Readings of Modernity: Colonialism's Impact on Architecture

This essay analyzes several readings on modernity, focusing on the impact of colonialism on architecture and urban development. It examines how cities and buildings reflect social and cultural variables, using examples like New and Old Delhi to illustrate colonial influences. The essay discusses the works of King, Rapoport, Pevsner, Goad, Willis, and Edmonds to explore the relationship between building styles, social factors, and the influence of colonialism. It highlights the impact of colonialism on Australian architecture, including indigenous heritage and European influences. The essay also explores the concept of the frontier in Australian cities and how they became indigenous spaces. The essay emphasizes the importance of understanding cities as processes of transactions and encounters, not just grand building designs. The provided bibliography includes the sources used for the analysis.

1
READINGS OF MODERNITY
Name:
Course:
Date:

2
Readings of Modernity
According to King, Cities and buildings are not only a reflection of social and cultural variables
but represent power distribution. A city like Delhi came up due to political, economic and social
processes of colonialism. King provides an example of New and Old Delhi, which are in the same area
but very different due to the colonial influences to these towns. One side was dominated by Indians and
the other by the British hence, the structures, way of life and dressing are very different1.
King also explains that buildings assist to maintain a society’s social forms over the years as
different forms of social organization are expressed on the ground in form of buildings. Colonialism is not
only a local, but global phenomenon. This can be demonstrated by the work of Amos Rapoport, who has
done comparative studies across cultures to show how dwellings and settlements are related to culture.
Building history mostly focused on materials and technology, which were used but
architectural history looks at many different building styles and also puts into consideration
social factors. This has greatly influenced the type of buildings, which come up even in the
modern times. Responses to buildings by their occupants in relation to the current environments
must be looked at. Nicholas Pevsner, in his book History of Building types, explains how
buildings that have the same purpose take different forms in different societies. King however
feels that some of the studies are over-simplified in nature and deeper studies should be done to
determine how colonialism influences current spaces and society2.
Goad and Willis, in The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture believe that there is a
gap in the written history of Australian architecture. The encyclopedia tries to fill this gap. They
feel that there are few studies, which have been done on Australian architecture3. In their book,
Goad and Willis look at the indigenous beginnings of architecture to the colonial, modern and
1 King, Anthony D., ed. Buildings and society: Essays on the social development of the built environment. Routledge, 2003.
2 King, Anthony D., ed. Buildings and society: Essays on the social development of the built environment. Routledge, 2003.
3 Goad, Philip, and Julie Willis, Eds. The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

3
contemporary phases. The book shows just how the Australian Culture in the previous colonial
eras has greatly influenced the kind of buildings, which are put up in modern Australia.
Aboriginal heritage influences the type of buildings and later the British culture has an influence.
Australian architecture was characterized by three conditions, the opportunity to build, necessity
to adapt and freedom of experiment.
Australian buildings were greatly influenced by European culture as architects from
countries like Scotland, Germany and Canada travelled to Australia and brought different types
of architectural knowledge. An example is William Wardell, who finds the southern lights and
this influences the way he does the stained glass in the Gothic Revival Cathedral in Melbourne
and Sydney. The native environment in Australia influences architects to incorporate the same as
they are coming up with buildings. The processes that have been adopted in the nineteenth
century are largely influenced by the colonialism and the twentieth century has been defined by
influences, which have led to modernity in Australia. The 1920s and 1930s have seen a number
of Australian architects visit Europe and the United States and this has brought about modernist
practices. The encyclopedia is the first book of its kind that has given an insight into Australian
architecture and more studies need to be done to unearth how colonialism has affected building
structures4.
Edmonds looks at unsettling the notion that the frontier is only associated with a history
of displacement and violence rather than the urban centers like Melbourne, where most
Australians live today. The book describes how Europeans first landed in port towns and where
many of them remained5. The frontier is described as being closer to home than one might think.
4 Goad, Philip, and Julie Willis, Eds. The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture. Cambridge University Press, 2012.
5 Edmonds, Penelope. Urbanizing frontiers: indigenous peoples and settlers in 19th-century Pacific Rim cities. ubc Press, 2010.

4
Australian cities became indigenous spaces from the time of European settlement and make an
understanding of aboriginal histories as urban histories.
The aborigines exit the frontiers in early 19th Century and move to urban areas as new
migrants in the 20th Century. Melbourne begins as an illegal outlaw settlement whose settlers are
kept in check by the influence of the Hudson’s Bay Company. With time, the whites were more
favorable towards the aborigines. Progress was conjoined to human relationship to land. Cities
like Melbourne stood as the pillar of social and cultural evolution and were a representation of
civilization. Edmonds describes the city as a scene of daily life and not simply the grand building
designs. She interprets cities as processes of transactions, encounters of different races,
generations and transformation of spaces6.
Bibliography
6 Edmonds, Penelope. Urbanizing frontiers: indigenous peoples and settlers in 19th-century pacific rim cities. ubc Press, 2010.

5
Edmonds, Penelope. Urbanizing frontiers: indigenous peoples and settlers in 19th-century
Pacific Rim cities. UBC Press, 2010.
Goad, Philip, and Julie Willis, Eds. The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture. Cambridge
University Press, 2012.
King, Anthony D., ed. Buildings and society: Essays on the social development of the built
environment. Routledge, 2003.