtown and the Aquarium. The sculpted scramble landscape references rock outcroppings in the region and is intended to visually and experientially tie to the nature themes of the adjacent Aquarium Plaza. The angular forms of The Scramble are intended to visually link to other parts of the City including the architecture of the Hunter Art Museum, the top of the Aquarium buildings, the Block, the angular concrete piers of the glass bridge, and the angled slopes in Renaissance Park, which themselves seem to reference the natural geology and beauty of the region. The sculpted elements of The Scramble are comprised of sculpted concrete with high levels of recycled content and local Tennessee stone. In the evening light emerges from apertures in the Scramble Elements creating an elegant glow along the street’s incline that is unmistakable from some distance.

Underlying The Scramble is an innovative stormwater collection, filtration, re-circulation and irrigation system that repurposed an existing defunct cable car vault. The water system utilizes an existing 8’ deep concrete cable car vault through some modifications, waterproofing, and filling the vaults with locally acquired aggregate. 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 acoustic amenity and for providing irrigation rather than utilizing potable water.  In the warmer months water circulates through The Scramble in a series of chambers and wells throughout the landscape. The water in The Scramble utilizes the captured stormwater which can be seen and heard, but is otherwise not accessible. The nearby interactive features at The Passage and Aquarium Plaza offer numerous water play areas; The Scramble offers an auditory experience of the water with, for the curious, glimpses of its flow.

This project was led by the River City Company and the City of Chattanooga with generous support from the Lyndhurst and Benwood Foundations.

Project Credits

Artist / Designer: Michael Singer
Singer Studio Team: Jason Bregman, Jonathan Fogelson and Will Robart, FAP
Structural Engineering: Brian Beaulieu at Colby Co. Engineering
Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering: Allen Jones, Micah Duffey and Caleb Melchior at Asa Engineering and Consulting
MEP Engineering: Mike Whitfield and Randy Metcalf at Campbell and Associates
River City Company: Jim Williamson
City of Chattanooga: Eric Booker, Kat Wright, Clay Oliver, Katelyn Kirnie, James Bergdoll, Dennis Malone, Justin Steinmann
Photos Credit: @volvmecollective and Kurt Martig