Siła budująca i niszcząca zarazem – nowoczesna architektura w postkolonialnej Afryce

Abstract

Modernism as a trend in architecture is rarely connected with colonial policy of the European powers. Meanwhile it became one of the tools of western cultural expansion in African states. It was at the same time a constructive and destructive force. “The Year of Africa” (1960) when as many as 17 states proclaimed independence, paradoxically, did not bring radical changes in architectonic solutions. Most of the public facilities in independent countries was still constructed in “Western” modernist convention. Political dependence from “mother state” was to a significant degree reduced but, at the same time the relations on the ground of architecture remained almost unchanged. It took decades for African architects to develop critical approach towards “international style” and search for inspirations in local vernacular architecture.