African architectures

By Berend van der Lans

On the 8th of June the conference African Architecture Today, held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana was drawn to a close. Speakers and participants from all over the continent, as well as from the United States and Europe, were present to try to define African architecture and the state it is in at present. Via introductions by Paul Oliver (UK) – who has been studying the vernacular architecture world over – and Labelle Prussin (USA) – involved in many building projects in Ghana’s early days, whilst teaching at the KNUST in Kumasi – the participants were lead from traditional to the recent architectural developments.

Many debates were focused on the question whether the architectural practice in Africa should return to it’s traditional roots and pick up from pre-colonial times, or if the colonial and later developments are to be seen as the continuation of a process. Cordelia Osasona (Nigeria) presented her extensive studies on the contemporary vernacular and proved that indeed there is a modern architectural language evolving in current times which can be classified as African, although she states that this term is too broad. She showed that the mass housing which is so common in Africa – corrugated sheets as roofing material and concrete blocks – and often seen as the loss of the architectural heritage of Africa, is containing more culturally embedded elements than one would expect at first glance. Of course there is certain decoration, but it also goes as far as floor planning, layering and organization. Via examples from Nigeria she pointed out how the current blend of cultures – Yoruba, post-colonial and Afro-Brazilian – is incorporated in the contemporary vernacular.

Other sessions focused on the position of the African architectural history. They tried to find an answer to the question how the history of African architecture can be given more attention on the continent as well as abroad. Many speakers proved the relations with architectural developments elsewhere in the world and emphasized the importance to include African architecture in the study of this common path.

The closing lecture by Joe Osae Addo was a call towards to future. Architect Osae Addo, born in Ghana but trained in the UK and having practiced for over 20 years in the UK and US, returned to his homeland few years ago and established his practice in Accra. While stating that African architects have to start working on sustainable proposals, bearing in mind local materials, social structures and climatic conditions, he underlined this by showing some of his recent work, like the colourful Tamale street signs and his own residence.

Hilde Heynen’s (Belgium) conclusion that it would be better to speak of African architectures, rather than African architecture, due to the wide variety in subjects, styles, approaches, was met with common approval.

The search for a body to enhance the debate was met in the conclusive statement; this initiative should be followed by a biannual conference on the subject, while institutional collaboration within Africa and abroad should be stimulated. There was also a call for more dissemination of work on African architecture, as well as of African architects. Goals were set to make the next conference a true continent-wide experience, since the francophone and lusophone speakers and participants were absent, despite of the excellent interpreting services offered. The organizing team from KNUST soon starts working on the follow up, which preferably will be held at another location.

This text was written for the website www.powerofculture.nl