Abstract
AbstractAsmara's modernist heritage, adjudged by UNESCO to possess “outstanding value to humanity”, combines the architectural practices of locals and former “colonizers”, and embodies Eritrea's modernist encounters. In 2017 Asmara was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under Criteria 2 and 4 and remains Africa's only explicitly modernist site. Employing the concept of bricolage to examine some of Asmara's most notable buildings, this paper questions UNESCO's rejection of Eritrea's claim to Criterion 3, which was intended to acknowledge the essential contribution of indigenous labour and cultural traditions in the creation and articulation of modernism in Asmara. The work focusses on the pre‐eminent example of St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, a building with deep symbolic meaning and material and constructional histories of both Eritrean and Italian architecture. Finally, its bricolages contributed significantly to the production of a unique modernist language that defines Asmara's claims to modernism, a modernism not of Europe, but of Africa.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
