Colonial Architecture Research Articles

Minor Architectures of the Plantationocene: A Colonial Family Romance

This article unfolds environmental stories of a plantation house and grounds on the Seychelles archipelago by reclaiming the importance of the minor architectures that support and resist its imperial hold. The Seychelles, first colonised by the French, then ceded to the British, claimed independence in 1976, before a coup d’état brought about a single party state that maintained power for fifteen years. Using feminist autotheory and field philosophy as its primary methodologies, the article draws on oral history interviews with Seychellois cultural workers, family archives, and spatial memories passed down through the generations of a former plantation owning family. Thinking with the scholarship of decolonial feminist scholar and activist Françoise Vérges, a colonial family romance is satirically told of the blind spots and lacunae articulating spatial memories of colonial architectures. How can alternative spatial and environmental narratives be foregrounded that seek emancipation and resist power when it becomes most oppressive?

Fish–Seascape Associations Within an Offshore Protected Area in the Arabian Gulf

ABSTRACTCoral reef ecosystems support high fish biodiversity through ecological interactions with structural complexity across multiple spatial scales including coral colony architecture and the surrounding seascape structure. In an era where the complexity of coral reef ecosystems is being diminished, understanding the importance of structural characteristics beyond single focal patches has the potential to better inform actions for protecting, restoring or creating habitat for reef‐associated species. A seascape ecology approach was applied to explore the associations between multiple scales of seascape structure and fish assemblage response variables within a small (49.6 km2) offshore no‐take MPA, Sir Bu Nair Island Protected Area, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Fish–seascape associations were modelled with single regression trees. Both in situ and remote sensing–derived variables produced the best models with highest contributions from coral cover, amount of hard‐bottom habitat type and structural complexity of the seafloor terrain. Fish species richness was significantly higher where coral cover exceeded 35%. The hard‐bottom areas with coral supported diverse assemblages dominated by carnivorous and omnivorous fishes. The Sir Bu Nair Island Protected Area provides a critical refuge for threatened and regionally overexploited species including those with low resilience to fishing. The ecological success of this protected area is key to safeguarding regional marine biodiversity and recovering fish populations to enhance food security.

Identity of Colonial Architecture Preservation in Thakhek City Center

This paper examines the conservation of colonial architecture in the center of Thakhek, which is a unique and historically significant feature of the city. Researching the historical context, architectural features and cultural values ​​of the buildings in the colonial era in Laos and efforts to conserve and promote them to become urban heritage. The research uses mixed methods, combining documentary research, observation from the field through surveys, measurements and interviews with local stakeholders. The findings reveal the challenges faced in preserving the colonial architecture at Thakhek, including limited resources. This research also highlights the potential benefits of preserving colonial architecture, such as promoting cultural tourism, promoting community pride and contributing to urban regeneration. The study concluded with recommendations to strengthen the preservation of colonial architecture in the center of Thakhek, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive preservation plan, increasing public awareness and cooperation between local stakeholders. This research contributes to the broader discussion on heritage conservation in Southeast Asia, offering insights into the challenges and opportunities of preserving colonial architecture in old urban areas in a context of rapid urban development.

Seismic Vulnerability Indices of Facades of Colonial Houses in the Historic Center of Morelia, México

Evaluating the seismic vulnerability of facades of historic masonry buildings is essential not only for their significant historical and heritage value, but also to evaluate the safety of this type of construction. This work applies a simplified methodology to assess the seismic vulnerability of the facade of masonry buildings in the historic center of Morelia, Michoacán, México. The historic center of Morelia was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1991. On the facades, there is ornamentation with sculptural and vegetal decorative elements. The methodology involved conducting visual inspections to identify the location, type of structure, construction materials, doors, windows, balconies, cornices, ironwork, pediments, niches, and sculptures, among other characteristic elements of colonial architecture. The seismic demands were determined specifically for the city’s historic center based on a recent seismic hazard assessment of Morelia. Based on the methodology and the compiled database, characterized vulnerability indices were defined for the different damage scenarios that buildings may present. Results indicate that earthquakes with intensities greater than VIII on the Modified Mercalli scale risk collapsing heritage masonry buildings’ facades.

Investigation of colonial-era architecture style on modern architecture design style in Aden city

This study investigated the lasting influence of British colonial architecture (129 years) on contemporary building design in Aden, Yemen. The initial focus was on the perception of British Neo-Classical architecture as a symbol of superiority, overshadowing Aden's rich architectural history. This research explored Aden's architectural transformation from pre-colonial to colonial periods, analyzing the impact of colonial-era building facades on modern design practices. Through observation and interviews with built environment professionals, the study examined the broader social, political, and economic effects of British colonialism. The findings reveal a significant influence of British colonial architecture on the design of building facades in Aden. This influence is evident in structures like the repurposed church on Crater Mountain, which now serves as a government building. The influx of British administrators, soldiers, and workers from diverse backgrounds (Indian, Somali, Jewish) during the colonial period contributed to Aden's architectural diversity by constructing churches, temples, and government buildings. Unfortunately, the ongoing war in Yemen has damaged or destroyed many of these structures. This study also found that classical architectural elements from British colonial buildings like the Military Museum in Crater, the Heritage Museum, and the Tax Office continue to influence modern design. These elements and the miniature Big Ben clock in Al-Tawahi stand as prominent symbols of British influence in Aden. However, the Yemeni government's restoration efforts for these colonial-era buildings have been slow and largely ineffective. The research further explored the enduring influence of Neo-classical architectural ideals in Aden. The study highlights the formal guidelines, specific modules, and proportions used in designing arches and columns, particularly in residential buildings. These elements contribute to the aesthetic qualities of these structures. While the British incorporated classical elements during their rule, architectural advancements and new materials have led to the incorporation of novel elements in contemporary design.

Seismic vulnerability assessment of urban areas made of adobe buildings through analytical and numerical methods: The case study of the historical center of Cusco (Peru)

This paper aims at giving a contribution to the topic concerning the preservation of valuable adobe buildings, by setting a methodology for assessing their seismic vulnerability at the urban scale by means of analytical and numerical models, accounting for both their in-plane and out-of-plane behaviors. To this purpose, the valuable historical center of Cusco (Peru) is considered as representative case study. The city center of Cusco is an extraordinary example of colonial architecture that preserves essential aspects of its origins, it being representative of a large plethora of historical centers in South America and the Caribbean, where most of the residential buildings are made of adobe masonry.First, archetypes, representative of the whole historical center, are identified in order to get a manageable stock of buildings for which the analyses can be addressed to. The structural capacity of each archetype is then given in terms of capacity curves for both out-of-plane and in-plane mechanisms. Subsequently, these curves are compared with the likely seismic demands to assess the probability of attaining pre-established damage states for different seismic intensities. The obtained probabilities are collected into Damage Probability Matrices (DPMs) and, finally, cumulated to plot the fitting fragility curves.

Resistance and stylistic reverence: A typological study of colonial facades in Tlemcen (Algeria)

Abstract In Algeria, which was colonised for over a century, the arrival of the French colonisers led to the introduction of new architectural styles imported from Europe. This adoption of an exogenous style in a different cultural context was only made possible by French military domination. Importing and imposing a style was not always easy, as Algerian resistance was as much stylistic and socio-cultural as it was military. To illustrate this point, we have taken the case of the historic city of Tlemcen (Northwest Algeria), where the French occupiers met with stylistic resistance complicating the achievement of their colonial project. Our research raises the following question: What forms of stylistic resistance are manifested in colonial architecture in the city of Tlemcen? Our aim is to identify the specific characteristics of colonial architecture in Tlemcen, in order to bring out the signs of stylistic resistance that testify to a desire to maintain a local cultural identity despite the colonial influence. The typological analysis of colonial facades serves as a tool and a means of providing in-depth understanding of architectural facades and typological classification in view of the diversity of styles and ornamentation of colonial facades in Tlemcen. This resistance manifests itself in European revivalism in Tlemcen, which involved an exceptional effort aimed simultaneously at composition and a search for stylistic anchorage and originality. It also manifested itself at the level of the native population, who stepped in to protect their cultural heritage and identity against the colonial authorities. Moreover, a certain form of stylistic reverence can be detected, expressed in avoiding pronounced aesthetic or stylistic expressions, favouring instead a more universal and timeless appearance.

Gaya Arsitektur Rumah Istri Sultan Amaluddin Tengku Khalijah di Kota Maksum

Kota Maksum is an elite area that was once the residence of the nobles of the Deli Sultanate since the royal family moved from the palace in Labuhan to the Maimun Palace in 1891. The development of Kota Maksum was inseparable from the collaboration between the kingdom and the Dutch colonialists at that time so that the buildings of the Sultanate Many Delis were built by Dutch architects, including the Kota Maksum area. One proof of the legacy of the residence of the Deli nobles in Maksum City today is the house of Sultan Amaluddin Tengku Khalijah's wife. This house is the residence of Tengku Khalijah, the wife of Sultan Amaluddin Sani Perkasa Alamsyah, located in Maksum City. What's unique is that this house still stands strong today, even though it looks like the house is not very well maintained. In this way, the author immediately plunged into the field to see the house. This research aims to reveal the architectural style and ornaments used in the house of Sultan Amaluddin Tengku Khalijah's wife in Maksum City. The research method used in this research is a historical approach using data collection techniques through field observations, direct interviews with Tengku Khalijah's descendants, and literature study. The findings from this research show that Tengku Khalijah's house is structurally styled using Dutch colonial architecture which can be seen in elements such as stiles, doors, windows, dormer roofs, roof peak decoration and the use of the dominant color white in the house which is generally also used. on Other Colonial houses. Several typical Malay ornaments with floral motifs are also used in this house.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa surface motility and invasion into competing communities enhance interspecies antagonism.

The polymicrobial nature of many chronic infections makes their eradication challenging. Particularly, coisolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus from airways of people with cystic fibrosis and chronic wound infections is common and associated with severe clinical outcomes. The complex interplay between these pathogens is not fully understood, highlighting the need for continued research to improve management of chronic infections. Our study unveils that P. aeruginosa is attracted to S. aureus, invades into neighboring colonies, and secretes anti-staphylococcal factors into the interior of the colony. Upon inhibition of P. aeruginosa motility and thus invasion, S. aureus colony architecture changes dramatically, whereby S. aureus is protected from P. aeruginosa antagonism and responds through physiological alterations that may further hamper treatment. These studies reinforce accumulating evidence that spatial structuring can dictate community resilience and reveal that motility and chemotaxis are critical drivers of interspecies competition.

Visitor Loyalty of Commercial Buildings with Colonial Architecture Concepts in Indonesia

Visitor Loyalty of Commercial Buildings with Colonial Architecture Concepts in Indonesia

Bioclimatic design approach in colonial office buildings architecture in Algeria

This study investigates the interaction between climate and colonial architectural heritage, focusing on the adaptive design strategies employed in office buildings constructed during the colonial period. Utilizing a bioclimatic approach and referencing Mahony's table, the research conducts a comparative analysis between the recommendations of bioclimatic design principles and the responsive design strategies adopted by French engineers during the colonial era. The objective is to determine whether these colonial-era buildings were constructed in accordance with local climatic conditions. The findings of this study shed light on architecture that effectively responds to climate, serving as an important source of inspiration for contemporary designers. This is particularly relevant at a time when the harmonious relationship between modern architectural design and climate challenges has diminished. This research contributes to a better understanding of the integration of bioclimatic principles in colonial architecture, offering valuable insights for developing sustainable and resilient design strategies in the face of current climate changes. By re-evaluating past practices, it proposes a thorough reflection on the importance of designing buildings adapted to environmental specificities, promoting a more ecological and contextual approach to contemporary architecture.

(UN) COVERING KARACHI: THE CREATION OF A BRITISH VISUAL LANGUAGE IN SINDH

Karachi, a city of 14000 people, was evolving as an important port for strategic geopolitical reasons and increasing trade at the time of the British conquest in 1843. However, it was not equipped with the infrastructure — such as an all-weather port — required for its continued economic progress. The fort town had a Chabutra (Custom House), shrines, temples, and caravanserais interspersed among the large havelis and houses of Hindu merchants and government functionaries. Neither the fort nor the Chabutra survived British colonial rule in Sindh. In fact, in keeping with their plans for the city, the British demolished these structures fairly early on in their rule of Sindh. The subsequent establishment of British institutions and political infrastructure was reinforced by the construction of buildings and monuments that looked distinctly European in style. This was not only because of the architectural styles employed in these buildings but also in the choice of ornamentation. For example, by patronizing artisans that were well versed in stone engravings and sculpture making, the British shifted attention away from the art of traditional frescoes, painting, and glazed tiles. This paper explores how the Occident imported architectural and visual cultural styles and forms into their colonies to create an entirely new visual language for their colonized subjects in South Asia. It argues that this was done deliberately to ensure political legitimacy in the eyes of their subjects as well as to highlight their own cultural superiority. The lack of native creative expression and the emergence of the modernist movement eventually led to their disappearance from structures built after Independence. This was a colonial project deeply entrenched in discourses of racism and inequality. Keywords: Colonial Architecture, Hegemony, Tradition, Architectural Movements, Colonialism

MODERNIST HERITAGE OF KARACHI: AN ARCHIVAL OF A COLLECTIVE MEMORY FROM AN ART DECO LENS

“To look at emotion and desire in architecture is not to discount the simple fact that most buildings have a practical purpose. But that practical purpose is rarely pursued with perfect detachment or indifferent calculation. To build and to inhabit are not small actions, and it is hard to undertake them with coolness.” Rowan Moore's text ‘Why We Build’ talks about desires shaping and giving form to the spaces we inhabit (Moore R. 20213). Practicality is always underlined by a necessity that gives rise to a desire. In my grandparent's house from the ’50s, all the interior spaces of the house were clustered around a sehen1. The spaces were connected by a seamless concrete floor, commonly present in most houses built in the ’50s and ’60s. This had a very practical purpose to it. Every summer the whole house was hosed down with water. Because of a seamless floor that connected all the rooms to the lounge and the lounge to the sehen, water could easily flow outside into a drain in the sehen. It proved to be sustainable in many ways as it lowered the temperature of the whole house for most of the day. There is a very simplistic desire behind a concrete floor. Domestic spaces of such a typology are nostalgic and a part of a collective memory of houses and apartments from the 50s and 60s. Many houses in Karachi within areas like North Nazimabad, P.E.C.H.S., and Bahadurabad are examples of a regional language that developed in these two decades. When it comes towards nostalgia and memory we often find the built spaces that preserved a memory were heritage from the colonialist period. A built reminiscent of power and dominance. But there is another kind of collective memory that talks about the simplistic details shared earlier. This detail is a part of a typology that speaks to another kind of heritage. A heritage that we reclaimed in post-colonial times. Using the lens of Art Deco homes, the paper studies the transformation of a global movement into a local aesthetic. By recording the narrative of the inhabitants of these structures, this research can create a conversation about the sensitivities we have towards these vernacular techniques that developed a modern and brutalist-inspired heritage for the city of Karachi. The city’s heritage is more than the colonial architecture found in the old town. These modernist structures present another kind of heritage, unique to the architectural vocabulary of Karachi, and represent a climatic sensibility that developed over the 20th century, building a modernist identity of Karachi’s architecture. Keywords: Modern Architecture, Art Deco, Post-Colonial, Collective Memory Nostalgia

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HOTELS OF THE JET AGE IN PAKISTAN AND INDIA: THE INTERCONTINENTAL IN KARACHI AND THE OBEROI INTERCONTINENTAL IN NEW DELHI

This paper focuses on the architecture, interior design, and promotion of new United States-financed international business and tourist hotels of the 1960s in Karachi and New Delhi, analysing these as transcultural spaces of modernity during the early jet age. In part, these and many other US-financed hotels in locations relatively close to the Soviet sphere of influence in Asia, North Africa and Europe were political symbols, promoting the the American way of life, but they were also symbolic of the aspirations of mainly post-colonial nations to project images of progress and national development. The research builds upon other recent scholarship on the manifestations and experiences of modernism in architecture, planning and travel in the Indian Subcontinent in the post-Second World War era and how modern architecture and post-colonial political framework went hand in hand with each other. Keywords: Post Colonial Architecture, Nationalism, Modern Architecture, Hotels, Subcontinent

Managing Luso-Utopia in Guinea-Bissau: Imperial Fictions and Dwelling Practices in Late Portuguese Colonialism (1945-74)

Portugal ruled Guinea-Bissau (then Portuguese Guinea), one of the last European colonial empires, until 1974, when the fifty-year dictatorship was overthrown and the colony dismantled. Until that time, its power had been maintained through the productive nationalist fiction, commonly referred to as luso-tropicalism, that the Portuguese created peaceful multi-racial colonial cultures through miscegenation. This paper examines the spatial production of this fiction as a concrete political utopia in the empire’s last phase in Africa, from 1945 to 1974, by looking at how colonial spatial practices in Guinea-Bissau contributed to both the assembling and the disassembling of empire. Grounded in original archival and field research conducted in Guinea-Bissau from 2019 to 2023, this paper asks what architectural and urban planning practices supported the fruition of a luso-tropical horizon. This involves analysing not only experts and their designs, but also how these contributed to everyday experiences of space through which Portuguese and Guineans dwelled in the luso-tropical utopia. Dwelling is here understood as both a set of architectural practices that define housing and city as well as the lived experience of urbanity. This approach enables a critical examination of how Portugal’s enduring imperial fiction was produced, managed, and lived in colonial spatialities, while also identifying the residue from colonialism that has persisted from these dwelling experiences into the present. This article, thus, expands the field of colonial architecture historiography by presenting a little-known case study which exposes architecture’s ties to governance, violence and resistance; it also assesses the political effects and residues of a colonial utopia in the present, by addressing the lived experience and agency of Guineans in architecture history.

Temporal displacement: colonial architecture and its contestation

Between 1950 and 1979 the Danish state worked to modernise Kalaallit Nunaat (a.k.a. Greenland) and concentrate the Indigenous Inuit population in a few select cities. Technologies of urban planning and development were merged with those of the colonial state. New forms of housing materialised whose qualities aligned with assimilation schemes, but were also resisted, their uses repurposed. These movements and counter-movements, I show, speak to how the built environment scripts time and temporality. Considering architecture as a ‘material politics of time’, I develop the concept of ‘temporal displacement’ in close conversation with the empirical material examined: archival materials and documents key to shaping and effectuating Danish-led policies, and documents that speak to Kalaallit’s contestation of the new types of housing being introduced. Three main aspects to temporal displacement are emphasised: (I) the eviction of the present to the past and the anachronism that follows from this; (II) biopolitical materialisations of the so-called ‘new order’; and (III) contestation by claiming contemporaneity for temporally evicted practices, activating that which hegemonic time renders as past as being in the present. The concept of ‘active past’ is suggested to capture how ideas of the past are activated in, unsettled, and renegotiated in the present.

Colonial Canal Built Environment of Multan Punjab: An Analysis of Administrative & Residential Structures

Architectural structures are mirrors of society’s standard of living, norms as well as values, especially the old architectural structures, that are not only the tangible realities rather the providers of the clues to the patterns of living and human sense of understanding including the aesthetic sense. This research aims to analyses about the residential and official built structures of colonial era Multan in this perspective. The study also explores the architectural representation, ornamentation patterns, usage of spaces, and usage of material and climatic aspects of built structures of canal department in colonial Multan. Studying the drawings of the built structures (colonial circuit offices and bungalows of Multan), photographs, original and secondary type of documents are used while analyzing the colonial architecture of canal department of Multan. Analyzing the bungalows, the question taken up is: how different styles of architecture were adopted? and why these residential and official structures were built separately away from local populated area of Multan? Although the structure was developed in the sub-continent, both in terms of form and name, yet an indigenous typology of built environment was adapted and adopted by the Europeans and Bungalows as representative element of colonial built environment were restricted to Europeans. The colonial architecture fulfilled represented the social, environmental and political requirements of administrative European and mercantile class. Among the urban centers in India, Multan was one of the most important canal center that was occupied by the British in 1849 CE. It became an important frontier cantonment station in Punjab and very soon the major canal colony district of the British India. Therefore, the study analyses an important section of colonial continuity as Multan Canal Division still is represented as the agricultural center of Pakistani Punjab and Canal built structure is still functional and used residentially, administratively and for communication and irrigation purposes..

The impact of the colonial architecture on the urban sustainability of Laghouat city in Algeria: ksar of Laghouat as a case

Among the risks that cities are exposed to, colonization emerges as a multifaceted concern representing historical and modern dimensions that can significantly impact a city’s urban sustainability. This study explores the diverse implications of colonization on the urban sustainability with a focus on the Ksar of Laghouat in Laghouat city, Algeria. It examines the urban adaptation cycle and the imprint left by the colonial era on the fabric of the city. Utilizing the method of adaptive cycle approach and transfer entropy analysis, our goal is to quantify interaction on the historical and urban development of potential, connectedness, and resilience of Laghouat city. This study enhances the understanding of the Architectural heritage of Algeria and highlights dynamics between traditional and colonial architectural dimensions of Ksar of Laghouat. By assimilating the impact of colonization on the urban development of the city, we aim to improve the resilience and sustainability of Laghouat, through empowering its local community, and providing decision-makers with valuable sustainable strategies and adaptation mechanisms for future urban visions of the city.

Architectural Study of Colonial Building Facades in Indentifying the Existence of Heritage Tourism in Bireuen City

Abstract Conservation of historycal buildings is one of the objectives of sustainable heritage tourism. Bireuen City is one of the cities that has historycal heritage during the dutch-colonial colonial period in the form of buildings and environments. The purpose of this historycal building conservation research is to provide education to the community in the Bireuen City environment, in an effort to form a sense of belonging to heritage tourism assets and build Environmental Awareness so that it can then encourage a sense of responsibility to maintain its sustainability. Unique, distinctive and characterful architecture can be observed on a number of building facades such as past buildings and become a continuous comparison of the value of construction resilience, adaptation to the environment, and natural disasters. This research uses qualitative descriptive methods with field observation, interview, and documentation techniques. The results of the study are the discovery of the heritage tourism area, identification of the physical identity of colonial architectural facades, historycal values of colonial architecture and education to the public

Investigation of colonial architecture’s influence on the resilience and sustainability of the limasan house in Ndalem Ngabean

Vernacular architecture is one of the symbols that represent a certain area through various aspects that fits to the condition of the built environment. One of the vernacular architecture in Indonesia is the Limasan house which originated from Yogyakarta with a pyramid-shaped roof as its hallmark. The purpose of this research is to identify the sustainability and resilience of the design of Yogyakarta’s Limasan house in Ndalem Ngabean in accordance with colonial architecture. The methods used in this paper are literature study, building observation on Limasan’s architectural features, and field study conducted in Yogyakarta. The result shows that there are visible features of colonial architecture in the physical appearance of the Limasan house. This indicates that the sustainability and resilience of Limasan House is influenced by colonial architecture.