Architecture in Africa’s International Relations was a weeklong workshop taking place in Accra from 17 to 23 September 2022. The invited participants were scholars and practitioners working in the fields of architecture and/or international relations, with a focus on Africa. The workshop sought to put a variety of methodological, empirical and theoretical approaches to African architecture into conversation with one another so that we can begin to develop new ways of thinking about African architecture. 

Buildings are often associated with domestic politics – as expressions of power or identity – but they also play an important role in international relationships. For example, architecture can be used to project a specific image of a country abroad – through airports, sports stadiums televised in international events, and in embassy buildings that act as state proxies in foreign capitals. There are also more nebulous uses of architecture in the international spread of norms and ideas, seen for example in the ways aesthetics and techniques are taken up and adapted in different contexts, carrying with them ideas of culture and expertise from one part of the world to another. 

Many African capital cities are host to buildings that had been erected by foreign powers – during the colonial period or gifted as part of soft power or development projects.  

This event aimed to look systematically at the role of architecture in international relations. It aimed for disciplinary and geographical breadth, seeking to put a variety of methodological, empirical and theoretical approaches to African architecture into conversation with each other, to share work and develop new ideas and approaches. A range of topics were explored, from looking at colonial architectural legacies to Chinese influences and soft power. 

Architecture in Africa's International Relations (AAIR) workshop is co-sponsored by the AFI, the African State Architecture project at SOAS University of London, and the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana. The event took place in the form of a workshop for academics and a symposium for practitioners. 

Workshop (Academics)

Accra, 17-20 September 2022

This workshop was aimed at scholars working on architecture and/or international politics in Africa. Participants had the opportunity to present draft papers in small group discussions, and were able to develop their thinking through reading others’ work, alongside architectural site visits around Accra and networking with architects and politics scholars. 

This event followed a highly successful workshop on ‘Politics and Architecture’ held in Johannesburg in 2019. The AAIR workshop saw the launch of the book that emerged from the Johannesburg workshop, Architecture and Politics in Africa: Making, Living and Imagining Identities through Buildings, edited by Joanne Tomkinson, Daniel Mulugeta and Julia Gallagher (Oxford: James Currey). 

The workshop’s outcome is the inaugural Reimagining African Futures compendium, an edited collection of papers developed in the workshop, aimed at raising the profile of Architecture in Africa’s International Relations. Stay tuned for more information on the release of this publication. 

Workshop convenors 

• Dr Irene Appeaning-Addo, IAS, University of Ghana  

• Professor Julia Gallagher, SOAS, University of London  

• Dr Daniel Mulugeta, University of Birmingham 

• Dr Innocent Ncube 

• Emmanuel Ofori-Sarpong 

• Kuukuwa Manful 

Participants 

Adekunle Adeyemo, Anthony K Wako, Aude Tollo, Babere Kerata Chacha, Brook Haileselassie Damaris Wanjiku, Daniel Mulugeta, Emmanuel Kusi Ofori-Sarpong, Eyob Gebremariam, Hashim Tarmahomed, Irene Addo Appeaning, Jamilla Hamidu, Joy Onyejiako, Julia Gallagher, Kenneth Nyangena, Kristina Egbers, Kuukuwa Manful, Lesego Bantsheng, Lloyd Amoah, Lukasz Stanek, Nnamdi Elleh, Nora Naji, Sophie Kazan, Tomá Berlanda, Valerie Rumbidzai Jeche