HAA 193X: African Architecture

  The main issues within my project focusing on the Susanne Wegner House revolve around issues of preservation, at least approaching modern day. A post made by Nigerian reporter Sodiq Adewale Chocomilo in 2021 brings forth a lot issues within the preservation of the home.  image by Sodiq Adewale Chocomilo He "saw an elderly man in his sixties lying on a broken cement-made structure suspected to be a grave and a heap of ‘compiled wastes’ positioned at the front staircase of the residence" (pictured above). The general state of the house is a concern of his, as he continues to state, "following her huge contribution to the massive growth and development of Osun sacred groove, this reporter wonders why her residence is not honorably preserved and redesigned for future purposes." He also notes how close the house is to a palace, and questions why there is not more work being done to preserve her life's work. I also suspect that funding is a perpetual issue in regard...

 Both Italy and France were complicit in the colonization of Africa, like many other countries. But what makes these two colonial powers interesting is the way that they organized the areas that they occupied. The Italian fascists would completely rearrange the cities that they occupied, including the architecture within. For example, areas that were further elevated were reserved for government and military structures, of which were made in an Italian style. A motivating factor behind their imperialism was to further the idealized connection between Mussolini and the Roman Empire. Italian architects enforced these connections through their architecture, using their constructed buildings as a symbol of power.  France, however, was much less rigid in their colonialist philosophies. Towards the more recent years, the French respected the indigenous cultures to some extent, meaning that they would value and preserve related aspects, but was regarded as lower than the mighty Frenc...