1

Modern Architecture in Tanzania around Independence

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A RCHI A FRIKA foundation

p.o. box 14174
3508 SG Utrecht
Netherlands
tel: + 31 30 2540851
fax: + 31 30 2518278
E-mail: info@archiafrika.org
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Modern Architecture in Tanzania around Independence

A RCHI A FRIKA project - December 14, 2004

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Contents 5

0. Introduction and summary

0.1 Introduction 6
0.2 Summary 7

1. ARCHIAFRIKA foundation
1.1 Introduction 8
1.2 Targets 8
1.3 Strategy 9
1.4 Definitions 10

2. Modern Architecture in Tanzania around Independence

the work of Anthony Almeida
2.1 Work and life of Anthony Almeida 12
2.2 Selection of Almeida’s projects 15
2.3 Social, political and economical developments around Independence 30
2.4 Modern Architecture in Africa around Independence 36

NIC headquarters Dar es Salaam, 1970

6 0 Introduction and summary

0.1 Introduction

The first A RCHIA FRIKA project will be a study on Modern Architecture in Tanzania around
Independence, concentrating on the work of Anthony Almeida.

Almeida is an exceptional architect because he is the first indigenous Tanzanian architect (in
the contemporary sense) and besides one of the first to introduce modernist architecture
in his country. He has produced a large quantity of high quality and high profile buildings
throughout the founding period of the Tanzanian nation from the early fifties to the mid
seventies: from just before Independence until the end of the remarkable Ujamaa period.
His work can easily stand comparison with the work of his far more famous contemporaries
in Europe , America and even Asia and thus deserves to be published.

The aim of this study is to acquire knowledge on modern Tanzanian architecture of the
period around Independence, and to use this knowledge to put Tanzanian architecture in
the spotlight.
Besides ARCHIA FRIKA wants to create an international education and exchange program
between European and African universities in the field of Architecture.

The project encompasses:

1. inventory and documentation of a broad selection of modern architecture in Tanzania
dating fromthe period around Independence;
2. analysis of this work concerning the role of this work in the development of Tanzanian
architecture, its position in relation to the architecture of the international Modern
Movement and the role this work in the (contemporary and historical) cultural and
political context;
3. appraisal of the studied work from a historical and contemporary perspective.
The project results will be presented in an exhibition in Tanzania and Europe and in an 7
accompanying catalogue.

A RCHIA FRIKA for esees cooperation between training institutes, private firms and organisations
that ar e active in the field, to car ry out the above-mentioned study. The par ties that have
been invited insofar and have confirmed their participation in the project are: Mr Anthony
Almeida in Dar es Salaam; the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Dar es Salaam; the University
College for Lands and Architectural Studies (UCLAS) in Dar es Salaam; the Eindhoven Uni-
versity of Technology (TU/e); the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL / University of Leuven).

Besides, a number of organizations that have assisted ARCHIA FRIKA in the preparation of this
pr oject, have confirmed their willingness to provide future assistance: international
organizations such as DOCOMOMO (dedicated to the Documentation and Conservation
of buildings, sites and neighbourhoods of the Modern Movement) and ICOMOS (International
Council on Monuments and Sites), East-African based architectural training institutes and
professional organizations and some architectural offices in Dar es Salaam.

A RCHIA FRIKA will carr y out the coordinating role in the project and will be responsible for
the final editing and presentation of the results of the study.
UDSM J oint Christian Chapel, 1975

0.2 Summary

In chapter 1 ARCHIA FRIKA is introduced.

In chapter 2 the importance and scope of the work ofAnthony Almeida is highlighted within
the cultural-political context of Tanzania around Independence and within the development
of the Modern Movement. A selection of projects will be explained and illustrated.
For information on the research field, objectives, project scope and research methodology
detail St. Xaviers Primary School, 1954
of the project, see the most recent projectdescription.
8 1 ARCHIAFRIKA foundation

1.1 Introduction

A RCHIA FRIKA1 stands for ‘Afrikaanse Achitectuur’ (Dutch), the English translation ‘African
Architecture’ or the French translation ‘ Architecture Africaine’.

Janneke Bierman, Belinda van Buiten, Antoni Folkers, Berend van der Lans en Joep Mol are
five Dutch architects who decided to establish ARCHIAFRIKA on their return from Africa, after
years of work and life on that continent. They realised that African architecture is relatively
unknown in the (western) world.Their working experience in various African countries still
influences their architectural practice in the Netherlands.

Strange as it may seem, African architectur e has not profited from the recently increasing
global attention for other African arts: music, literature, painting, sculpture and dance. This
lack of attention cannot be explained by a poor performance of African architecture. The
African architectural history is rich of depth and variety and deserves to be better known
worldwide.

1.2 Targets

A RCHIAFRIKA attempts to put on the map African architecture and contributes to the understanding
and development of African architecture.

The long-term aim is to establish a platform for the exchange of knowledge and information
on activities, projects and architectural heritage in Africa. The target group consists of archi-
tects, urban planners, teachers and students on architecture, cultural and governmental in-
stitutions.This group is invited to actively participate on the above platform and doing so to 9
jointl y achieve the aim.

We expect that the increased appreciation of African architectur e will, in turn, contribute to
the theoretical debate and development of western architectur e.We hope that knowledge
of and respect for African architecture will support the African continent to be proud of
their own culture and make it see the value of its heritage as tool for its own and independ-
ent future.

1.3 Strategy

A RCHIA FRIKA thinks to achieve the above-formulated target through a multiple approach:

1. To collect data on African architecture: by designing or adopting (from Docomomo,

Icomos, Unesco, etc.) methodologies as basis for a database, by producing databases on
accessible sources (literature, internet etc.) and by making field studies through univer-
sities, (governmental) institutions and private parties.

2. To make this databases and information world wide accessible and to rouse interest for
African architecture by, for instance, (re-)write the history of African architecture, by
launching a web site , by assisting university courses, by organizing and holding symposia
and by organising exhibitions.

3. To facilitate African architects and architectural institutions in the study, analysis and
documentation of African architecture, as well to support them in the development of
their own work and the exhibition of this.
We will also attempt to introduce African architectur e into contemporary discussion
and practice of western architectur e. St. Peter’s Church, Dar es Salaam, late 60’s,
architect: Shah
10 1.4 Definitions

Geogra phical demar

Geographical cation: Africa is, in this context, understood as the full continent
demarcation:
encompassing the Mahgreb, the Sahara, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa, Madagascar and
other islands along the African coast.

Historical demarcation: There is no demarcation of the historical context.

demarcation:

African ar chitectur
architectur e: By african architecture we mean African vernacular architecture,
chitecture:
African monumental architecture and African urbanism.
The current state of African vernacular architecture, in particular expressed in the African
dwelling and the settlement of the extended family on the larger scale, reflects both very old
African traditional culture and today’s’ development of African culture within a global con-
text.
African monumental architecture has undergone a versatile development in history through
the cross fertilization between local architecture established initially and later influences
from Christian occidental and Islamic oriental civilizations.

Tanganyika Cigarette Company, Dar es Salaam, late 50’s, architect: French & Hastings St. Peter’s Church, Dar es Salaam, late 60’s, architect: Shah
African cities show a similar development throughout history; from the now almost vanished 11
indigenous kingdoms, via the trading towns, colonial administration centres and the freshly
planned capitals for the post-independent nations to the sprawling mega cities of today.

Modern ar chitectur
architectur e: ‘Modern Movement’, ‘International Style’, ‘Functionalism’ and
chitecture:
‘Modernism’ are various names for the innovative architectural style emerging on global
scale in the 1920’s.As adjective for it’s architecture both modern and modernist are used: the
first at the time or in the context that‘modern’ means ‘not traditional or classical’, the latter
used to emphasize the character of an architectural style without claiming to be the onl y
contemporary form of architecture. Both adjectives are used in this document, both indicating
the same architectural and urban development style.

1
ARCHIA FRIKA foundation was established on 28th May 2001 and is register ed at the Chamber of Commerce
Utrecht, no 30174677 on 16th July 2001. The secretariat is located on Mauritsstraat 9, 3583 HE Utr echt. Postal
adress: ARCHIAFRIKA , p.o.bo x 14174, 3508 SG Utr echt, the Netherlands.Telephone: +31-30-2540851 Fax: +31-
30-2518278 E-mail: info@archiafrika.org

St. Xaviers Primar y School, 1954 KNCU cultural center, Moshi, 1952, architect: May UDSM J oint Christian Chapel, 1975
12 2. Modern Architecture inTanzania around Independence:
the work of Anthony Almeida

2.1 Work and Life of Anthony Almeida

Anthony Almeida (b. 1921 Dar es Salaam) is a Tanzanian architect who has produced a high
quantity of remarkable buildings that have been realised over the past fifty years.

Almeida spent his schooling years in Bombay and graduated as an architect in 1948 at the
JJ School of Architecture. His studies were delayed by the civil disobedience campaign during
the struggle for independence. One of the projects he worked on in India was a ‘ pandal’, the
temporary 158.5m diameter bamboo structure that housed the first post independence
Congress Party meeting.
Upon the death of his father in 1948 he had to return to Dar es Salaam to take charge of
the family trading firm and coconut plantation. Instead, he decided to work as an architect.
InTanzania, at that period, ther e were only two architect’s practices, being satellite offices of
British firms. For Almeida, the very first graduated Tanzanian architect, there was no room in
these practices. Henceforth he had to accept a position as a designer in an engineering firm.
However, only two years after his return to Dar es Salaam,Almeida succeeded in establishing
his own architectural practice, the first locally owned and run RIBA (Royal Institute of
British Architects) registered firm of architects in Tanzania. His first years proved to be a
tough struggle to receive acceptation that an indigenous architect would be capable of
carrying out the architectural profession.

But, not only was Almeida the first Tanzanian architect, he was also one of the first to
introduce modernist architecture in the then Tanganyika protectorate.
Public and colonial administration and residential buildings in Dar es Salaam in the forties
and fifties were still erected in the typical colonial architecture with mangalore tiled hipped
roofs with wide eaves, veranda’s and white washed walls with dark stained timber casement 13
windows. Buildings developed by the Indian middle class trading community were in plastered
tropical art-deco style and the indigenous Tanzanians built in wattle and daub and corrugated
iron sheets.

In this environment, the buildings by Almeida, flat roofed fresh coloured concrete structures
with steel casement windows were a new sighting.When he pr esented his designs for the St
Xavier’s Primary School (1954) for approval to the Director of Education, this colonial
officer remarked “well, well, what have we here – an aeroplane?”
However, from this period onwards Almeida succeeded to convince his clients and the
administration of his approach and quality. It was during these last seven years of colonial
rule and the first fifteen years of independence that Almeida realised an impressive quantity
of high-quality and high-profiled projects such as the Goan Institute (1958),Almeida residence
(1962), the Central Library (1968), NIC Headquarters (1970) and Dar es Salaam Magistrate
Courts (1972).

St. Xaviers Primar y School, 1954 logo Anthony Almeida

14 All these buildings show Almeida’s quality to produce personalised and contextual work
from the modernist background.The Joint Christian Chapel (1975) at the University of Dar
es Salaam can be seen as an important turning point in the career of Almeida.This remarkable
sculptural building with its daring floating concrete roof marks the balanced synthesis of
Almeida’s involvement in the development of modernist architecture towards the then
topical so-called brutalist structuralism and his attachment to the local cultural and climatic
context.

Since the Joint Christian Chapel Almeida designed in a more historically inspired fashion
that seems to divert from the Modernist tradition. However, up to including his recent
work, his buildings show his mastery in functionally and climatically optimal lay outing and
careful detailing. Even though he turned to more vernacular expression in his buildings from
the early nineties onwards, his belief in modernist design philosophy and principles has
remained unabated.

St. Xaviers Church, 1962 Almeida in his office

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2.2 Selection of Almeida’s projects

On the next pages seven projects realised in the city of Dar es Salaam by Anthony Almeida
between 1954 and 1975 are shown in a selection of drawings, contemporary and recent
photographs.

St. Xaviers Primary School - 1954

Dar es Salaam Club / Goan Institute - 1958
Almeida Residence - 1962
EACSO - 1964
Central Library - 1968
Magistry Court - 196
UDSM Joint Christian Chapel - 1975

NIC Housing, 1990 St. Xaviers Church, 1962 NIC headquarters, 1970
16

The school is situated in Chang’-

ombe area on the then outskirts of
Dar es Salaam. It served originally
the Roman Catholic Goan commu-
nity, and became a public school
later.

St. Xavier’s Primary School - 1954

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exterior in 1954 interio r in 2003

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The complex is built as social club

for the Goan community (the Goan
Club) in the centre of Dar es Salaam.
The beautifully laid out garden was
foreseen with a swimming pool and
children’s playground.

Dar es Salaam Club / Goan Institute - 1958

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facade in 1958 interior in 1958

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Almeida Residence - 1962

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exterior in 1962 exterior in 2003

Anthony Almeida’s own residence is erected along Touré Drive, at Oysterbay and faces
the Indian Ocean. The house has never been air-conditioned, the bedrooms are lifted on
stilts over the car park. It is now one of the rare residences in this luxur y area without
high sur rounding fence walls.
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The East African Community Regio-

nal Headquarters are located on the
seafront in the centr e of Dar es Sa-
laam, a prominent location for an
important building housing the
Tanzanian staff of the EAC and the
Income Tax Department.

EACSO regional headquarters - 1965

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facade in 1965
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exterior in 1968

The library is located at the important junction of Maktaba (library) and UWT
streets, the main public area on the first floor is reached via an open borad flight
of steps.The library has been stocked up with two additional floors in the nineties
(design by another architect).

Central Library - 1968

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exterior in 2003
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The cour thouse is situated in close

vicinity of the Central Library. Open
walkways on two levels intercon-
nect the wings housing courtrooms,
offices and ancillary rooms.

District Magistrates Court - 1972

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The oecumenical church of the University of Dar es Salaam

campus is situated on the Mbeziwani foothills just north of
Dar es Salaam. Light and air are filtered through the continuous
perimeter slot under the roof and the coloured louver glazed
full height windows.

UDSM Joint Christian Chapel - 1975

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exterior in 2003 exterior in 2003

interior in 2003 exterior in 2003

30 2.3 Social, political and economic developments around Independence

Pre-colonial period

An important role in the developments of economic activities in Africa was taken by external
contacts. Far before Africa and Europe developed structural relations, large distance trade
relations existed within, but also outside of the continent. Focussed on East Africa the most
important foreign contacts were established with Asia and the Arab World. Transport was
usually over sea and most important products were ivory and slaves. Because of these
trading relations quite a number of Arabs and Indians settled in the area from the eight
century onwards.

Colonisation

In pre-colonial times European input was given to the development of larger scale agriculture
and industries in Africa. Due to the expanding industries in Europe there was a continuously

Ocean Road Hospital, Dar es Salaam, early 20th century Parental house and office up to date of Almeida, early 20th century
growing need for raw material, which resulted in a growing penetration of Europe in Africa. 31
This lead to a climax at the end of the 19 th century, when the continent was divided amongst
the European powers within a few years and exploitation made way for imperialism. This
was the formal start of the colonial period, with direct European political and military
control over Africa.

Tanganyika, as mainland Tanzania was then called, was first in the hands of Germany, until
their defeat in the First World War, after which it became a protectorate under British rule.
Anthony Almeida was born just after the First World War, his parents moved to Dar es
Salaam while Tanganyika was still under German rule .The British stimulated more Indians to
move to East Africa, to form a middle class between the local population and colonisers.

During the first half of the 20th Century there were ideas of improving living conditions of
the African population,but barely any effort was made to come to action. During the Second
World War the economic importance of Africa was relatively large, since the belligerent
countries were cut of from part of their supplying partners. Only after the war the colonial
administration made serious plans to develop the African economies and societies. On the
one hand these initiatives were based on humanitarian grounds, on the other it was an
ans wer to the independence movements. In these years Almeida returned to Tanzania after
his studies abroad to commence his architectural practice.

To Independence

Since the fifties it became clear that colonisation did not have a future anymore, and one
African country after the other became independent. Of course the former coloniser had
great influence on the independence pr ocess in economical and political developments,
whilst the colonial language was usually taken as a lingua franca between the different ethic
groups. The Cold War, started in the same period, also had great influence on this process.
Tanzania sailed a particular course during the Cold War and in fact made use of both camps.
Tanganyika became independent in 1961. Independence was barely fought for, since the
British showed marginal interest in Tanganyika.This lack of interest is shown for example in Plate commemorating Independence , 1961
32 the ver y low number of 130 graduated Tanzanians – Almeida was one of them - at
Independence. This small base of elite had to build up the structure of the country.

Ujamaa

This however gave way to the unconventional and original leadership of Julius Nyerere, the
first president of Tanzania. In his Arusha Declaration (1967) he introduced a policy marked

Car toon by Anthony Almeida, 1961

as ujamaa, to be translated as ‘neighbour-ship’ or ‘community sense’. Socialism, Nyerere 33
considered, was essential to achieving human equality and in denouncing exploitation, he
advocated public control of the means of production. Instead of focussing on development
of cities and industrialisation, he chose to focus on the countryside and farming.By introducing
‘ujamaa-villages’ he concentrated the widely spread population, to provide better access to
modern services like health care, education and water sanitation. A well developed road
structure should provide the connections with the rest of the country, while the capital
should be mo ved to a central position, resulting in large scale plans for Dodoma, similar to
plans for Brasilia in Brazil and Abuja in Nigeria.

Although considerable building activities were involved in these plans, it is remarkable that
Anthony Almeida did not take part in them. Nonetheless he realised an important par t of
his oeuvre in these years.

In the seventies, in two steps more than 80% of the country population was moved following
these plans, of course not all voluntary. Despite of the resistance against this policy, it resulted
in some progress.According to surveys of the United Nations in the eighties, education and
health services in the Tanzanian countryside belonged to the best of Africa. Unfortunately
the socialist development model did not result in economic growth.

The choice for socialism was related to the joining of the island Zanzibar, just off the coast
of Tanzania. In January 1964 a‘revolution’ took place on Zanzibar, until then resorting under
the Sultan of Oman, mainly initiated by the Arabic population. The new leaders chose a
radical communist course, but a large part of the Zanzibaris – largely the black-African part
of the population – was mor e moderate and not in favour of an independent island. It
supported joining with a country from the main land, either Kenya or Tanganyika. The latter
was willing to join with Zanzibar. In April 1964 they formed Tanzania. A one-party system
was implemented, along guidelines announced in the 1965 constitution.

The joining with Zanzibar and the end of the capitalist free market economy, marked by the
Arusha Declaration, troubled the relations with the Western world.Tanzania had to rely on Nyerere, 1970
34 help from the socialist side, joined by the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands, who
were expecting much of the ‘African Socialism’ as Nyerere’s policy was also recognised.

Within the country his plans were also received with enthusiasm. He emphasised the
importance of easy access to education and health care and raising literacy levels was one of
his principle objectives. Mwalimu (teacher in Swahili),as he was endearingly called, introduced
both Swahili and English as the official languages. Especially the choice for Swahili was helping
the Tanzanisation, the process of unification of the Tanzanian people, existing of about 120
ethnic groups of which none is considerably larger than the others.

In the seventies Nyerere acknowledged that industry had to play an impor tant role in
economic development. Tanzania realised that help from Western donors was needed for
input in (state-owned) industries.
Due to the fact that Tanzania was more welcoming to foreign donors and investors, the
reputation of Nyerere as a well-respected leader and political changes in the Western world,
relations with the Western world became warmer again in the second half of the seventies.
This could not provide Tanzania from escaping the international crisis in the seventies.The
policy of industrialisation was not successful, par tly by failure of the technolog y transfer and
lack of market processes in a nationalised economy, while the agricultural output stagnated
due to neglect of the agricultural sector by the government. The war against Idi Amin in
1979-1980 further weakened the Tanzanian financial position.

During the early eighties government successes in raising literacy levels among adults and
children, in reducing infant mortality rates and improvements in health care that had increased
life expectancy, were not matched by marginal economic improvements.
The unemployment developing in the rural areas made the y ounger population search for
opportunities in the cities. Especially Dar es Salaam was expanding fast, resulting in a chaotic
urban development while the facilities were by far insufficient for the inhabitants.
In these years the work of Almeida started to shift from architecture with clear Modern
Movement aspects to a more historically based language.
Vasco da Gama Monument, Mombasa,1960
Reform programmes 35

Tanzania was badly in need for a helping hand from the International community. IMF was
consulted for help. Nyerere however refused to fulfil in all the conditions stated by the IMF,
which in his belief would dismantle the ujamaa model. He stepped down as president in
1985, unique forAfrica at that time. Behind the scenes he remained influential in politics, but
could not prevent a further economic decline and a growing influence by the IMF on the
policy of the government.
When Nyerere’s final term of office came to an end, Ali Hassan Mwinyi was elected to
replace him. Economic reform programmes were introduced and paved the way for market Michenzani flats, Zanzibar, late 60’s
reforms leading to de-nationalisation and privatisation. In this capitalism-based environment
Almeida had to adapt to continue his practice. Pension funds – if existing – did and do not
provide sufficient coverage of living costs.
In 1991 a commission was established to sound out the public’s views on a change to a
multi-party system. One year later a draft Law for multi-party elections was adopted. The
first multi-party legislative and presidential elections in 1995, gave victor y to Benjamin Mkapa.
While the movement toward a multi-party government has broad support in Tanzania, the
dismantling of the single-party system has loosened some of the bonds that held the nation
together.
In recent years Tanzania’s economy is recovering remarkably with a BNP growth of around
5 to 6 %, which r esults in some confidence that development is picking up again.

Sources:
1. Afrika – van koude oorlog naar 21ste eeuw (Africa – from cold war to 21st Century) – Roel van der
Veen - 2002
2. The education and training of artisans for the inf ormal sector in Tanzania - funded by the Overseas
Development Administration - David W Kent (University of Leeds) and Paul S D Mushi (University
of Dar es Salaam) - October 1995
3. Web page of Faculty of African Studies,‘Living Encyclopedia f or Tanzania’ http://www.sas.upenn.edu/ Umoja House , Dar es Salaam, 2000,
African_Studies/NEH/tz-scenes.html architect: Manser associates
36
Art Deco housing, Kinshasa 1930’s
Ministry of Education, Rio de Janeiro 1943,
architect: Le Corbusier, Costa and others
2.4 Modern Architecture in Africa around Independence
The Modern Movement
The ‘Modern Movement’ in architecture and urbanism started in the 1920’s as a reaction
against the appalling living conditions in the fast growing and heavily polluted European
cities.The movement was influenced by social and technical revolutions at that time and by
new directions in art like Bauhaus, Constructivism and De Stijl. ‘Modern Architecture’1,
based on the blessings of light, air and space, was the formal expression of believing in a new,
more social and more healthy society.
The work and writings of the French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier2 were of great influence
on the development of this new architecture . The foundation of the CIAM (Congres
Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne) in La Sarraz in 1928 gave an impulse to the exchange
of ideas. It stimulated technical and academic surveys such as “Die Wohnung für das
Existenzminimum” (1930) and the “Athens Charter” (1933; defining a strict urban zoning
for living, working, recreation and traffic).This rational approach (‘F orm follows Function’)
gave this architecture also the name of ‘Functionalism’.
After World War II Modernism enabled Europe to tackle the problem of mass housing and
further industrialisation in an efficient way. But the deterministic economic and technical
focus threw the movement into a crisis as well: in 1959 the CIAM was dismissed.Modernism
developed in different directions such as ‘Structuralism’3 and a more technical Functionalism
since then.
Modern Architecture in Africa before Independence
Before the Second World War very little Modern Architecture has been realised on the
African continent. Amongst the colonial powers present on the continent Germany left
Africa after the First World War, just before the raise of Modern Architecture.
Great Britain, stuck in the Victorian age, did have its modern breakthr ough only shortly
before WW II, 15 years after Modernism took off on the European continent.
France investigated African culture, ar t and architecture thoroughly since the end of the 19th 37
century. It exhibited African architecture on the 1931 Exposition Coloniale Internationale
in Paris, hence influencing Art Deco and promoting its own developed indigenous-colonial
style of which examples had been build in Western Africa in those years. The French
protectorates Morocco and Algeria on the contrary did function as a test case for new
architecture in public buildings and large-scale housing.
Belgium ran it’s colony as a large company in which the national Public Works Department
was responsible for the architecture and town planning.This resulted in a mixture of modern,
Art Deco and Belgium Classic styles on a functional foothold.
Only South Africa, independent from the British imperialists since 1902, knew a very active
group of architects (the ‘Transvaal group’), informally led by Rex Martienssen who joined
the modern mo vement and visited CIAM congresses.

After World War II a period of reconsideration of the colonial-indigenous relations started.

In a reaction to the movements for independence occurring all over the continent, the
colonizing countries tried to improve education and social services in new types of public
buildings. The problem of fast growing urbanisation made new forms of town planning needed.

House, Greenside South Africa 1940, architect: Mar tienssen Parliament building, Dakar 1956, architect: Badani & Roux-Dorlut
38 Some of those post war buildings still remained manifestations of the colonial power. The
Palace for the Go vernment of French West Africa in Dakar, designed in 1950 by the architects
Badani and Roux-Dorlut, is a imposing monumental and symmetrical structure. Nevertheless,
short after its completion in 1956, Senegal became independent and the building was smoothly
converted into the Parliament building for the new government.

For most of the new buildings on the contrary, modernist architecture was used as a fresh
and neutral form of expressing the revisited relationship between Europeans and Africans.
As John Godwin, having a practice with his par tner Gillian Hopwood in Lagos (Nigeria) since
1955, says4: “the period 1945-1956 was a time of experimentation.There was no prejudice
by clients towards Modern Architecture while young architects and scientists worked together
and explored new and practical solutions both in design and the use of materials”.
In Morocco and Algeria new projects in large-scale housing (by Studer, Simounet and others)
and public buildings (hospitals, schools and sports centres by Jean-Francois Zevaco) were
developed wide spread in the 1950’s.The dry and hot climate and the Islamic tradition made
an adaptation of the modernist vocabulary needed.

Prefab concrete house, Kampala 1945, architect: May High Court, Candigargh 1956, architect: Le Corbusier
In Kampala (Uganda) the German modern architect Ernst May took up the position of town 39
planner in 1945. He designed an overall planning for the capital and supervised its realisation.
To eliminate the corrugated iron slums he introduced prefabricated concrete slabs as a new
building method to construct lo w-cost housing. May realised many projects in Tanzania,
Kenya and Uganda. One of them is the cultural centre in Moshi (1952), commissioned by
the native Union of African Coffee Farmers (KNCU).The square shaped building surrounding
an open cour tyard is one of the first buildings for multi racial use in East Africa.

The British architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew played an important role in the development
of Modernism in Africa. After working on modern mass housing projects in the United
Kingdom, Fry ser ved in West Africa during WWII and started a practice with Drew in
Nigeria thereafter. They worked with Le Corbusier on several housing complexes in
Chandigargh in the 1950’s and learned about his modern interpretation of the louvre and
brise-soleil5. These building elements are explained into detail in their book Tropical Architecture
in the Humid Zone (1956). The book became the manual for young architects in Africa’s
modern world: it freed tropical architecture from the narrowness of traditional building

KNCU cultural center, Moshi, 1952, architect: May University labatories, Kumasi 1965, architect: Cubitt
40 styles, hitherto adapted by colonial architecture. The authors acted from the climatic and
technical inventions of modern architecture, thus providing a vocabulary for large-scale
urban projects6. They did hardly pay attention to African traditional architecture or native-
born contemporary ar chitects.

Modern Architecture in Africa after Independence

In the early 1960’s the optimism in architecture and urbanism grew because of the newly
gained independence by most of theAfrican colonies. Modern architecture became a way of
expressing the strength of the new African nation, although in some cases this architecture
was seen as the opposite: the expression of imperialist arrogance, like the Lagos Hotel affair
showed in Nigeria in the 1950’s 7.
French and British architects with firms all over Africa (Fry and Drew, Drake and Lasdun,
Godwin and Hopwood, Peatfield and Bodgener, James Cubitt among others) continued to
develop large-scale complexes and urban designs in the years after independence. They
were joined by architects from other West and East European donor countries.

School, Casablanca late 50’s, architect:Ze vaco Housing, Casablanca late 1950’s, architect: Studer
At the same time mor e African architects came up, starting their practice mainly in the 41
urban areas of West and East Africa.
Anthony Almeida,being on of the first African independent architects, has played an important
role in the development of modern architecture in Tanzania since 1950. Influenced by the
Indian modernism 8 during his studies in Bombay, he developed an oeuvre that is clearly
modernist with strong local, traditional and climatological influences.
The Nigerian architect Oluwole Olumuyiwa, schooled in London was well known at the
time for his projects for a cultural centre and some schools in Lagos in the early 1960’s. His
work focuses on mixed use, the complex patterns of community and mobility and his own
Yoruba tradition.
The Mozambique architectAmancio d’Alpoim Guedes realised a lot of functionalist buildings
with strong figurative forms, murals, and sculptural relief’s, inspires through African tradition.

In the former British colony of Tanganyika the capital Dar es Salaam had been influenced by
German and British colonial architecture but also by Asian culture, through the large Indian
community who had been living in the city for a long period.

Officeblock, Lagos late 50’s, Cooperative Bank, Ibadan 1960,

architect: Godwin & Hopw ood National Theater, Kampala 1968, architect: Peatfield & Bodgener architects: Fr y & Drew
42 The foundation of the new capital Dodoma in 1970, was intended to dissolve the large
social differences in Dar es Salaam. It was a statement in the philosophy of Nyerere’s socialist
nation. Unlike other newly designed capitals as Brasilia, New Delhi, Chandigargh and Abuja,
Dodoma has no large-scale functional zoning and no strong axial vistas designed for car
traffic. Instead planners designed polycentric clusters of mixed functions with cooperative
compounds based on the principles of the traditional extended family compounds. Numerous
‘Ujamaa’ villages based on the same rules, were spread all over the country at the same
time.
Dar es Salaam remained the economic capital of the independent Peoples Republic of Tanzania.
A lot of modern architecture has been developed in the city around independence. Beside
the work of Anthony Almeida as exposed in chapter 2.2, the School for Europeans by C.A.
Bransgrove, the master plan for the Dar es Salaam University by Norman & Dawbarn, the
Tanzanian Cigarette Company factor y by French & Hastings and the light concrete
construction of st. Peter’s Church by S. Shah are fine examples ofTanzania modernism in the
fifties and sixties.

Cultural Center, Lagos 1960, architect: Olumuyiwa Apartments, Maputo 1959, architect: d’A lpoim Guedes
Sources: 43
1. Tropical architecture in the humid zone: Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew, Batsford ltd., London 1956
2. New architecture in Africa: Udo Kultermann, Universe books, New York, 1963.
3. New directions in African Architecture: Udo Kultermann: George Braziller, New-York, 1969.
4. African architecture – evolution and transformation: Nnamdi Elleh, McGraw-Hill companies, New
York, 1997.
5. World ar chitecture, a critical mosaic 1900-2000, vol. 6: Central and Southern Africa: Kenneth Frampton,
Udo Kulterman (editors):, Springer-Verlag, Vienna, 2000.
6. Tropical architecture - critical regionalism in the age of globalization: Alexander Tzonis, Lianne
Lefaivre and Bruno Stagno (editors), Wiley-academy, Chichester, 2001.
7. Docomomo Journal no. 28, Modern heritage in Africa, different authors, Paris, 2003.
8. Ernst May – Architekt und Stadtplaner in Afrika 1934-1953: Eckhard Herrel, Deutsches Architektur-
Museum, Berlin 2001

Notes:
1
See chapter 1.4 definitions:‘Modern Architecture’.
2
In Le Corbusiers ‘Five Points for a Ne w Architecture’ (Wiesenhof, 1927) five elements were intr oduced
(columns, free floor plan, enlarged window, free façade and roof garden) that formed a modernist vocabulary,
made possible b y technical innovations as reinforced concrete.
3 A gr oup of younger CIAM architects as Van Eijck, Bakema and Peter and Alison Smithson founded ‘Team X’ in

1960, starting a sear ch for the structural principles of urban growth and complexity, as an attempt to answer the
increasing demand for more identity in architecture and urbanism.
4 John Godwin in Architecture and construction technolog y in West Africa in the 1950’s and 1960’s in DOCOMOMO

journal no. 28 march 2003.

5 Le Corbusier first used these building elements in the key project of tropical modernism: the Ministr y of

National Education and Public Health in Rio de Janeiro in 1936-1943.

6
Although Beaux Arts hospitals, government buildings and universities in Pr etoria erected well before the
spr ead of Modernism, or the Ocean Road Hospital in Dar es Salaam (1908) being a very functional and climate
conscious building in an historicising style, pr ove the reverse , there was a general conviction about the necessity
of modernism to be the only way to solve problems of urbanisation and the increase in scale of public buildings
and housing pr ojects.
7
See ‘The Lagos hotel affair : negotiating modernism in the late colonial domain’, Rhodri Windsor-Liscombe in
DOCOMOMO journal no. 28 march 2003.
8
In India in the 1950’s, just after it’s independence, Modernism was seen as the natural approach to give
expr ession to the new nationalism without any regional or cultural difference . A pan-India architecture based
on the international style of Modernism w ould lead to an architectural identity for independent India. Chandigargh,
the ne w capital of Punjab was the most important example of this belief. DSM Technical College , 1955-1980
44

Photo’s and Illustrations:

Anthony Almeida, Dar Es Salaam: Page 1, 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 (left), 18, 19, 20, 21 (left), 22, 23, 24, 25 (left), 26, 27,
28, 32, 34; A RCHIAFRIKA , Utrecht : Page 7, 9,10, 11, 17 (right), 21 (right), 25, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35, 45,47; Marie-
Francoise Plissart (Back from Utopia, the challenge of the Modern Movement, page 168): Page 36; Mar tienssen,
Roux-Dorlut (New Architecture in Africa): Page 37; OlivierWogenscky (Le Corbusier, árchitecture pour emouvoir,
page 103): Page 38; Ernst May (New Architecture in Africa, page 62): Page 38; Kultermann (World Architecture,
a critical Mosaic, page 48): Page 3; James Cubitt (New Architecture in Africa, page 103): Page 39; Jean-Francois
Zevaco (New Architecture in Africa, page 79, 171): Page 40; E. Maxwell and J. Dr ew, London (New Architecture
in Africa, page 20): Page 41; Peatfield and Bodgener, London (World Architecture, a critical Mosaic, page 118):
Page 41; E. Maxwell and J. Drew, London (World Architecture, a critical Mosaic, page 78): Page 41; Godwin &
Hopwood (New Architecture in Africa): Page 41; Oluwole Olumuyiwa (New Architecture in Africa, page 69):
Page 42; Nnamdi Elleh, Chicago (World Architecture, a critical Mosaic, page 53): Page 42; Ivan Sutila / French &
Hastings (TCC): page 10, 46; Job de Graaf (Moshi) page 11.