Luanda and Maputo: Accounts of the Two Capitals in Urban Heritage Discourse

Rossa, Walter

doi:10.21471/jls.v1i1.42

Cited by 4 publications

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“…This meant that the colonial and parochial character of its urban centre was progressively replaced by an image of a modern, international, and vertically defined metropolis. However, differently from what happened in many other African countries where the development of modern architecture meant the introduction of a “dream of emancipation and liberation for all” (Heynen, 2003, p. 27) and the creation of a national identity (Herz et al., 2015), in Mozambique, modernity became another element of the segregationist urban discourse maintained by the colonial regime (Rossa, 2016, p. 112).…”

Section: Origins Of Designmentioning

confidence: 98%

Towards the Definition of an Ever‐changing Heritage: A Reading of the (Re)appropriation Processes of the Torres Vermelhas in Mozambique

Noormahomed

2022

Curator The Museum Journal

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This article proposes a new way of understanding the modern architecture of Mozambique as cultural heritage beyond existing Eurocentric discourses. It suggests that the discussion should stem from the consideration of this legacy not as a static image of the past, but as an accumulation of appropriations and reappropriations over time: a living legacy embedded in a continuous process of layering new uses and meanings akin to a palimpsest. To argue this, the article analyses a paradigmatic case of Mozambique's modernity, Torres Vermelhas in Maputo, whose construction was left unfinished by the events that led to the country's independence in 1975. The aim is to understand how it has been (re)designed and shaped over time through both formal and informal practices. In doing so, an innovative disciplinary perspective is introduced as a way to provide a sustained basis for the interpretation of this everchanging heritage.

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Section: Origins Of Designmentioning

confidence: 98%

Towards the Definition of an Ever‐changing Heritage: A Reading of the (Re)appropriation Processes of the Torres Vermelhas in Mozambique

Noormahomed

2022

Curator The Museum Journal

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When Modern Housing Built Optimistic Suburbia: A Comparative Analysis Between Lisbon and Luanda

Rodrigues

2022

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Throughout the 1960s, the urban peripheries in several Portuguese colonial cities embarked on a profound process of transformation. With different urban histories and distant geographical contexts, Lisbon and Luanda were united by urban planning and public policies defined by the Estado Novo’s response to the lack of housing supply. The neighbourhoods that expressed modern affiliation in their architecture witnessed profound changes brought about by the April 25th Revolution and the consequent process of democracy in Portugal (1974) and independence in Angola (1975). This article proposes a comparative analysis of middle-class housing complexes, demystifying the urban peripheries by an optimistic architecture that helped shape the built environment and echoed its time’s urban and political concerns. It analyses four case studies, taking into account their inherent characteristics (urban layout, architecture, and interior design), their significance as a testimony to the social and political aspirations of the time, and the quality of life and lifestyles of their current population. It draws on sociological surveys and analysis of plans, photographs, and maps to carry out a broader picture of modern housing through the work of Fernando Silva in Lisbon and Fernão Simões de Carvalho in Luanda. Based on current research, this article aims to assess the resilience of these neighbourhoods by analysing the housing landscape from an urban and architectural perspective. By mapping the changes after 50 years of use, the intention is to understand how they have adapted to current conditions (urban and social) and support future actions.

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Transición, transformación y latencia : las diferentes vidas del conjunto “Torres Vermelhas” = Transition, transformation and latency: the consecutive lives of the “Torres Vermelhas” complex

Noormahomed¹

2020

Cuad. notas

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Resumen En Maputo (Mozambique) numerosos programas de vivienda colectiva fueron desarrollados durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX siguiendo los principios del Movimiento Moderno y constituyéndose como columna vertebral de su actual paisaje urbano. En este contexto, el conjunto Torres Vermelhas destaca como caso paradigmático al quedar su construcción interrumpida por los acontecimientos que motivaron la independencia del país en 1975. Un cambio político que vino acompañado de un complejo proceso de resignificación cultural y funcional. El presente artículo pretende explorar la vida arquitectónica de este conjunto en sus diferentes temporalidades mediante el estudio del potencial de sus innovadores mecanismos de adaptación y transformación. Se busca aquí, participar en la construcción de una historia alternativa al canon eurocéntrico a través de una metodología de proyecto disciplinar que considera los procesos de identidad y de reapropiación social como fundamentales para la comprensión y valoración crítica de este legado como patrimonio cultural.AbstractIn Maputo (Mozambique), a large number of collective housing programs were developed during the second half of the twentieth century following the principles of the Modern Movement. This architectural production represents a significant part of the city’s current backbone where the Torres Vermelhas complex stands out as a paradigmatic case, as its construction was interrupted by the events that led to the country’s independence in 1975. A political change that was accompanied by a complex process of cultural and functional resignification. Within this framework, this article seeks to explore the architectural life of these buildings in their different temporalities by studying the potential of their adaptation and transformation mechanisms. The aim, thus, is to participate in the construction of an alternative to the Eurocentric canon through a disciplinary project methodology that considers the processes of identity and social re-appropriation as fundamental to the critical evaluation of this legacy as cultural heritage.

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Luanda and Maputo: Accounts of the Two Capitals in Urban Heritage Discourse

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Towards the Definition of an Ever‐changing Heritage: A Reading of the (Re)appropriation Processes of the Torres Vermelhas in Mozambique

Towards the Definition of an Ever‐changing Heritage: A Reading of the (Re)appropriation Processes of the Torres Vermelhas in Mozambique

When Modern Housing Built Optimistic Suburbia: A Comparative Analysis Between Lisbon and Luanda

Transición, transformación y latencia : las diferentes vidas del conjunto “Torres Vermelhas” = Transition, transformation and latency: the consecutive lives of the “Torres Vermelhas” complex

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