White Skin, Black Masks: On Questions of African Identity in Post-Apartheid Public Architectural Design, 1994-2006

This PhD examines issues of African identity raised by new public architectures of the early post-apartheid era (1994 - 2006). The study examines recent government buildings, public institutions and heritage sites, which call for an appropriate language of expression in response to post-apartheid society. The study also extends to various el It! ies fOi tl Ie desigl i COl i ipetition~ 'tvhiel. initiBteeJ these buileJiFl~s, BS B WBy of BFlBI~fSiFl~ different visions for the future of South African architecture, and in order to comment on why certain projects were selected and others rejected. In this way, a critical dialogue is established with the new public architecture: its competition process, the jurors' assessment, public and state aspirations, as well as media coverage. Questions of African identity are raised with reference to' Fanon's work in Black Skin, White Masks, where the perspective of the colonised black man is theorised under the' eye of white power. Fanon's philosophical enquiry opens political and poetic themes that are developed throughout the PhD, in particular, the play of identity implied by Fanon's . metaphor, 'black skin, white masks.' A pivotal assertion of the thesis argues that parallels can be drawn between social discourses, subjectivities and architecture. Questions are asked as to how post-colonial subject positions can achieve symbolic expression and recognition through architecture. These theoretical themes guide the primary research into selected architectural projects and their associated design competitions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo