Abstracts History

Reimagining Black Architecture

by Esosa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6781-2332 Osayamen

Because African American architecture has not been recognized as culturally significant within academia, this thesis is an attempt to expand the architectural discourse. I will do this by answering the question: what is black architecture? To answer this question, we will examine the history of six houses specific to African American architecture: the barrack, the slave cabin, the shotgun house, public housing, the black suburban house, and the gentrified house. I will discuss the repercussions of each style, societal goals in establishing each style, and the policies or laws passed that instigated their creations. Importantly, I will explore how these styles are connected and how each style changed overtime. This historical narrative is not written to produce a survey report on the history of black architecture, but to be a basis to propose a design solution that could be implemented on Wells Avenue in Memphis, TN.