African Architecture

  The importance of rhythm and movement is necessary in many African styles and symbolisms. Uli, as used in walled surfaces, highlights rhythms within the form of existing structures. The idea of post-colonial architecture in Nigeria, via modern interventions and western projection of design, has contributed to the erasure of the necessity for rhythm, particularly in the most recognizable form of architecture– the home.  The village home in Southeastern Igboland, Nigeria, is the primary focus of this post as I was inspired by the writing by Ulli Beier, a critic of post-colonial modern architecture in Nigeria, who believed that architecture should be a “product of culture.” Beier recognized that most Nigerians saw modern buildings in styles of the west as signs of progress. Through his work, I have realized that this is still a widespread view today. The images below depict my village home growing up, as designed by my father and uncles in the 1940s, and the new home I lived in...

  “ Uli is appreciated by all, as it touches both the spiritual, artistic, and cultural life of the Igbo.” (Onwuakpa, Samuel Department of Fine Art, 347) The origin of Uli is attributed to the praising of the ancient deity in Igboland, according to Obiora Udechukwu’s research. Thus, the ritual nature of the artwork, first on the body and then on wall surfaces, was closely tied to tributes paid in reverence for said deities. The evolution of the uli art form is not entirely known, yet the patterning of the facade of buildings eventually morphed to serve three primary purposes. They firstly refer to the spiritual– the symbolism of patterns made ancestral references as well as divine ones, which expressed the Igbo understanding of past, present, and future at work together. The second was to express hierarchy and status–whether cheiftancy or woman titles, these social scales might be depicted on a compound entrance. The final is the explicit depiction of festivities and current event...

  The Italian regime in Ethiopia used urban design as a tactic for reconfiguring the society they ruled. From 1946-196, during the colonial policy of Benito Mussolini’s reign, the city of Gondar in Ethiopia expanded. The necessity to solve unemployment, produce agricultural goods and increase capital via the exportation of surplus goods also drove the planning and architectural designs.  The choice of the city is due to its past imperial capital, which allowed for the goal of updating the city technologically. Topologically, the lower areas were used as commercial areas while the higher vantage points were saved for government and military towners. The military towers (see image 1), in particular, served as watchtowers at the heart of the city and inspired the castle typology, further emphasizing the separation of the “quotidian functions of the commercial district and the [more highly regarded] ceremonial functions of the governmental district.” the castle- Fasil Ghebbi– serv...