Architecture, race, identity and multiculturalism: a radical ‘White’ perspective

Abstract

Beyond racial discrimination in employment lies the assumption that modern and post modern architecture is above and beyond culture. This article examines the process of design, the formation of ideas in the subject of architecture and the ‘unconscious’ assumptions behind the stated positions of the founders of Modern Architecture to see how this comes about. It argues that change could be brought about by taking a new ‘multicultural’ and ‘post‐colonial’ approach to architectural history and theory, by making architecture as a profession accessible, by working with minority communities and cultures, and by linking with academies and practices in less developed countries. But for this to happen, those with the power to change have to call for and support this change.