African modernism : the architecture of independence : Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Zambia /

Includes bibliographical references.

The new domain: Architecture at the time of liberation -- Ghana -- Architecture after independence -- Senegal -- Henri Chomette: Africa as Terrian of Architectural Freedom -- Cote D'Ivoire -- Project of a Nation: The African Riviera and The Hotel Ivoire -- Kenya -- Proxy Colonialism: The Export of Israeli Architecture to Africa -- Zambia -- Land and Social order In Middle Africa -- African Universe: Africa Place at EXPO -- Appendix.

In the 1950s and 1960s most African countries gained their independence. Architecture became one of the principal means by which the young nations expressed their national identity. Parliament buildings, central banks, stadiums, convention centers, universities and independence memorials were built with often heroic and daring designs. This book investigates for the first time the relationship between architecture and nation building in Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire and Zambia. It features around eighty buildings with descriptive texts, photographs, site plans and selected floor plans and sections. The images, commissioned especially for this book, are contributed by renowned photographers Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster.