Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects and Moody Nolan have conceptualised and developed the International African American Museum in Charleston, United States.

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Moody Nolan have unveiled a museum that is raised above the site where many enslaved people once disembarked in South Carolina.

The International African American Museum (IAAM) is a single-storey structure that was raised 13 feet off the ground on 18 columns.

IAAM is sited at Gadsden's Wharf, the port of arrival for nearly half of all enslaved Africans brought to North America.

The African Ancestors Memorial Garden embraces the entire site, bounded on one side by a shallow pool.

The sharply defined western edge marks the original seawall of Gadsden's Wharf as it was at the beginning of the 19th century – the peak of the slave trade – while its soft eastern boundary evokes the limitless ocean beyond.

This project has been longlisted in the cultural project category of Dezeen Awards 2024.

Studio: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects
Project: International African American Museum
Credits: Moody Nolan, Hood Design Studio and Ralph Appelbaum Associates