HINESAD Wins AIA Houston Design Award for African American Memorial
A Civic Landmark Honored for Design Excellence
HINESAD is proud to announce that the African American Memorial at Bates M. Allen Park has received a 2024 AIA Houston Design Award, one of the region’s highest honors for architectural excellence.
The 14-acre site, commissioned by Fort Bend County, was recognized for its conceptual strength, material clarity, and cultural resonance. Designed as a regional destination, the memorial honors the lives, labor, and legacy of African Americans—particularly those impacted by slavery, convict leasing, and systemic erasure in Texas history.
At the heart of the campus is a three-story concrete monument, whose fragmented yet converging form represents the journey and resilience of the African Diaspora. Surrounding it, a network of ceremonial landscapes, preserved cemeteries, and interpretive spaces invites reflection, remembrance, and civic engagement.
The design’s interplay of scale, geometry, and material invites visitors into a dialogue with the past—while positioning the memorial as a permanent space for public memory and cultural restoration.
