The Burying Ground Memorial at the University of Richmond transforms a once-overlooked burial ground into a place of remembrance, reflection, and education that honors the lives of enslaved individuals whose labor helped build the University's early foundations. Developed through years of historical research, archaeological investigation, and an extensive public engagement process with descendant families, faculty, students, and community stakeholders, the memorial acknowledges a difficult chapter in the University's history while establishing an enduring landscape dedicated to truth, reconciliation, and healing. The project has become a defining cultural landscape for the University, demonstrating how thoughtful design can preserve memory while fostering dialogue across generations.

Waterstreet Studio served as the Landscape Architect, collaborating closely with Baskervill, the University, descendant families, historians, archaeologists, artists, and specialty fabricators throughout planning, design, and construction. Our team participated in numerous listening sessions and design workshops that informed every aspect of the memorial experience, ensuring the landscape authentically reflected the voices and values of those it commemorates. Waterstreet led the design and detailing of the site and landscape, including the retaining walls, paving, seating, and water feature, developing highly customized construction details and coordinating the integration of weathering steel, stone, cast concrete, and interpretive components into a cohesive memorial landscape. Historically and culturally significant plant selections—including yucca and periwinkle, species traditionally associated with African American burial grounds—and the preservation and propagation of the site's iconic Witness Tree reinforce the memorial's themes of resilience, remembrance, and continuity. The resulting landscape is intentionally restrained yet deeply expressive, allowing carefully crafted materials, landform, vegetation, and sequence to honor the past while creating a contemplative civic space for reflection, learning, and healing.

https://buryinggroundmemorial.richmond.edu/

LOCATION:
Richmond, VA

CLIENT:
University of Richmond

TEAM:
Baskervill - Prime
Team Henry - Contractor
Ansel Olson - Photography