Out Now: Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
Uta Pottgiesser, Ana Tostões (eds.)
Birkhäuser / Docomomo International, 2024

Docomomo Portugal is pleased to share that the publication Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, edited by Uta Pottgiesser, chair of Docomomo International, and Ana Tostões, chair of Docomomo Portugal, and published by Birkhäuser and Docomomo International is out!

With contributions from Uta Pottgiesser (TU Delft), Ana Tostões (Lisbon University), Ola Uduku (University of Liverpool) and many others, this book looks at the extraordinary, but often unknown Modernist architecture in Africa, from interpretations of Art Deco, International Style, Brutalism as well as of African vernacular architecture. Climate-responsive buildings with a fluidity of interior and exterior spaces play a large role. While many of these 20th century architects were of European origin, they were deeply influenced by their surroundings and found original, site-specific expressions, often in collaboration with African architects. A focus of the construction activities were educational buildings which played an important role for these young nations that mostly gained their independence in the 1960s. While some of the documented buildings have been restored, others are still awaiting reconstruction.

The book integrates a photographic report by Jean Molitor as well as documentation of over 60 buildings from Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda – with new drawings and photographs.

Modernism in Africa is a joint edition of the results from the research project EWV_Exchanging Worlds Visions: Modern Architecture in Lusophone Africa (1943-1974), coordinated by Ana Tostões in 2008-2012 (FCT: PTDC/AURAQI/103229/2008) and the recent project Shared Heritage Africa: Rediscovering Masterpieces coordinated by Uta Pottgiesser and Ola Uduku and financed by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany (2021-2023, AZ99210073).

The sections on Angola and Moçambique were worked out by Ana Tostões, Zara Ferreira, Maria Manuel Oliveira, Ana Magalhães e João Vieira Caldas.

Available here. The E-Book version is free.

The book was launched during the 18th International Docomomo Conference last December 2024 in Santiago, Chile.