African Architecture Research Articles

Francis Kéré: A Spokesperson of African Architecture? Modernism and Decolonization

In the context of past winners of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, how can one interpret the decision to honor the architectural work of Francis Kéré in 2022? This article problematizes the West’s interest in African architecture. Is it really due to the fact that African architecture excels in conditions of scarcity and climate crisis? The 18th Venice Architecture Biennale shows that Africa can be regarded as a kind of the “laboratory of the future.” Or is the Pritzker Architecture Prize more of a patronizing and orientalizing gesture that renders African architecture a curiosity, while the Global North chasteningly points out that it is time to rein in the overly spectacular ambitions of contemporary starchitecture, which has neglected its social role? The posed questions direct the analysis toward Kéré’s architecture being interpreted as a local variant of modernism, and his work as a kind of advocacy. Jyoti Hosagrahar’s helpful concept of Indigenous Modernities is invoked as a medium through which Africa’s emerging and important current of participatory architecture may be viewed from the postcolonial perspective and considered beyond the center – periphery opposition.

The Human Settlement: Erwin Anton Gutkind's fascination with Africa and critique of modern design

ABSTRACT In the immediate aftermath of the devastation and frustration of the Second World war, several architects and planners in Europe and North America took on the task of expanding their disciplinary boundaries and providing accounts of ‘others’. As they investigated various understandings of human life and the social dimension of the built environment, the interest shifted from the paradigms of modern design to the complexity of distant cultures and the variety beyond the Western tradition. Among those who challenged narrow perspectives was Erwin Anton Gutkind, a planner, architect, and theorist of German origin. Examining his unpublished manuscript, entitled The Human Settlement, and its long chapter on Africa, this article demonstrates how Gutkind pushed the theoretical and geographical limits of the historical research on architecture of his time to develop a project that offered a strong critique of modernist attitudes, internationalist models, and nation-state narratives. The essay also reflects on both Gutkind's exposure of colonial and neocolonial strategies of modernization and westernization on the continent and his problematic representation of local and non-colonial architecture in Africa. The manuscript's merits and limits reveal the significant friction that arose between Gutkind's strategies for including underrepresented voices and his reliance on biased perspectives.

Resisting Material Binaries: Unpacking persisting dichotomies of building materials in Central Africa

The current discourse on African architecture is strongly influenced by social design—a practice for which architecture holds an important role in addressing complex societal questions and problems. The use of “alternative” building materials, as opposed to industrial materials like concrete or steel, is very central within this discourse. However, as this article argues, this strong binary approach to building materials is heavily influenced by colonial and postcolonial logic. To understand this continuity, I will trace some path dependencies visible in the Central African region from the colonial period to the present. In the first section, the material preferences of a Belgian architecture firm working in Rwanda in 2012 are related to the binaries of the architecture firms operating in this region in the 1970s and 1980s. In the second section, I discuss how the strong distinction between so-called “local” and “modern” materials is a remnant of the colonial period. Through an in-depth analysis of the shifting valuations of cement and burnt lime in Central Africa, the article aims to make these colonial categories feel less natural. Building on post-colonial science and technology studies (STS) scholarship, the conclusion proposes an alternative to binary thinking—a conscious material choice that tries to understand building materials as situated processes, allowing to go beyond the industry-driven denominators by which we currently value our building materials.

Framing China's tropics: Thermal techno‐politics of socialist tropical architecture in Africa (1960s−1980s)

This paper seeks to position socialist China in the mobility of global socialism in the context of Cold‐War politics. It examines how the techno‐politics of China and the Soviet‐bloc's socialist tropical architecture differently reconfigured thermal exchanges between the environment, human body and a series of other multi‐scalar things in Africa during the 1960s−1980s. Drawing on the theories of thermal material culture, techno‐politics and science and technology studies (STS), it constructs a cross‐cultural comparison between China and Soviet‐bloc, aiming to achieve a more nuanced techno‐political understanding of mid‐late twentieth century socialist architecture in the Global South. It also hopes to contribute to recent scholarship about thermal comfort and governance in the context of climate change.

From 'puzzling' to comprehensible and efficient: Reform proposals to the African human rights framework through a 'system' lens

Forty years after the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the African architecture for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa has been enriched both at the normative and institutional levels. This enrichment has led in legal analyses both to the affirmation of the existence of an 'African human rights system', on the one hand and, on the other, to the criticism of an unnecessarily complex and not always efficient mechanism. After highlighting the specific logic of the emerging African system, this article indicates the avenues for institutional and methodological reform that should lead to the construction of a truly coherent, effective and efficient African human rights system.

Erratum for ‘house Biermann in Durban: A case of “regional vernacular” in the modern architectural heritage of South Africa’ by Bodei and Harber (2022).

Curator: The Museum JournalEarly View ErratumFree Access Erratum This article corrects the following: House Biermann in Durban: A Case of “Regional Vernacular” in the Modern Architectural Heritage of South Africa Silvia Bodei, Rodney Harber, Volume 65Issue 3Curator: The Museum Journal pages: 603-621 First Published online: August 11, 2022 First published: 24 January 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12542AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Erratum for ‘house Biermann in Durban: A case of “regional vernacular” in the modern architectural heritage of South Africa’ by Bodei and Harber (2022). In Bodei and Harber (2022), there was few errors in author's biography. Silvia BODEI (bodeis@ukzn.ac.za; silbocs@yahoo.com) is an architect (IUAV, Venice) and doctor in Architecture (UPC, Barcelona). She is currently Senior Lecturer at UKZN in Durban (South Africa). She has authored several research papers and publications on modern architecture, industrial heritage and Italian, Spanish and South African architecture and urban design. The correct Author bio should be: Silvia Bodei (silvia.bodei@polimi.it) is an architect (IUAV, Venice) and doctor in Architecture (UPC, Barcelona). She was Senior Lecturer at University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban-South Africa (November 2017-June 2022) and is currently Researcher at Polytechnic University of Milan (Politecnico di Milano) in Italy since July 2022. She has authored several research papers and publications on modern architecture, industrial heritage and Italian, Spanish and South African architecture and urban design. Reference Bodei, S., & Harber, R. (2022). House Biermann in Durban: A case of “regional vernacular” in the modern architectural heritage of South Africa. Curator: The Museum Journal, 65(3), 603– 621. https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12510 Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue ReferencesRelatedInformation

The Afro-Arab unique hybrid architecture in search for a socio-cultural unification symbolism in the Sudan

The Sudan, a name derives from the Arabic expression bilad as-sudan meaning the lands of the blacks. Thousands articles cover prominent Pan-African, Afrocentric and Africology theorists and writers who have transparent, bold, and brave advocatory writings uncovering African architecture significance and values including articles of the Sudan’s architecture. The two Pan-African, Afrocentric and Africology theorists and writers who later become Americans; the Kenyan American Ali Mazrui and the Nigerian American Nnamdi Elleh are the most renowned. For the purpose of this research only Public and Governmental Buildings will be taken into consideration as they constitute most of the buildings built for the use of the communities. Evidences for the constructions of the Sudan in form of Public and Governmental Buildings appear in the ancient Kushites mainly as monumental buildings in form of shrines as temples, sanctuaries and burial places as cemeteries and pyramids until the Christian kingdoms who had Cathedrals and Churches as Public and Governmental Buildings. The Mahdist State and the Anglo-Turkish rule of the Sudan had some of their Public and Governmental Buildings in form of Mosques and burial places as the mausoleums (Qubbas). Vernacular architecture in the Sudan, an architecture that characterizes a place by giving it a specific social identity or a sense of belonging and a sense of place reflecting the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it exists. This kind of architecture reflects Ethnicity, Tribalism and Territory, therefore, there is a necessity in the search for an architecture that boosts resolving these socio-cultural problems. Soci-culturally communities all over the world faced with the challenges of the prevailing notions of globalization and Critical Theory that rejects ideology. In the midst of all these challenges of contemporary architecture dominantly adopted in these recent years, the Sudan, thefore, should not be an exception. The objective of this research is to necessarily call for the production of Public and Governmental diversified buildings to boost resolving social problems by adopting Contemporary architecture most precisely Critical Regionalism architecture movement, with other Contemporary architecture movements. The architecture of power and sovereignty such as Public and Governmental buildings could so much assist in reflecting social coherence and unification the Sudanese people should derelict the inferiority feeling in Ethnicity, Tribalism and Territorialism many Sudanese people suffer as a result of producing Public and Governmental in styles other than Critical Regionalism and the like that. Buildings in styles other than Critical Regionalism styles and the like makes people have inferiority feeling for their socio-cultural values in contrary to acquiring unity and coherence feeling. The majority of Sudanese people being of African origin with a good number of Afro-Arabs of different Ethnicity groups, various Tribes and many Territories will not easily come to a consensus in regards to an agreed upon building style that satisfies their socio-cultural differences. The method adopted in coming out with this research is analytical in which the architecture of the Sudan will be traced from the past until the present modern and contemporary architecture to see whether it is in any form has an Afro-Arab hybrid uniqueness in architecture.

Accreditation Requirements and the Global History of Architecture

Accreditation Requirements and the Global History of Architecture

Building Peace among Monitors? The Monitoring and Implementation of Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement

Signatories, guarantors and stakeholders of peace treaties and global political agreements (GPA) need reliable information on the agreement’s implementation to track progress, ensure compliance and prevent renewed conflict. Implementation monitoring mechanisms (IMMs) are, therefore, an important component of peace and transitional governance processes. Whereas monitoring can be entrusted to an independent third party, the signatories of Zimbabwe’s GPA set up a Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC). This article outlines the implementation of the GPA and discusses the hybrid design and workings of JOMIC, which sought to build peace among monitors from power-sharing parties, who jointly observed the agreement’s implementation. It argues that JOMIC was not a viable substitution for an independent IMM despite having some merit in observing political violence and gathering information for the power-sharing parties. JOMIC’s basic concept of permitting political elites to monitor their own compliance with the agreement was impractical, its proceedings non-transparent and its outputs of little use to guarantors and stakeholders. The absence of an official independent IMM, for which civil society monitors could not fully compensate, impeded the transitional governance process and its facilitation by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which was meant to guarantee that the GPA was implemented. Zimbabwe’s GPA offers cautionary lessons for the design of implementation mechanisms that serve multiple purposes, which can compromise the quality of monitoring. It points to the need to institutionalise implementation monitoring in the African peace and security architecture to improve the ability of the African Union and regional economic communities to guarantee that agreements that they facilitate are implemented.

The African Peace and Security Architecture as a Tool for the Maintenance of Peace and Security. Part 1

This study critically explores the extent to which the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) (such as the African Standby Force (ASF), the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), Panel of the Wise (PoW) and the Peace Fund (PF)) have been successful in achieving their institutional objectives, as well as the degree to which they are able to contribute to the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). The AU PSC as a key pillar of the APSA is the main decision-making body regarding issues of peace and security. In order to achieve its responsibility, the AU PSC shall be supported by the African Standby Force, the Continental Early Warning System, Panel of the Wise and the Peace Fund. APSA is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent. More specifically, it is an operational structure for the effective implementation of the decisions taken in the areas of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support operations and intervention, as well as peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction. APSA is envisioned as a means by which Africa can take a greater role in managing peace and security on the continent, with the objective of offering “African solutions to African problems”.

African peace and security architecture in the context of African solutions to African problems

The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability on the continent. More specifically, it is “an operational structure for the effective implementation of the decisions taken in the areas of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support operations and intervention, as well as peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction”. APSA is envisioned as a means by which Africa can take a greater role in managing peace and security on the continent, with the objective of offering “African solutions to African problems”. This study critically explores the extent to which APSA (such as the African Standby Force (ASF) and Panel of the Wise (PoW) have been successful in achieving their institutional objectives, as well as the degree to which they are able to contribute to the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). The findings of the study reveal that the African Standby Force's potential as a tool for the maintenance of peace and security on the continent depends on the political consensus (political buy-in) and predictable sources of financing. Vis-? -vis the Panel of the Wise, the study has discovered that the role of the Panel has been undermined by geo-political dynamics, limited mandate, membership size and its institutional design.

The African Peace and Security Architecture as a Tool for the Maintenance of Peace and Security. Part 2

This study critically explores the extent to which the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) (such as the African Standby Force (ASF), the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), Panel of the Wise (PoW) and the Peace Fund (PF)) have been successful in achieving their institutional objectives, as well as the degree to which they are able to contribute to the work of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC). The AU PSC as a key pillar of the APSA is the main decision-making body regarding issues of peace and security. In order to achieve its responsibility, the AU PSC shall be supported by the African Standby Force, the Continental Early Warning System, Panel of the Wise and the Peace Fund. APSA is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent. More specifically, it is an operational structure for the effective implementation of the decisions taken in the areas of conflict prevention, peace-making, peace support operations and intervention, as well as peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction. APSA is envisioned as a means by which Africa can take a greater role in managing peace and security on the continent, with the objective of offering African solutions to African problems.

Black markets: Fascist constructions of race in East African marketplace newsreels

This article investigates East African marketplace films to trace the developmental arc and varieties of Italian Fascist racism in empire. Totalling over 70 in number, these bantam adventures in souks and bazaars were among the most popular formats for 1930s newsreels purporting to document daily life in the colonies. The short documentary-style films were produced by LUCE, the cinematic arm for state-run propagandistic projects. Like many of the films produced by this larger cinematic body, marketplace newsreels cast Italian technology in starring roles. Tractors and sewing machines frame Italian as modernizing heroes. By focusing on visual and acoustic examples, the article examines the markets of propaganda through a sensory focus. Ultimately, this approach intertwines two modes of inquiry: the history of East African architecture and urbanism, and Fascist Italian empire film.

Arquitetura popular afro-brasileira

A arquitetura africana tem uma história multimilenária que, até hoje, tem sido pouco estudada. Em sua grande diversidade de manifestações, apenas uma parte foi trazida para o Brasil devido à égide de preconceitos existentes no período do comércio escravista. Por esta razão examinam-se as diretrizes principais das culturas banto e sudanesa. Como no período colonial a população de origem africana era majoritária, sua arquitetura se tornou hegemônica nos estratos populares, apesar das influências das culturas indígenas e lusitana. Através deste mecanismo, ela desenvolveu uma grande capacidade de adaptação.

Perceptions of Foreign Governance by African Youth

Abstract This study explores the thoughts of the youth about foreign powers’ governance. The concept of African Governance Architecture underpins the study. A review of archival material and other relevant publications and policy documents shows that youth have condemned Western prescriptions for the improvement of their economies and general governance systems, describing them as an attempt at re-colonization and an infringement on their sovereignty. Some have also rubbished foreign advice as ‘alien’ and irrelevant to their needs and problems. In view of the serious levels of suspicion, there is need for stakeholders to appropriately socialize and educate each other on the ideals of governance. The study also established that youth in Africa have been pounded with an ideology and doctrine that may require a lot of investment to undo.

The Built Environment of the Precolonial West African Coast: Materials, Functions, and Housing Standards

Abstract This article studies the built environment along the West African coast as described in European historical sources from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth century. Many early modern European observers believed housing standards in West Africa remained poor over this long period, and attributed this to a lack of development. The evidence presented in this article suggests that most European observers missed several key functions of traditional African architecture, as well as how the architecture in use might have been an adaptation to the socioeconomic context developing in relation to the Atlantic slave trade.

ИСТОРИЧЕСКОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ МОДЕРНИЗМА В АФРИКАНСКОЙ АРХИТЕКТУРЕ МАЛОЭТАЖНОГО СОЦИАЛЬНОГО ЖИЛЬЯ

the purpose of this study is to examine the emergence of modernism as a cultural response to the conditions of modernity to change the way people live, work and react to the world around them. In this regard, the following tasks were formulated: 1) study the development of modernism on the world stage, 2) identify its universal features, and 3) analyze how the independence of Central and sub-Saharan Africa in the 1950s and 1960s coincided with a particularly bright period of modernist architecture in the region, when many young countries studied and asserted their identity in art. The article analyzes several objects of modernist architecture in Africa: urban development projects in Casablanca (Morocco), Asmara (Eritrea), Ngambo (Tanzania). The main features and characteristics of modernism which were manifested in the African architecture of the XX century are also formulated. It is concluded that African modernism is developed in line with the international modernist trend. It is also summarized that modernism which differs from previous artistic styles and turned out to be a radical revolution in art is their natural successor.

Synthesis of Modern Construction Methods and Local Building Materials: A Drive to Revive Yoruba Vernacular Architecture

African vernacular architecture is considered to be one of the notable architecture in the world. This is due to its iconic and cultural representation with very little effort expended on achieving it. The preservation of vernacular buildings has been very difficult across African continents especially in Nigeria. Yoruba vernacular architecture, predominantly in south-western part of Nigeria is in a serious dilapidating state, this is as a result of the drastic shift from the locally sourced building materials to the modern imported ones. Hence, this paper reviews and analyses the causes of the deplorable state of Yoruba vernacular buildings with a view to suggesting appropriate measures to be taken in reviving and preserving them.However, some locally sourced building materials which are adjudged to be economical and sustainable are identified and possible ways of synthesizing them with modern construction methods as a process deemed capable of redeeming the Yoruba vernacular architecture are suggested and discussed. Keywords: African Vernacular Architecture, Yoruba vernacular architecture, Local materials, foreign materials, Indigenous technologies and modern construction methods. DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/65-04 Publication date: June 30 th 2020

Specters of Cape Town: Heritage, Memory, and Restitution in Contemporary South African Art, Architecture, and Museum Practice

ABSTRACT Cape Town is home to a series of extreme disjunctive arrangements of wealth and poverty. Key to understanding the city is the deep inscription of historical injustice and its expression in contemporary forms of social injustice. In the paper that follows, we report on conversations with four indispensable commentators on the contemporary state of the city: artist Thania Petersen, architect and artist Ilze Wolff, museum practitioner Bonita Bennett, and heritage practitioner Calvyn Gilfellan. These conversations occur at a particular moment in South African life and being: in the aftermath of the Zuma presidency, in the aftermath of #RhodesMustFall, in the context of the perceived failure of the project of non-racialism, in the context of growing frustration over the intractability of historical inequality and the slow pace of change, and amid a heated national debate around the ANC government’s draft land expropriation bill. A common set of themes and preoccupations emerge: questions around race and religion; history, representation, and restitution; memory and forgetting; social justice and the abiding presence of historical injustice. Thinking inside and outside of the disciplines of art, architecture, and museum and heritage practice, these conversations present an accumulated body of wisdom and insight that might also be read as a transcript on the contemporary state of the city.

The Burundi crisis and the mirage of an African Governance Architecture

ABSTRACTFollowing Pierre Nkurunziza’s announcement in 2015 that he would run for a third term, Burundi was thrust into violence and instability as his eligibility was contested. This contribution argues that the regional and subregional responses to the crisis exposed the inadequacy of what the literature refers to as the African Governance Architecture (AGA). It asserts that although the normative component of the AGA is sound, the institutional component lacks the requisite ‘teeth’ to contribute meaningfully to the promotion of good governance on the continent. The article points to the characterisation of the AGA platform as a ‘free-space’ as evidence that the AGA is inferior to its individual organs and organisations. It argues that in assessing the AGA, there are two pertinent sets of questions, namely; what are Africa’s needs in light of its history, its present reality and its future aspirations?; secondly, what is the African Union’s promise to the continent vis-à-vis democracy and good governance as captured in the AU Constitutive Act?