June 01 2016 African Modernism: The Architecture of Independence: Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia African Modernism: The Architecture of Independence: Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia Edited by ManuelHerz with IngridSchröder, HansFocketyn and JuliaJamrozik, photographs by IwanBaan and AlexiaWebsterZurich: Park Books AG, 2015. 640 pp., 909 color and 54 b/w ill., 246 plans. €68, paper Author and Article Information Online Issn: 1937-2108 Print Issn: 0001-9933 © 2016 by the Regents of the University of California.2016 African Arts (2016) 49 (2): 94–95. https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_r_00294 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation African Modernism: The Architecture of Independence: Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia. African Arts 2016; 49 (2): 94–95. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/AFAR_r_00294 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsAfrican Arts Search Advanced Search Manuel Herz and his team of researchers and photographers have put together a stunning collection of material on Africa's little-known modern architecture. The book's 640 pages covering Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia—countries chosen for practical, geographic, and architectural reasons—contain hundreds of photographs of the modernist office towers, schools, parks, private residences, and hotels that shot up throughout the continent during the buoyant era of independence. These structures were often constructed of minimally adorned industrial glass, steel, and concrete, yet adopted “African” inspired forms, patterns, and climatic considerations (especially an emphasis on shade and air circulation), resulting in a distinct physical record of the triumphs, contradictions, and disappointments of decolonization and independence. Herz's introduction, “The New Domain: Architecture at the Time of Liberation,” considers what scholars might learn from studying Africa's robust—yet quickly disappearing—modernist archive and considers what “independent” and “modern” mean in an African context. Drawing on the... You do not currently have access to this content.