Lukasz Stanek

MIASA Project: The Africanization of Ghanaian Construction Industry, 1952-1966

This research will study and re-conceptualize the process of Africanization of Ghanaian construction industry, or the emergence and emancipation of indigenous actors and institutions in charge of architecture, construction, and construction-materials industries in the wake of Ghana’s independence (1957). This process took place in the course of the opening of independent Ghana towards multiple sources of expertise, including Western Europe and the US, but also the Soviet Union, Soviet satellites states in Eastern Europe, China, Israel, and Yugoslavia. Rather than considering Africanization as a closure of Ghana to the external world, this research will study the ways in which the Africanization of the Ghanaian construction industry was facilitated by the country’s international links. This research will focus on the emancipation of African actors both in the sense of taking over positions of authority, and in terms of practicing architecture and construction beyond colonial precedents. Advancing debates in architectural history, but also drawing on urban and economic history, the specific focus of this research will include the state policies of supporting construction industries in Ghana, the decision-making process concerning the selection of models and technologies suitable for Ghana, and the emergence of architectural education in Ghana, notably at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi.