Historiography

The African Architectural and Urban History Network AFRAUHN Nairobi : 8-10 September 2026; conference update

July 17, 2026

Africa, AHUWA, call for papers, Global Architecture, Heritage, Historiography, transnational, Tropical Architecture

The African Architectural and Urban History Network (AFRAUHN), in collaboration with the Department of Architecture at the University of Nairobi, invites proposals for papers about emerging discourses and themes in African architectural and urban practices for a major international conference being held at the University of Nairobi from 8th September – 10th September 2026.

Details here https://www.afrauhn.org/

Nairobi, Kenya. Photo by Amani Nation on Unsplash

It will be the second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference, the first having taken place at the Wits School of Architecture and Planning in South Africa in July 2024. Recognizing that discourses about African architecture and urban planning are more complex than the bifurcated ‘traditional’/‘colonial’ or ‘African’/‘Western’ models which still tend to dominate the research, writing, environmental design and spatial design practices in the continent, this conference instead welcomes contributions that critically examine the status quo(s) of these models and disciplines – be that in terms of academic, practice, national institutions or regulatory bodies, or as are imagined by policy-makers in forms of urban development which are then disseminated to the public.

This second AFRAUHN bi-annual conference is organized to coincide with the inaugural Pan-African Biennale of Architecture, curated by Omar Degan and team, and which is also being held in September 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya

TUESDAY, 8th SEPTEMBER 2026: CONFERENCE DAY 1

INTRODUCTION: 09.30–10.00 – Prof Nnamdi Elleh, AFRAUHN

SESSION 1: 10.00–12.30 – Reclaiming Regional Identity in Kenyan Architecture [4 papers x 20minutes each]

Chair: Prof Robert Rukwaro

This session explores the intellectual and philosophical foundations of Kenyan architectural identity through the lens of vernacular knowledge systems, material intelligence, and spatial order. The presentation argues that traditional architecture in Kenya is not merely heritage to be preserved, but a living epistemic framework capable of informing contemporary design practice. Indigenous construction logics across Kenya’s diverse communities, ecological adaptation strategies, and collective spatial memory are examined as repositories of theory rather than cultural artefacts.

The discussion interrogates the tension between global architectural visibility and regional authenticity within the Kenyan context. If international planning and design models and homogenised aesthetics have shaped much of contemporary built production in Nairobi and other urban centres, what would it mean to design from within Kenyan ontologies rather than around them? How can architectural historiography and design research reposition Kenyan spatial traditions as generative rather than derivative?

Given that this platform seeks to advance scholarly and professional debate on Kenyan architectural identity, we welcome papers from researchers, practitioners, and emerging scholars working on vernacular knowledge, regional historiography, climatic adaptation, material culture, and contemporary reinterpretations of indigenous spatial systems. Papers may engage historical case studies, theoretical reflections, built work, or methodological innovations. As this convening includes significant time for dialogue and exchange, participants interested in contributing to the discussion are strongly encouraged to take part.

Lunch: 12:30–14:00

SESSION 2: 14.00–16.30 – Architectural Education in Africa: When the Curriculum Leans Towards a Eurocentric Body of Knowledge [4 papers x 20minutes each]

Chair: Arch. Erastus Abonyo

This discussion critically examines the structural imbalance in architectural education in Africa, where curricular frameworks often privilege Euro-American canons while local knowledge systems remain marginalised. The presentation interrogates how epistemic hierarchies are reproduced through studio culture, citation practices, accreditation standards, and benchmarking systems, questioning how legitimacy in architectural scholarship is constructed within African institutions.

The conversation explores the professional and intellectual consequences of this imbalance. How can architectural education in African prepare students for contexts defined by informality, hybrid land regimes, climate vulnerability, and postcolonial spatial inequality characteristic of African cities and towns? In what ways can indigenous material intelligence, oral archives, and community spatial governance be integrated as methodological frameworks rather than aesthetic references?

This convening especially welcomes papers that reflect upon the following pedagogical and methodological questions:

• How have architectural curricula in Africa been shaped by inherited colonial academic models, and what remains structurally embedded?
• What knowledge systems and epistemologies construct ideas of “architecture” within African institutions, and what forms of knowledge are excluded?
• How do accreditation standards, benchmarking systems, and global validation mechanisms influence curricular design and research priorities?
• In what ways can studio culture, critique language, and research training be recalibrated to centre African socio-spatial realities?

Contributions that critically engage these questions—through empirical research, curriculum analysis, policy review, or pedagogical experimentation—are particularly encouraged.

Coffee/tea break: 16.30–17.00

CONFERENCE KEYNOTE LECTURE:19.00

OMAR DEGAN, Curating the Pan-African Biennale of Architecture: From Fragility to Resilience

Respondent: Prof Nnamdi Elleh

WEDNESDAY, 9th SEPTEMBER 2026: CONFERENCE DAY 2

SESSION 3: 10.00–12.30 – Writing African Architectural History? [4 papers x 20minutes each]

Chair: Prof Ola Uduku

This session will provide a forum for discussion amongst early career researchers involved in the recently concluded and British Academy-funded ‘Writing Campus Modernisms’ project. This project engaged a number of academic institutions and scholars/students across Africa in the creation of an open-source working collection of fiches documenting campus design in three African countries: Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda. Whilst the personal experiences of each speaker will be the focus of the four contributions, the challenges, connections and opportunities that this project produced will form the background to the discussion which the speakers will deliver.

Given that this panel is framed around the reflections of Early Career Researchers who were involved in the ‘Writing Campus Modernisms’ research project – with four such ECR presenters already identified – we welcome a maximum of two further short paper contributions from Africa-based ECRs with experience related to research writing focused specifically on post-Second World War campus architecture in Africa. As this session also includes a significant slot for audience participation and discussion, we thus welcome all participants who are interested in contributing to take part.

Lunch: 12:30–14:00

SESSION 4: 14.00–16.30 – Shifting the Ground for Thinking the Historiographies of African Architecture and Urbanism [4 papers x 20minutes each]

Chair: Prof Ikem Okoye

Does the Africa-focused historian’s familiar distrust of the archive and its orientation extend to the built environments that form a structural, symbolic, and representational knowledge apparatus? Should it? An archive implies more than a physical repository of knowledge; it also reflects a value system. Histories of built environments intervene in both. They provide tangible and knowledge-related custodianship of documentary records that confer the legitimacy of governing bodies, and they also suggest alternate archival evidence and forms of authority.

This session invites papers, especially from early-career scholars, addressing any of these issues and or questions. The aim is to bring together senior scholars and those yet at the beginning of their professional careers as architectural or art historians and/or architectural or art critics, to create a discussion in a dialogical format.

Coffee/tea break: 16.30–17.00

Plenary Discussion: 17.00–18.30

This session will include short presentations and a roundtable discussion among some specially invited speakers from among the participants who are presenting their work in the Pan-African Biennale of Architecture at the same time as the AFRAUHN conference. The session will then lead into the main keynote lecture.

Chair: Prof Ola Uduku

Conference dinner: 20.30–22.00

THURSDAY, 10th SEPTEMBER 2026: CONFERENCE DAY 3

SESSION 5: 10.00–12.30 – What happened to Tropical Architecture? [4 papers x 20 minutes each]

Chair: Prof Nnamdi Elleh

What happened to tropical architecture that is adapted to the regional climates of Africa?

In Africa’s cities, we live, socialize and work in large buildings. Each day, these buildings are confronted with needs for heating, cooling, dust protection, daylighting, maintenance etc to provide conducive environments that function well for users. The cadence of life in these large African buildings suggests there is nothing nostalgic in questioning what happened to the concept of tropical architecture? We acknowledge the work of architects like Francis Kere and Nina Maritz in providing natural cooling, daylighting, and an appropriate use of materials and construction technology.

However, in cities as diverse as Cape Town, Abidjan, Cairo, Djibouti, Luanda or Casablanca, the bourgeoning African built environment is increasingly dominated by high- and medium-rise crystalline structures that are sealed as if built in a climate zone that fluctuates seasonally between extreme cold and heat. In a period when sustainable environmental design is a buzzword, it is baffling that architects still design structures which need artificial heating/cooling.

This session welcomes papers that explore how clients and designers can become re-sensitized to by taking advantage of natural African environments.

Lunch: 12.30–14.00

SESSION 6: 14.00–16.30 – Constructing Coloniality: Nodes of Imperialism and the East African Built Environment [4 papers x 20 minutes each]

Chair: Prof Eva Branscome

This session focuses on the coloniality of architecture and heritage of East Africa in relation to the diverse empires and trading networks which historically connected that region to peoples across the Arabian Sea and on associated islands in the Indian Ocean, as well as to Europe and the Indian subcontinent or further afield. The aim is to reassess East Africa’s built environment in wake of those former colonial systems.

Building types can include yet are not limited to the following:domestic environments; landscapes and agricultural production; urban environments such as streets, squares and gardens; factories and other sites of industrial production; sites of assembly, leisure and entertainment; places of worship; buildings for colonial administration; commercial infrastructure such as ports, waterways and railways; heritage sites and current conservation practices.

The session especially welcomes papers which reflect upon the following historiographical and methodological questions:

How have the professions, disciplines and discourses of architecture, design and heritage been shaped by and participated in imperialism, coloniality and racism?
What are the knowledge systems and epistemologies that construct ideas of ‘architecture’ and ‘heritage’, and what is excluded and why?
How do financial systems, supply chains and concepts of tenure and relations to the land shape the production of built environments?
How does the coloniality of architecture and built heritage relate to histories of extractivism and energy use?

Tea break: 16.30–17.00

SESSION 7: 17.00–18.00 – Design Research in African Architectural and Urban History [2 speakers x 20 minutes each]

Chair: Prof Murray Fraser

This final session offers a forum for those involved in designing for the African built environment to discuss the kinds of design research that they are engaged upon as a component of their built or unbuilt work. Particularly welcome are those proposals for presentations by up-and-coming architects/architectural practices who are currently designing innovative and anticipatory projects for villages, towns or cities on the African continent.

AFRAUHN FUTURE STEPS: 18.00–18.30

Discussion about future plans for the AFRAUHN research network.

FRIDAY, 11th SEPTEMBER 2026

TRAVEL TO MOMBASA

Conference participants/attendees are also invited to take the train to Mombasa for a specially organised architectural and urban tour of that coastal city. Early registration is required from those wanting to take part in this tour. Costs for this will be confirmed in due course.

Supporting institutions

Pan-African Biennale of Architecture
Architectural Association of Kenya
Campus Innovation Laboratory (CIL),University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Department of Art History, University of Delaware, USA
Liverpool School of Architecture, University of Liverpool, UK
The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, UK.

Scientific Committee

Professor Irene Appeaning Addo, University of Ghana, Legon (Ghana)

George Arrabu Ndege, President of the Architectural Association of Kenya

Professor Eva Branscome, University College London (UK)

Dr Warebi Brisibe, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (Nigeria)

Professor Marshall Brown, Princeton University (USA)

Omar Degan, Pan-African Biennale of Architecture

Professor Nnamdi Elleh, University of Witwatersrand (South Africa)

Professor Murray Fraser, University College London (UK)

Prof Julia Gallagher, King’s College London (UK)

Jacqueline Khairu, Chairperson – Architects’ Chapter, Architectural Association of Kenya

Dr Linda Nkatha Gichuyia, University of Nairobi (Kenya)

Professor Ikem Stanley Okoye, University of Delaware (USA)

Prof Robert Rukwaro, University of Nairobi (Kenya)

Dr Anooradha Siddiqi, Barnard College, Columbia University (USA)

Professor Ola Uduku, University of Liverpool (UK)

‘Architecture, Empire and Trade’ wins at the Architectural Book Awards 2026

By jacksoniain

July 2, 2026

Africa, AHUWA, Archives, British Colonial Architecture, European Transnational, Ghana, Global Architecture, Heritage, Historiography, Ibadan, Lagos, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tropical Architecture, United Africa Company

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Architecture, Empire and Trade wins at the Architectural Book Awards 2026

Architecture, Empire and Trade: The United Africa Company has won a category prize at this year’s Architectural Book Awards. It was named a joint winner for Best Architectural History Book of 2026. It’s free open access and now available in a paperback as well as hardback.

The awards are run by Booklaunch, the quarterly on books and publishing. Judging is anonymous. The categories change each year to fit what has been submitted and the awards are currently in their fourth year.

The judging took an unusual turn this year. For the first time the panel declined to name an overall Book of the Year. The editor, Stephen Games, said the field was too strong and too varied to rank one title above the rest. The judges took the view that serious criticism follows the evidence rather than forcing a hierarchy. So they named category winners and left it there.

Nine titles won across four categories. Between them they are the work of twenty authors, editors and photographers. Four came from university presses.

Our category, history, had four joint winners. We proudly share it with Women at Work, a study of the Cambridge School of Architecture; The Belgian Friendship Building; and Marvin Trachtenberg’s reassessment of Brunelleschi. Good company.

The book is the work of five of us: Ewan Harrison, Michele Tenzon, Rixt Woudstra, Claire Tunstall and myself. The team spans Liverpool, Manchester, Amsterdam, Delft, and the Unilever Archives. It is published by Bloomsbury Visual Arts – I’d like to thank my co-authors for their hard work, and to James Thompson and Ros O’Cleirigh at Bloomsbury for their ongoing support.

The book is part of the wider AHUWA work on British commercial urbanism in West Africa. That work continues, including current research on the timber trade across Ghana and Nigeria, working with Claire on digitising/AIing the archives, and continuing the Kingsway exhibitions. The prize puts the book in front of readers who might not otherwise come across it. That is reason enough to be pleased, and thanks to the judges for selecting our work.

Stone Town in Zanzibar: Beyond Tourism and Heritage

By jacksoniain

June 3, 2026

Africa, Heritage, Historiography, transnational, Tropical Architecture, Zanzibar

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Stone Town: Beyond Tourism and Heritage by Maria Lookmanji

This dissertation investigates the Indo-Zanzibari community’s daily practices that shape belonging in the historic city of Stone Town, Zanzibar, and their methods of community-based, socio-spatial maintenance of space. To address this overlooked topic related to conservation, results from a participatory photography methodology are analysed. The remote, participatory image-based research (RPIBR) allows the Indo-Zanzibaris to document their under-researched spatial priorities and negotiations, giving them agency due to the insider knowledge and co-curated documentation.

The visual analysis across 64 images shows Indo-Zanzibari belonging grounded in routine trade-focused activity, improvised contemporary additions and wide networks of circulation beyond the heritage-inscribed boundaries of Stone Town. Practices interpreted as chaos or neglect, are reframed to show the collective community familiarity and responsive knowledge to contextual constraints and the complicated conditions of the country.

By focusing on evidence of everyday practice, Indo-Zanzibari presence is shown through urban responsibility and spatial negotiation rather than a curated display of performed heritage outside of lived necessity. The dissertation questions the nature of traditional conservation guidelines, emphasising the need to shift priority away from tourism and static heritage narratives, which aim to simply preserve the built environment, and instead draw attention to community and cultural survival.

Read the full dissertation here:

Stonetown DISSERTATION 2026 Download

Lever “Ethnographic” Collection at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight

By jacksoniain

May 18, 2026

Africa, AHUWA, Archives, Heritage, Historiography, Nigeria, transnational, United Africa Company

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How should we catalogue, describe, present, and interpret museum objects? These are never easy questions and even more difficult when they form part of an ‘ethnographic’ collection.

The @leverartgallery in Port Sunlight has a major collection gathered by industrialist William Lever from his sojourns to West and Central Africa – but very little is known about the objects, and they rarely get displayed because of this.

Together with colleagues from @liverpoolmuseums and AHUWA / Liverpool University we invited members of the Congolese Association to join us in a workshop and to rethink how we might begin to catalogue and understand the art, instruments, weapons, fabrics… We were delighted to be joined by Congolese Ambassador Ndolamb Ngokwey and to have expert facilitation from @bluesaint .

It was only a trial , but the proof of concept worked really well. Looking forward to seeing the other objects and learning more.3 d

The Architectural History of Postcolonial West African Universities

By jacksoniain

May 11, 2026

Africa, AHUWA, Archives, British Colonial Architecture, Fry & Drew, Historiography, Nigeria, Tropical Architecture

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The Architectural History of Postcolonial West African Universities

Adefola Toye is a PhD student at the University of Liverpool, co-supervised with The National Archives through a Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme. Her research examines university architecture in mid-twentieth-century Nigeria, tracing how campus design and construction shifted as political control transferred from colonial to independent governments.

The post-war period saw a wave of university building across British West Africa, funded through Colonial Development and Welfare Acts and overseen by the Inter-University Council for Higher Education in the Colonies. University College Ibadan, designed by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, is the most widely studied example. But Adefola’s research moves beyond Ibadan to less well-known institutions: the Nigerian College of Art, Science and Technology (1951) and the four universities established immediately after independence in 1960, including Ahmadu Bello University, Obafemi Awolowo University, and the University of Lagos.

Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology (NCAST) campus in Zaria. Catalogue reference: INF 10/244

In this post for The National Archives, Adefola discusses how she has used colonial records at Kew to study these institutions and their built environments. She also addresses a problem central to any archival study of this period. As independence approached, British oversight diminished and documentation thinned out. The Colonial Office files become sparser, and the story can only be reconstructed by working across multiple archives and geographies, from the National Archives of Nigeria to the Bodleian Library in Oxford and Michigan State University. Her argument is clear: no single archive can sustain a full account of how these campuses were planned, negotiated, and built. The research demands a multi-archival and transnational approach.

Congratulations to Adefola on successfully defending her PhD on 8th May 2026.

Read the full post here: The architectural history of postcolonial West African universities

Originally published by The National Archives under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What Ghana’s foreign‑built landmarks tell us about its global relationships

By jacksoniain

May 6, 2026

Africa, Ghana, Global Architecture, Heritage, Historiography, India, transnational, Tropical Architecture

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What Ghana’s foreign‑built landmarks tell us about its global relationships

Irene Appeaning Addo, University of Ghana

The call to prayer echoes across the neighbourhood as people congregate under the sweeping domes and tall minarets of Ghana’s National Mosque in Accra. For many, it is a place of faith, community and national pride. Yet, few pause to consider that this landmark – now firmly part of Accra’s skyline – was funded and built by Turkey.

This detail points to a bigger story. Some of Ghana’s most important public buildings are shaped by global relationships as much as local needs. And those relationships are not just economic; they are deeply political.

Therefore buildings are not just functional. They are powerful expressions of political power, used to describe and project ideas about hierarchy, state authority, solidarity and modernity.

As a result, architecture can be used to explore the identity and ideology of African states and international partners who choose to finance or donate new buildings to Africa featuring western architectural aesthetics.

I am a scholar of African architecture. I collaborated with scholars from different areas of expertise, including political scientists, on a project that studied the connection between architecture and power in Africa. From Ghana, two projects were used to illustrate international relations in architecture, highlighting the interplay of power and agency. One was the National Mosque and the other was the seat of Ghana’s government, Jubilee House, an edifice funded by the government of India.

Ghana and India’s ties can be traced to their co-founding of the Non-Aligned Movement. These were a group of states not formally aligned with major power blocs during the cold war. Ghana and Turkey’s relationship goes as far back as 1957. Turkey is one of the leading investors in Ghana’s economy.

Our work established that when a country finances and constructs a major building abroad, it leaves a visible and lasting imprint on another nation’s landscape. The building becomes part of everyday life while reflecting the influence of its external sponsor. These buildings normalise the presence of the sponsoring nation and are a constant reminder of its political interests.

History written in buildings

Foreigners have been shaping Ghana’s built environment for centuries, from colonial forts along the coast to post-independence modernist projects designed by international architects.

Ghana’s architecture tells a layered story of power and exchange. During the colonial era, Europeans constructed forts and castles that dominated coastal landscapes. These were not just military structures; they were symbols of control and gateways to global trade networks, including the transatlantic slave trade. Sections of these buildings were later repurposed as schools, embedding education within spaces marked by violence and coercion.

This dual legacy highlights how architecture can carry multiple, often conflicting meanings over time.

After independence, Ghana sought to project a new national identity through modern architecture.

Foreign architects were commissioned to design housing, universities and civic buildings that would signal progress and global relevance. This moment reflected both aspiration and dependence: a desire to appear modern on the world stage, combined with reliance on external expertise and resources.

‘Soft power’

Today, Ghana continues to engage with global partners through architecture and infrastructure development. The National Mosque is one example. Backed by Turkey with the active involvement of Ghanaian Muslims, it represents both religious solidarity and diplomatic outreach underpinned by local agency.

Its scale, design and prominence make it a visible marker of Turkey’s presence in Ghana. The National Mosque Complex is modelled after the Ottoman-era Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. The national mosque in Accra features domes, semi-domes and arcaded porticos. These are the characteristics of Ottoman architecture, a predominant classical style for mosques in Turkey and the Islamic world.

Another example of political “gift” is Jubilee House, the seat of government. While financed and constructed with support from India, it incorporates the form of the Akan stool, a deeply significant symbol of authority in Ghanaian culture. This blending of external funding with local agency and symbolism shows that these projects are not simply imposed. They are shaped through negotiation.

Across the continent, similar patterns can be seen. China has funded major government buildings, including the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa and the Zimbabwe parliamentary complex. These projects are often described as “gifts”, but they also reflect strategic relationships and long-term influence. Political scientist Innocent Batsani-Ncube has illustrated how China’s large-scale investment in the Zimbabwe parliament is used as a proxy for its sustained activities in and around African parliamentary institutions.

Ghana’s case

It is easy to view foreign-funded infrastructure as purely beneficial, especially given Ghana’s development needs. But architecture is never neutral. Buildings embody power relationships in terms of the scale, materiality, the architectural features and the location in urban areas.

They reflect who has the resources to design, finance and construct, and whose ideas are ultimately realised in physical form. A mosque, a parliament or a presidential palace is not just a functional space; it is a statement about identity, legitimacy and global belonging of both the sponsor and the recipient country. In this sense, architecture becomes part of diplomacy. It is a way of making relationships visible – and durable.

Describing these projects simply as soft power, however, does not capture the full picture. Soft power theory often assumes that influence flows smoothly from powerful countries to less powerful ones.

Ghana’s experience suggests something more complex. Buildings cannot simply be “exported” like films or fashion. They are rooted in specific places, histories and communities. This creates friction.

For example, Ghana’s engagement with foreign-built projects often involves negotiation over design, symbolism and use. Local government officials, religious leaders and communities play a role in shaping outcomes.

In the case of the National Mosque, Ghanaian Muslim communities were not passive recipients. Their advocacy and social influence were crucial to the project’s realisation. Similarly, the incorporation of the Akan stool in Jubilee House reflects an effort to assert cultural identity. These examples show that foreign influence is most often mediated by local contexts.

Ghanaian actors’ agency in these processes has limits, however. Many decisions about large-scale projects are made by political elites. As a result, the interests reflected in these buildings may not represent the broader population.

These examples point to broader questions. Do foreign-funded buildings contribute to long-term development, or are they primarily symbolic? How can Ghana ensure that such projects reflect local priorities and needs? And what does it mean to build a national identity in a world shaped by global partnerships?

The links among soft power, public and cultural diplomacy, and development across the continent will continue to be subjects of research.

International relations scholars Joanne Tomkinson and Julia Gallagher contributed to the research that this article is derived from.

Irene Appeaning Addo, Associate Professor of African Architecture, University of Ghana

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Call for Papers: Cooling the Tropical Built Environment: Discomfort, Decolonization, and Decarbonization

By jacksoniain

March 26, 2026

call for papers, Historiography, transnational, Tropical Architecture

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SAH Conference, Chicago, 2027: The call for papers has been announced – and there are some fascinating and timely panels planned. This one caught our eye….

Session Chairs: Zhijian Sun and Qingyun Lin

Session Title: Cooling the Tropical Built Environment: Discomfort, Decolonization, and

Decarbonization

Session Description:

Tropical climate and building problems related to heat and humidity have long troubled

professionals both within and beyond the tropics, who resorted to various climatic

techniques around (late-)colonial networks to tame the tropics. During the Cold War, the

tropical world became a contested arena in the name of development aid. Despite relying

on a globally circulated climatic knowledge, thermal comfort norms and cooling

technologies, these state and non-state actors from socialist, capitalist and non-aligned

countries who engaged in postcolonial development, often produced discourses of

“tropicality” that deviated from Euro-American templates.

The stakeholders in the Global South were never merely passive recipients of

technological expertise, however. Rather they were often active mediators of multi-

directional global exchanges of “architectural resources”, in Łukasz Stanek’s (2020) term.

We invite papers interrogating global, transnational and local dynamics through

marginalized cases in the long-twentieth centuries across any (sub-)tropical areas,

including Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East

and elsewhere. We particularly welcome the nuanced perspective of “seeing from the

South,” especially how Southern institutions and individuals negotiated external

interventions around “collaborative” frameworks filled with heterogeneity, competition and

contingency. By examining processes, consequences and legacy of local reimagination

and reinterpretation of climate, built spaces, thermal (dis)comfort, labor and body, this

panel speaks to what Daniel Barber (2019) calls “decarbonization as decolonization.”

Drawing on Nicole Starosielski’s (2021) critical temperature studies, we view tropical built

environment’s (uneven) management of heat and cold as means of “enacting racialized,

classed and gendered forms of power.” We encourage proposals that engage the

interdependence between architecture’s climatic techniques, human body, non-human

actors, and exercise of socio-political power, focusing on the underappreciated roles of

marginalized people, suppressed knowledge, neglected practices, or ignored things.

Conference details https://sah.org/conferences/chicago-2027/call-for-papers-2027-annual-international-conference/ and full list of panel themes:

Click to access SAH-2027-Chicago-Call-for-Papers.pdf

Lagos Writing Workshop Reflections 4th -7th July 2025 at University of Lagos

By olauduku

November 27, 2025

Africa, AHUWA, Archives, Conferences, Global Architecture, Heritage, Historiography, Lagos, Nigeria, transnational, Tropical Architecture

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Lagos Workshop Reflections

Context

This document summarises the collective reflections from the Lagos Writing Workshop.

During the event, participating Early Career Researchers (ECRs) shared insights from

previous experiences organising student writing workshops in architecture. Discussions

included how to strengthen the pedagogical impact of these workshops, optimise cohort

composition, improve documentation and archiving, explore effective workshop models,

expand publishing and dissemination efforts, and establish robust logistical structures for the

long-term.

Based on these reflections, participants discussed how they might transform the workshop

series into a platform tentatively called the African Architecture History and Theory Network.

Such a platform would advance scholarship on the African built environment through various

events and opportunities for writing. It would involve academics and practitioners, on and off

the continent, who work on the history and theory of its built environment.

1. Pedagogical Impact and Institutional Uptake

A recurring theme in our conversations was the importance of tracing the workshop’s longer-

term impact. There were questions about the journeys of previous participants: Where are

they now? How many found their way into academia, and how many continued in

professional practice? More importantly, in what concrete ways did the workshop influence

their teaching, research, or approach to design and writing? This kind of follow-up could

strengthen the workshop’s role as a bridge to academic careers – if we so desired – and guide

how future editions are shaped to meet participants’ realities.

The discussion also brought up a common challenge: in many African universities, research

and writing are introduced into the curriculum only in their later stages. By that time,

valuable opportunities for skill development may have been lost. While institutional reforms

can be slow, participants identified opportunities for immediate action through informal

initiatives, such as integrating writing exercises into existing classes, establishing peer-review

groups, or mentoring students outside formal structures.

Participants emphasised the need to view the curriculum as a living and continuously

developing document that, even within the same framework, approached the material with

creativity in its delivery. This flexibility could open space for richer, more engaging writing,

teaching and development.

There was also a call to clarify the type of writing to prioritise: academic, creative, or a blend

of the two? Clearer goals would help ensure that teaching and mentoring efforts are aligned.

Finally, the group identified an opportunity for deeper institutional support: inviting

academics to serve as visiting scholars in specific schools, funded to spend extended periods

(perhaps a semester or more) and to help embed a writing community of practice more firmly

within an architecture department.

2. Cohort Composition and Interdisciplinarity

We reflected on how different compositions of workshop participant cohorts, such as single-

discipline or interdisciplinary, or those from a single institution or multiple institutions, shape

the workshop experience. Past multidisciplinary groups, comprising participants from various

universities, were seen as especially enriching, bringing fresh perspectives to both

discussions and writing. In particular, pairing architects with participants from other fields

interested in writing about buildings, as in the Accra workshops, proved valuable.

When it comes to larger participant numbers, colleagues suggested experimenting with group

essay writing. Under such conditions, each group member could contribute a section, as a

way to sustain engagement and produce richer outputs. This may require more work up front

to set it up effectively. Yet it promises to yield good results in the long run.

Another critical question was whether we had, in the past, assumed too much about

participants’ writing ability during the selection stages. In earlier workshops, many were

chosen because they could already write well. Moving forward, requesting writing samples

could help establish a baseline. Where needed, we can offer resources and strategies to help

beginners build foundational skills, as well as targeted support for advanced writers. At the

highest level, we recognised the importance of a clear framework to support and challenge

experienced writers to produce polished, high-quality outputs.

Participants also pointed out the importance of cohort size, which would shape the structure

of the workshops. Smaller groups allow for more intensive work, while larger groups may

benefit from group or collaborative approaches. But much of this needs to be discussed

alongside issues such as the number of ECR mentors available and the duration of the

workshops, and all these depend on funding.

3. ORGANISATION: Documentation, Archiving, and Knowledge Management

Lagos workshop participants also discussed the need for a more systematic approach to

capturing, storing, and sharing the knowledge generated through the workshops. This

includes establishing clear protocols for cloud storage and file sharing. These should ideally

be set up before each workshop to ensure that all forms of output are preserved and

maintained. The frameworks should provide for the archiving of materials in multiple

formats, including audio and video recordings of workshop discussions, lectures, participant

feedback, and organisers’ reflections.

We also acknowledged the central role that archival materials and comparative building

analysis can play in fostering architectural research and writing, as well as the barriers to

accessing architectural records across institutions and countries. Whilst some university

libraries may have useful records, there still exists a need to establish direct contact with

architects or their families, in case they have passed away, to explore how we might collect

and store their archives. Copyright issues emerged as a key consideration. If architectural

drawings or other archival content are to be published online, it is essential to secure the

necessary permissions from rights holders.

There was also discussion about the platform through which archived materials might be

made accessible online. Should this be a standalone website dedicated exclusively to the

workshop series, giving it a clear identity and independent visibility? Or should it be

integrated into the digital infrastructure of an existing institution, potentially offering greater

3long-term stability, technical support, and credibility? Each option carries implications for

accessibility, branding, and sustainability. We need to consider this alongside questions of

funding, audience reach, and alignment with the workshop’s broader objectives.

Finally, participants emphasised that robust archiving is just as much about accessibility as it

is about accuracy. To ensure that stored knowledge remains reliable, we discussed the

potential for an independent peer-review mechanism for workshop essays and other materials

generated. Such a system would help maintain the archive’s long-term value as both a

teaching resource and a research asset.

4. Workshop Models and Formats

We reflected on the range of workshop models used to date, from those focused on individual

essays to those built around group writing, and from standalone events to workshops

embedded within larger programmes. Each format offers distinct advantages: individual

writing allows for deeper personal engagement with a topic, while group essays can foster

collaboration, distribute workload, and produce richer, multi-voiced outputs.

Lessons from initiatives such as the Shared Heritage Fellowship suggest that embedding

workshops within broader collaborative frameworks can create valuable opportunities for

networking, resource sharing, and sustained engagement. Well-structured collaborations can

also open doors to funding streams that might otherwise be inaccessible.

Potential partners identified included:

· The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), which holds relevant archives and could

host African scholars for on-site archival work as part of a workshop.

· The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in the United States.

· The Architecture and Design Centre in Rwanda by MASS Design Group.

· The African Futures Institute (AFI); and

· The African Architectural and Urban History Network (AFRAUHN).

Reaching out to such institutions could create new possibilities for co-organised workshops,

access to specialised collections, and cross-continental exchanges.

5. Publishing, Toolkits, and Knowledge Dissemination

We discussed the value of consolidating the insights, methods, and resources developed

through the workshop series into outputs that extend beyond the immediate cohort. Joint

publications, whether in the form of edited volumes, special journal issues, or curated online

essays, could serve both as a record of the intellectual work undertaken and as a meaningful

contribution to the broader discourse in architecture.

Platforms for such outputs could include academic journals such as Architectural Research

Quarterly, Journal of Architectural Education, and The Journal of the Society of

Architectural Historians.

Conferences such as the Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) Annual Conference, the

African Architecture Matters Forum, and the African Studies Conferences could serve as

opportunities to present findings, build networks, and position the workshops’ outputs within

both African and global conversations on architecture and heritage. Such outputs could feed

back into architectural curricula, enriching reading lists for history and theory courses and

influencing teaching practice within departments.

In parallel, the creation of practical manuals or toolkits – which draws on our collective

experience in workshop design, pedagogical strategies, and partnership building – could

support future workshops as well as other educators and institutions interested in running

similar initiatives. Toolkits could be tailored for a broader readership, including practitioners,

students, and cultural institutions, and made accessible in multiple formats: print, digital, and

ideally, open-access.

Finally, there was strong interest in forming a dedicated working group or network to develop

and promote research, teaching, and dialogue on African architectural history and theory.

Participants believed this would provide a sustained platform for collaboration and visibility

in this field. A suggested name is the African Architecture History and Theory Research

Network (AAHT), which would have a base (a writing hub) at each participating university.

These AAHT writing hubs could be dedicated to providing year-round support for student

members who develop essays for publication and who could serve as a pool to draw from for

future workshops.

6. Planning, Logistics, and Long-Term Structuring

We discussed the need for more robust logistical and planning frameworks to support the

consistent delivery of successful workshops while reducing the need to reinvent processes

each year.

For transnational events, this includes building capacity for virtual and hybrid formats to

support collaboration across countries and institutions. For in-person gatherings, challenges

such as visa applications must be addressed early. A practical step would be to send accepted

participants a checklist of required preparations immediately upon selection, to avoid delays

caused by unforeseen administrative issues.

Clear decisions will be needed regarding the frequency of workshops (e.g., annual or bi-

annual). This, in turn, will determine how much time will be required for planning. This

means formalising the workshop series as an event centred on writing and text production

about the African built environment. This will be based on a standing document outlining our

core values, mission, and vision, supported by a strategic committee responsible for

oversight, continuity, and long-term direction.

To streamline coordination, we proposed appointing an administrative lead – possibly an

intern based at the host institution – to handle logistical tasks, allowing academics to focus on

the programme’s intellectual and pedagogical components.

Alongside the list of potential collaborators, a standing register of funding and grant

opportunities would help guide application timelines and planning priorities. Planning

frameworks should also account for different funding conditions, with adaptable approaches

for both funded and unfunded workshops.

Finally, we explored strategies to expand the series to other university campuses, beginning

by consolidating our presence in key locations, such as Uganda, before extending it to new

sites. This phased approach could help ensure depth and sustainability in our growth, building

strong local networks before scaling further.

New Book: “As Hardly Found: Art and Tropical Architecture”; Albert Brenchat-Aguilar

By jacksoniain

September 12, 2025

Archives, British Colonial Architecture, Global Architecture, Historiography, transnational, Tropical Architecture

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As Hardly Found: Art and Tropical Architecture centres artists and artworks that have so far been overlooked by histories of ‘tropical architecture’. In this collection of essays, historians, artists and archivists address works of art connected to epicentres of teaching and practice within the movement – focusing on the Department of Tropical Architecture at the Architectural Association and its collaborators such as Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – which emerged in the mid-20th century alongside anticolonial struggles that dismantled the British Empire.

Here, authors use creative, critical and speculative methods to inhabit the gaps in archives of tropical architecture, highlighting artworks in Nigeria, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Costa Rica, Cuba and the UK. Their contributions trace connections within a network of relations between art and architecture; one which recentres the rich and diverse forms of environmental knowledge, social values and material cultures contributed by artists working in these contexts.

We are delighted to welcome the editor, Albert Brenchat-Aguilar, and the team from AA Publications, who will give a short introduction to the book. A small installation will accompany, food and refreshments will be provided.

More info here: https://www.aaschool.ac.uk/publicprogramme/whatson/as-hardly-found

Book contents:

Foreword by Ingrid Schroder
As Hardly Found by Albert Brenchat Aguilar

Bea Gassman de Sousa, Pencils and Ink: Ben Enwonwu’s Boy Reading
karî’kachä seid’ou, A Silent Witness: J C Okyere’s Lonely Woman
Juliana Yat Shun Kei, The Unspeakable and the Unspoken: Theo Crosby’s Graphic Communication in Architectural Design
Mark Crinson, The Frontiers of Architecture: Eduardo Paolozzi’s Man with a Camera
Kennii Ekundayo, Ecological Synthesis: Bruce Onobrakpeya’s Eketeke and Erhevbuye and Tree in a Landscape
Ben Highmore, Flesh Feeling: Magda Cordell’s No 8
Hannah Le Roux and Pedro Guedes, Zebra Attack: Pancho Guedes’s The ‘Buedes’ Mural
Pepe Menendez, Following (Foot)Prints: Tony Évora’s Poster for OSPAAAL
Vandana Baweja, Counter-Narratives of Tropicality: Asiru Olatunde’s Aluminium Repoussé Panels
Joleen Loh, Multi-Directionalities: The photographs of Kim Lim
Adedoyin Teriba, Ever-Changing Nature-Cultures: Demas Nwoko’s Crafts Men at Work
Albert Brenchat-Aguilar, Artemis Morgan, Çağla Kazanlı, Mina Gürsel Tabanlıoğlu, and Yiru Wang, Climate Anti-Determinism: Avinash Chandra’s Fire
Rachel Lee, Where Are the Beautiful Moments? Homi J Bhabha’s Dove Sono i Belli Momenti?
Lena Naumann, Forms of Significance: Susanne Wenger and the New Sacred Artists
Antoni Malinowski, Hello, Shelagh: Shelagh Wakely’s KNUST Occasional Report cover
Shirley Surya, Where Rivers Meet, a Dome: I Ketut Tagen’s Untitled (Bale, Bunder, Windhu, Anne, Bali, Ubud, Campuan)
Courage Dzidula Kpodo, A Stranger Form: Kwaku bonsu’s Postcard of Prempeh II Sculpture
Ikem Okoye, Tesserae and Sovereignty at Risk: Yusuf Grillo’s Lagos City Hall Murals
Zhijian Sun and Wei Weiting, Experts and Amateurs: Khoo Sui Hoe’s Children of the Sun
Natalia Solano Meza, Experiments in Dissent: Felo García’s 20 Años de Pintura
Iain Jackson, Claire Tunstall, and Helen Unsworth, Something Unsettling and Subversive: Erhabor Emokpae’s Mural for the United Africa Company

Epilogue by Bernard Akoi-Jackson (KNUST, Kumasi), A set of Artistic Speculations on Imperatives that are Structural and Systemic
Epilogues on Fiction: by Ella Adu, Mariana Castillo Deball, Ato Jackson, Debbie Meniru
Epilogue by Priya Basil, Archive Fever

Call for Papers: After the Global Turn: Current Colonial, Decolonial and Postcolonial Perspectives in Architecture

By jacksoniain

August 31, 2025

call for papers, Global Architecture, Historiography, transnational

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After the Global Turn: Current Colonial, Decolonial and Postcolonial Perspectives in Architecture

What is the status of postcolonial and decolonial discourse in architecture?

How has the “global turn” in architectural discourse evolved from histories of contact, conquest and colonization?

Forty years ago, the influential essays of “‘Race,’ Writing and Difference” appeared in Critical Inquiry (Gates, 1985, 1986). Essays by Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Hazel Carby, Jacques Derrida, Abdul R. JanMohamed, and others created new critical models that interrogated how difference had been inscribed as “race” and explored the complex interactions of race, writing and difference, which influenced architectural history and theory for several decades.

That same year, Spiro Kostof’s textbook A History of Architecture (1985) spurred a “global turn” in architecture that has complicated the field’s canon. The new global discourse seeks to understand contemporary globalization as manifested in the built environment, exemplified by the foundation of the Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative (GAHTC) and the publication of multiple volumes on global architecture.

The global turn has attempted to close the dichotomies of East and West, North and South imposed by earlier colonial and postcolonial theories, such as Edward Said’s formulation of Orientalism as the Occident’s “other” (Said, 1978). Perspectives from the “Global South” have emerged as important correctives to the hegemony of Northern Hemisphere-centered scholarship and practice. What has resulted from this “turn” has been ambiguous, however, as it often focuses on architects from the Global North operating in the Global South or developments modeled after Western architecture and urban design, without a concomitant innovation in truly global approaches and subject matter.

This Special Issue aims to explore the field’s development from colonial, decolonial and postcolonial theory to the global turn and beyond. We encourage papers that take innovative approaches to the colonial, postcolonial, decolonial and global in architecture, including such topics as:

Transnational connections and flows in excess of political boundaries;
Decentered models of global architecture;
Race and architecture;
Feminist, subaltern and minor perspectives on architecture,
Empire and decolonization;
Migration;
Indigenous architecture;
Informal architecture;
Landscapes of extraction and dispossession;
Modernization and development;
Other perspectives.

More info here https://www.mdpi.com/journal/architecture/special_issues/126537KTMW

References

Critical Inquiry: Autumn 1985 (vol. 12, no. 1) and Autumn 1986 (vol. 13, no. 1); Henry Louis Gates, ed. “Race,” Writing, and Difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986.

Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative https://www.gahtc.org/.

Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Said, Edward. Orientalism: Western Representations of the Orient. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978.

Dr. Patricia Morton
Guest Editor