‘Decolonising’ Architectural History

Wednesday 16 December, 3–5pm (UCT)

Purpose of the Meeting

This meeting is a forum for those who have contributed to the development, mobilisation, or
framing of ‘decolonising of architectural history’—particularly (though not exclusively) in relation to
curriculum design and implementation—to share their experiences. The purpose is threefold. In the
first instance, we hope to hold a dialogue in which participants can share their practices, to develop
a sense of the multi-valent approaches taken. In the second instance, we hope to identify the key
structural and systemic barriers that become evident when languages and practices of
decolonisation are mobilised. Finally, we hope that participants are able to share or propose
strategies, tactics, resources, sites or agencies that are necessary for continued, viable,
transformation.

This is the first meeting of an ongoing series planned at University of Westminster in collaboration
with the Society of Architectural Historians Great Britain (SAHGB). Through meetings such as these,
and other forums, including symposia, workshops, and public lectures, we hope to build a base upon
which the provision and development of architectural history (practice and pedagogy) may be
challenged and transformed.

As well as open calls, invited keynotes, workshops and related symposia, for practitioners,
professionals, academics, students and activists, we hope to invite spokespeople from adjacent
disciplines – professional, humanities and arts (including, and only for example, law, history, fine and
performing arts) – whose parent institutes and learned societies have already engaged research and
implementation strategies for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and more radical confrontations with
institutionalised and structural racism, colonialism and imperialism. This initial meeting will inform
how we approach the coming year (2021).

Structure of the Meeting

The main platform at this meeting will be offered to the invited participants. However, space is
provided in the meeting for attendees to ask questions, share reflections, or prompt further
exploration.

The meeting will be conducted under ‘Chatham House’ rules. These rules are designed to allow for
candidness and openness within the meeting. No recording will be made, and information disclosed
at the meeting may be reported by those present, but the source of information may not be
explicitly stated or implied (excepting reference to oneself).
Running Order:

3pm: 5 minute introduction from Nick Beech and Neal Shasore

PART ONE – Round of introductions

3:10: Huda Tayob, an introduction to ‘Race, space and architecture: towards an open-access
curriculum’

3:20: Tania Sengupta, an introduction to ‘“Race” and Space: A new curriculum’

3:30: Eliana Abu-Hamdi, ‘Decolonizing Architectural History’ in and through the Global
Architectural History Collaborative

3:40: Catalina Mejia Moreno, an introduction to ‘Fielding Architecture: Feminist practices for a
decolonised pedagogy’

3:50: Giulio Verdini, ‘Globally-Informed City Climate Pedagogy and Practice (Decolonising urban
and architectural curricula for effective climate action)’

PART TWO – Discussion

16:00–16:45: Nick Beech and Neil Shasore to chair. Open with any questions from students,
followed by any questions from participants to participants.

We ask that the dialogue centre on: what were the barriers to implementation? When these
were overcome, how were they? When these were/are maintained/continue to be present
what strategies and/or support has been sought? What is needed from institutions that serve
architectural history?

c.16:45: bring to a summary/close with suggestions (from any/all participants) on most urgent
next steps.

Biographies of Invited Participants

Eliana Abu-Hamdi, PhD, is currently the GAHTC Project Manager as well as Adjunct Assistant
Professor at Hunter College, in the Department of Political Science, teaching courses on Global
Poverty and the Ethics of Development as well as the History of Urbanism. She is an
architectural historian, urbanist, designer and Middle Eastern/Global South scholar with
published articles and contributed chapters in a volume on urban governance in the Middle
East, and another on social housing in the Middle East. Currently she is actively developing her
dissertation into a manuscript for submission to Cambridge University Press. Eliana received her
Ph.D. and Master of Science degrees in Architectural History from UC Berkeley with a
designated emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies.

Catalina Mejía Moreno is Lecturer and Director of Architectural Humanities at the School of
Architecture, University of Sheffield. Her doctoral research from Newcastle University entitled
‘Returns – Towards a Photographic Criticism’ [Or, the case of the North and South American
elevators and the Berliner Bild Bericht] calls for the recognition of the ‘photographic canon’ as
an architectural phenomena in itself, and suggests material practices to difference, destabilise
and subvert their normalisation. Her recent research and teaching explores creative and critical
practices to de-colonise, re-energise and re-examine architecture teaching, politics and
pedagogies. Her recent publications include ‘Nos están matando (We are being killed)’ (Journal
of Architectural Education, 2020), and ‘There was once an empty site,’ (arq: Architectural
Research Quarterly, 2020).

Tania Sengupta is Associate Professor in architectural history and theory at the Bartlett School
of Architecture, University College London. Her research looks at architecture and urbanism of
colonies and ex-colonies (especially South Asia)—including their interactions with the West and
with each other—through a postcolonial and transcultural lens. More specific research
interests/ expertise includes architectures of everyday (colonial) governance and bureaucracy;
provinciality and urban-rural relationships; spaces of domesticity; histories of architectural
expertise; and the relationship between architecture, material cultures and ‘life-worlds’. She is
co-chief editor of the journal Architecture Beyond Europe. She was part of the Bartlett faculty
group that recently (January 2020) produced the curriculum/ resource ‘Race’ and Space: What
is Race doing in a ‘Nice’ Field Like the Built Environment?

Huda Tayob is History & Theory Programme Convener and co-leader of Unit 18 at the Graduate
School of Architecture, University of Johannesburg. Her doctoral research looked at the spatial
practices of African migrants and refugees in Cape Town, with a particular focus on mixed-use
markets established and run by these populations and their wider trans-national connections.
Her general academic interests include a focus on minor and subaltern architectures, and the
potential of literature to respond to archival silences in architectural research. Her recent
publications include “Subaltern Architectures: Can Drawing ‘Tell’ a Different Story” (Architecture
and Culture, 2018) and “Architecture-by-Migrants: The Porous Infrastructures of Bellville”
(Anthropology Southern Africa, 2019). She is co-curator of the open-access curriculum project
RaceSpaceArchitecture.org with Suzi Hall and Thandi Loewenson.
 Giulio Verdini is Reader at the School of Architecture and Cities of the University of
Westminster (UK), and Visiting Professor at the Polytechnic University Mohammed VI, in
Morocco. Prior to that, he was Associate Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in
China. He has done research on rural-urban linkages, culture and sustainable territorial
development, particularly in China, South America and, more recently, in Africa. He is the editor
of the Routledge Book Series ‘Planning, Heritage and Sustainability.’ He is currently leading a
research project on ‘Globally-informed Climate Pedagogy and Practice. Decolonising urban and
architectural curricula for effective climate action ’.

Resources Made Available by Participants

Prior to the meeting, participants and other attendees may want to consult the following
resources (if they have not done so before):

Eliana Abu-Hamdi: For an idea of the Global Architectural History Teaching Collective’s (GAHTC)
ethos and programme, see: Mission Statement. For those interested in browsing content,
see Explore Content which provides access to standard lectures, as well as Video Lectures. The
GAHTC also provides access to Digital Meetings. You can find the round table on Epidemic
Urbanism as well Anti-Racist Architectural History as well as a Zoom-posium on online teaching
in Digital Meetings. The GAHTC has sponsored a number of Teacher-to-Teacher Workshops, and
there are further materials produced and curated on contracted subjects available.

Catalina Mejía Moreno: A book of abstracts from the symposium ‘Fielding Architecture:
Feminist practices for a decolonised pedagogy’, University of Brighton, 24/25 June 2019 is
available here. Catalina shares some brief comments on the symposium, in an interview which
introduces her and her work at the University of Brighton, during a podcast available here.

Tania Sengupta: The ‘Race’ and Space curriculum, curated by Tania and her colleagues at UCL—
Solomon Zewolde, Adam Walls, Catalina Ortiz, Yasminah Beebeejaun, eorge Burridge, and
Kamna Patel—can be found here. A short introduction to the curriculum by Catalina Ortiz (DPU,
Bartlett) published in RIAS Quarterly special issue Activism in Architecture, is available here. The
launch event was recorded and is available here.

Huda Tayob: The open access curriculum that Huda developed with Suzi Hall and Thandi
Loewenson is available online, with many other resources, at Race, Space & Architecture. Huda
introduces the curriculum in conversation with Frances Richard at Places journal, here. Huda
also presented the curriculum at a public lecture to the Architectural Association in January
2020, available here.
Giulio Verdini: A blog, first launched in the summer of 2020, which provides regular updates on
the research project ‘Globally-informed Climate Pedagogy and Practice’ is available here. The
initial position paper for this research is available here. The first in a planned series of podcasts
generated by the project—‘Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change’—an interview with
Mziwaoxolo Sirayi, UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy and Sustainable Development, is available
here.