What does it mean to preserve history not as artifact, but as living community infrastructure?

Rebirth in Action reimagines three historic row houses in Houston’s Freedmen’s Town as part of a new cultural and civic campus rooted in memory, care, and collective gathering. Led by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy on behalf of Mt. Horeb Missionary Baptist Church, the project brings together architecture, landscape, art, and community stewardship to invest in one of the nation’s most historically significant Black neighborhoods.

HINESAD’s approach begins with respect for the architectural integrity of the contributing historic structures and the broader legacy of emancipation embedded within Freedmen’s Town. The design preserves and rehabilitates key historic elements in alignment with Houston Archaeological and Historic Commission guidelines while reimagining the interiors as contemporary spaces for outreach, fellowship, and daily life. The restored homes will house a community food pantry, reading room, and senior lounge that support both the church’s mission and the surrounding neighborhood.

A new elevated deck stitches the three houses together into a continuous social landscape. More than circulation, it becomes a front porch for the community. A place for gathering, rest, conversation, and participation in the larger campus activities unfolding around it.

The project extends beyond the houses themselves. A new landscape and cultural pavilion designed by Theaster Gates and Studio Zewde transform the site into an immersive civic environment where art, ecology, worship, and public life intersect. Together, the campus creates a new model for preservation that is not frozen in time, but activated through use, care, and belonging.

Rebirth in Action is not simply the rehabilitation of historic homes. It is the restoration of cultural continuity. A place where architecture supports memory, community, and the ongoing project of freedom.