Confini labili: periodizzazione e architettura moderna a Kinshasa / Shifting Boundaries: Periodisation and Modern Architecture in Kinshasa

Abstract

The historiography of modern architecture emphasises Western narratives, imposing periodisations that do not capture the intricate temporalities of other contexts. This paper investigates the architectural development of Kinshasa as a laboratory of tropical modernism, where architecture did not merely adhere to canonical trajectories; instead, this concept was cultivated through hybridisations and reinterpretations. Beginning in the late colonial period of the 1940s–1950s and extending into the post-independence decades, Kinshasa's built environment exemplifies overlapping modernities shaped by colonial governance, local cultural negotiations, and postcolonial identity formation. The works of European and local architects intersect, creating a rational chronology wherein climatic adaptation, vernacular references, and political shifts influence both formal and technical decisions. The research methodology integrates archival investigation and critical analysis of historical documents.