Architecture studio Adjaye Associates has designed a memorial on a rammed-earth mound, museum and research institute focused on the impact of slavery for Bridgetown, Barbados.
The studio, which is led by RIBA Royal Gold Medalist David Adjaye, designed the Barbados Heritage District to address the impact of the transatlantic slave trade on the island, which recently became a republic.
It is estimated that almost 400,000 enslaved Africans were transported to Barbados during the 17th and 18th centuries, while the island was a British colony.
With Barbados severing its ties with Britain and establishing itself as an independent republic, the country has also embarked on a program to study and commemorate its troubled history with slavery.
Commissioning famed architect, David Adjaye, the government is creating a museum, memorial, and research center dedicated to examining the impact of slavery and honoring the many slaves who are buried at the site. Set to be built on Newton Plantation, next to the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground, the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground Memorial is designed to commemorate an estimated 570 West African slaves who are buried on the site.
The memorial structure will have 570 vertical timber columns topped with circular brass plates arranged in rows on top of a mound made from rammed earth.
The mound itself will be positioned at the highest point of the sloped site, accessible via a ramp that leads up from a domed museum composed of red laterite earth materials.
The museum will contain exhibits focused on the burial ground and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, while circular openings will punctuate the dome to give views of the sky above and let in light in.
SOURCE: DEZEEN
