Urban and Architectural Heritage in Kinshasa, DR Congo
A survey of urban and architectural heritage in Kinshasa (DRC) was conducted between 2009 and 2011 at the initiative of Bernard Toulier (French Ministry of Culture and Communication). Johan Lagae was in charge of the historical research.
During the project, information was collected at over 400 buildings and sites. The inventory considered not only the built production of the colonial era but also the physical traces of precolonial culture and prominent buildings and sites dating from the post-independence era. Substantial documentation and detailed descriptions were provided for 150 buildings and sites. These sites were explicitly situated in the larger urban surroundings of colonial/postcolonial Kinshasa, a city whose spatial configuration still bears witness to colonial urban planning based on the principle of racial segregation.
The project resulted in two published books and a website.
Project Info
Research group: Theory and History of Architecture
Start date: 2010
Staff: Johan Lagae, Bernard Toulier, Marc Gemoets, Olivier Auber, Luce Beeckmans, Kim De Raedt, Geertrui Vandist, Jérôme Kazambu and Nephtali Fofolo
