Studio After Architecture’s newly constructed portal pays tribute to the African American History.

Designed by Studio After Architecture, the Camp Barker Memorial is a functional tribute to the African American history of slavery on the grounds of the Garrison Elementary School. Ideal for the memorial, the site was formerly used as a “contraband camp” so as to house the former black slaves captured by the army still continuing to be effectively used as a communal space. Functioning as a gateway, the contemporary three-piece memorial devoid of a pedestal is easier to access and thus can be walked through, touched or inhabited. The studio designed the exterior of the portal with charred black wooden panels and donned with hinged brass gates recalls the strength and determination of the community.