Architects Asif Khan, Mariam Kamara and David Adjaye and artist Theaster Gates are set to transform Liverpool‘s Canning Dock in a project aiming to bring the history of the transatlantic slave trade into the public realm.
The team was unanimously chosen as the winner of the Canning Dock competition by a jury of local representatives and industry experts, beat competitors including architecture studios BIG and OMMX.
The Waterfront Transformation: Canning Dock project, which is part of National Museums Liverpool‘s 10-year plan to transform the city’s waterfront, will encompass the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island as well as all waterfront facilities.
It intends to revitalise the complex site, which was used in the 18th century to serve and repair ships including those used in the transatlantic slave trade.
Project “explores the power of architecture as a storytelling tool”
Together with Plan A Consultants, Prior + Partners, The Place Bureau, Hara Design Institute, Akt II and Arup, the winning studios will redevelop the site’s buildings including the Dr Martin Luther King Jr building, which will sit at the centre of the International Slavery Museum.
The museum, which houses exhibitions that explore and investigate the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade, will also be given a “dramatic” new front door as it does not currently have its own entrance.