‘Utilitarian’ Architecture over ‘Streamlined Buildings’: Decolonisation, Nation-Building and Development Aid at the University of Nigeria (1955–1967)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Recent scholarship on twentieth century West African architecture examines the intersections of decolonisation, nation formation, and development aid. While this shift highlights a transnational body of architects, the role of indigenous actors and building professionals remain under-researched. Using the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) as a case study, this paper analyses how architecture reflects Nigeria’s transition from a colonial entity to an independent state. It employs a transnational and multi-institutional archival research approach. Government, academic and architectural archives in Nigeria, the UK and the USA were examined. Non-institutional sources like newspapers and biographical accounts of students and building professionals were also analysed. The research reveals that the Eastern Nigerian political class envisioned UNN’s architecture as a nationalist and utilitarian alternative to the elitist and expensive colonial University College Ibadan (1948). The university was designed in three stages by the British firm James Cubitt & Partners; Nigerian contractors like Eastern General Contractors; and American architects through technical assistance. The stages illustrate how the architecture of universities and state projects in early independence Nigeria were impacted by decolonisation, nation-building and development aid. Furthermore, the research introduces local figures—Nigerian political elites and contractors—who are often overlooked in commonly used architectural records.
Source: Architecture
Author: Adefolatomiwa Toye
Institution: University of Liverpool
Language: English
Subfield: Architecture
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
Award: G8069481242
OpenAlex ID: W7204105180