While each question will not receive an individual response, frequently-asked questions that are not addressed in the competition guidelines will be posted on the Design Competition Web site. Please note that many questions can be answered by referring to the Call for Entries or to the site maps. These questions will not be addressed on the Web site.

Questions received after Friday, April 4, will not be reviewed. Several design-related questions have not received responses due to their subjective nature. It is not the intention of the FAQs to offer design direction but to address the interpretation of specific guidelines.

Please send questions to: freedmensquestions@alexandriava.gov

Q: What do the terms "Contraband" and "Freedmen" mean?
A: Contraband was a term used by the federal government during the American Civil War referring to a slave who escaped to or was brought within the Union lines. Freedmen was a term used referring to individuals who had been freed from slavery.

Q: Is there a registration fee to enter the competition?
A: There is no registration fee for this competition.

Q: Can international designers enter the competition?
A: Yes. The competition is open to all interested individuals, including those from other countries.

Q: May competition entrants speak with local civic groups and historical societies about the site and its history?
A: The City of Alexandria does not preclude non-city organizations other than those represented on the Steering Committee from discussing the cemetery site.

Q: Is all excavation/research completed on site?
A: All excavation and archaeological research is complete.

Q: May competition entrants visit the memorial site? Is it feasible to look from outside the site?
A:: Site tours are no longer available to the public and will not be available to prospective entrants. The site is currently surrounded by a chain-link fence, but views are relatively open through the fence.

Q: Is it allowable to add minimally to the existing building foundations (adding, for instance, a brick covering and a railing) in order to use them as low platforms from which to view the grave sites?
A: Modifications to the existing building foundations that do not impact graves may be considered.

Q: Will the memorial be open at all times or will it be closed during certain hours?
A: The memorial will be closed at dark, in accordance with other City of Alexandria parks.

Q: Will there be access to the memorial at night?
A: No. Access to the site at night will only be available during a special event, in accordance with the City of Alexandria’s policies on special events.

Q: Does the memorial need to meet ADA requirements?
A: All designs must meet minimum ADA requirements.

Q: How much excavation is allowable on the parts of the site where there are no grave sites?
A: While no major excavation is necessary, minor grading is allowable

Q: Clarification is needed for this passage in the brief: "Memorialize the more than 1,800 people buried in the cemetery (display names at a minimum)"
A:: All names from the Gladwin Record (available for download) must be memorialized in the design.

Q: Is topographical information for the site’s context available to competition entrants?
A: Additional topography, beyond what is currently posted on the website, is not available for the design competition.

Q: There are several easements shown in the CAD site plan. Do these easements restrict the design? Can competitors build in the easements?
A: Existing easements do not need to be considered in the design submissions.

Q: Will the unexcavated areas within the historic cemetery boundary be excavated in the future?
A: There are no anticipated future excavation projects for the cemetery site.

Q: May interactive digital files be submitted in addition to the base submission requirements?
A: Due to the anticipated number of competition entries, no materials will be reviewed in addition to the entry board.

Q: The topography map shows traffic utilities in the center of the site. Can these utilities be relocated?
A: For the purposes of this design competition, utilities may be relocated in the design schemes.

Q: Can additional fill be placed on top of the graves?
A: Yes.

Q: Are there any alternative options for international competitors to print their entry boards remotely?
A: Due to the anticipated number of competition entries, the City of Alexandria will not print and mount submissions for any entrants. Several printing companies have offices in Alexandria and may be utilized, but competitors hold sole responsibility for seeking out alternative submission strategies to ensure that their submissions arrive at Lee Center by 5pm EST on April 25, 2008.

Q: May photographs from the competition website be incorporated into the entry materials?
A: All materials found on the competition website are suitable for uses directly related to the competition and may be incorporated into the submissions.

Q: I visited the site and noticed that many of the "existing" trees along the sound wall are not yet planted. Is it possible to hold off on the remaining planting until after the competition? What are the anticipated species of those trees?
A: Anticipated planting is a combination of deciduous and evergreen trees and will take place this spring.

Q: Does the area in question sit in a historic district, and if so what are the boundaries of the district?
A: The boundaries of the Old and Historic District can be found on the City of Alexandria Historic District Boundaries Map.

Q: What are the elevations of the two existing foundation slabs, the soundwalls, the existing retaining wall, and the bottom of stair at the office building?
A: Elevation information beyond that provided in the Call for Entries is not necessary for this level of submittal.

Q: The walls and brick work of the existing office structure entrance looked as if they are in need of repair. If the graves are not disturbed, can the brick walls be removed or repaired?
A: The walls are intended to remain and will be repaired as necessary.

Q: What is the nature of the "Prehistoric Site" shown on the Historic and Archeological Resources plan?
A: The American Indian artifacts discovered on the site relate to small groups who came to the bluff overlooking the Potomac River primarily to make stone tools between 13,000 and 2000 years ago. While some stone spearpoints were found, predominantly the artifacts are discarded flakes created from the process of striking a stone cobble from which different types of stone tools were formed. People during these times were probably coming here as part of a migratory pattern in which they rotated through different seasonal resource areas.

Q: Is it known what particular tribe of Native Americans came to the site?
A: The tribal names for the American Indians who left the artifacts on the site are unknown. It is known, however, that the people living in the environs of Alexandria in the 17th century were Eastern Algonquian-speakers, as were peoples throughout the Chesapeake Bay and the Carolinas. Please see the following websites for additional information:

• www.baygateways.net/nativepeoples.cfm
• www.upress.virginia.edu/books/egloff.HTM
• www.dhr.virginia.gov/arch_NET/timeline/time_line.htm
• www.virtualjamestown.org/images/white_debry_html/introduction.html

Q: Will the artifacts be available for display? Do we need to incorporate display areas or cases?
A: No. The artifacts will not be displayed at the memorial site.

Q: When I was there, I noticed that there are trees planted in the passive recreation zone on your map and are not drawn on this map. What shall I do with this information?
A: Entrants should design the passive zone based on the information in the call for entries.

Q: Is the perimeter fence for the whole memorial site or just the cemetery boundary?
A: The intention of the perimeter fence is to demarcate the boundary of the memorial site

Q: What is a grave shaft? Is it a hole filled with earth, or is it an actual empty hole in the ground?
A: A grave shaft is the hole dug by grave diggers in preparation for a burial. Once the coffin is placed in the bottom, the excavated, mixed soils are put back in the hole. The shaft (the original cut into the subsoil) can be distinguished by the archaeologist because the mixed soils filling the shaft have a different color, texture and/or compaction from the undisturbed subsoil around the shaft. Click here for a grave shaft diagram

Q: Why is it assumed the carriage path stops before the concrete slab?
A: The carriage path clearly extends under the concrete slab. The archaeological investigation, however, was unable to locate the path anywhere farther west than the edge of the pad. Since we didn’t excavate under the slab (to protect the burials), we do not know the route or termination of the path there.

Q: There is mention of preserving the cemetery's boundary, why is it such an irregular shape? Is the intention to express this irregular shape?
A: We have not identified any historical records which document the actual boundaries of the cemetery. Since the cemetery was fenced originally, it probably had a very regular footprint. Boundaries placed on the map enclose all known burials based upon the archaeological investigations.

The cemetery has been encroached upon from all sides. The western edge, perhaps, has some of its integrity, although newspaper accounts from the 1890s suggest that a brickyard was mining clay at the edges of the cemetery. The eastern edge of the cemetery clearly extended into what is now South Washington Street. The George Washington Parkway’s construction during the 1930s widened the historic Washington Street. We do not know the extant of burials into South Washington Street today. The graves along the southern edge of the cemetery were destroyed or disturbed by construction of interstate 495/95 in the early 1960s. The northern edge of the cemetery is perhaps the most impacted by 20th century development. Grading for the 1950s gas station and 1960s office building lowered the top of the knoll on which the cemetery was placed. Whole sections of graves have been graded away, creating what looks today like an uneven boundary. Again, since the cemetery was fenced, it is probable that the northern boundary was straight and parallel to Church Street.

Q: We've noticed that the site pictures that the website has provided have shown a slope of about 15% in some areas. However, one of my team members recently visited the site, and the pictures from that visit show that the site appears to be level. Is this correct or are we mistaken?
A: Please refer to the topography map provided in the Call for Entries for the most accurate topographical information.

Q: Can I orient the entry board horizontally rather than vertically?
A: As stated in the Call for Entries, each 30" x 42" entry board must be oriented vertically. Those entry boards that are oriented horizontally will be eliminated from further consideration.

Q: Can we place an installation within the two feet zone of fill dirt that was placed atop the historic surface given that the installation doesn't go deeper than the zone of fill?
A: Installations in the fill that do not impact the historic surface will be considered.

Q: What religion were the Freedmen?
A: There were a few African American churches in Alexandria, including Alfred Street Baptist Church, Roberts Memorial Methodist Church, and Beulah Baptist Church. However, there is also evidence of a continuation of African traditions, such as the placement of oyster shells as a ritual decoration on top of graves, as found on the competition site.

Q: Please clarify the passage, "Provide a site design free of water features."
A: Any design that includes a fountain, pool, or any other water feature will be eliminated from further consideration.

Q: Is it possible to fill over a portion or the entirety of one or both of the slabs if the procedure used does not cause degradation to the slab nor cause erosion of the added fill?
A: Yes.

Q: If there is no fill added to the top of the slabs, could items be attached to the slabs as long as the integrity of the graves underground is maintained?
A: If the integrity of the graves is not compromised, then installations on the slabs will be accepted.

Q: Are we limited to one design?
A: While each entry is limited to one entry board, a designer may submit more than one entry.

Q: The base drawings show that existing graves are located underneath the sidewalk on South Washington Street. Are entrants allowed to propose extending the design beyond the property line to include that area?
A: No. The design area is limited to the property line.

Q: Is there a reason why some of the footprints of the grave outlines are so small? I understand that some were infants, but others seem like partial graves. Is this the case?
A: This occurred because graves were delineated only in areas where the archaeologists scraped off the overlying fill dirt. Most of these "partial" graves are thus sections of intact burials that extend under the adjacent fill soils that were not excavated.