The Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali. Image © Wikimedia user Ruud Zwart licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 NL

为什么非洲乡土建筑始终无法得到复兴？
Why African Vernacular Architecture Is Overdue for a Renaissance

由专筑网李韧，王帅编译

本文最初发表于Common Edge，标题为“为传统非洲建筑的革新而奋斗”。

2017年9月份，尼日利亚音乐家Wizkid在伦敦皇家艾伯特音乐厅进行了一场爆满的演出，团队中非洲音乐家的人数越来越多，其中有Selif Kaita、Youssou Ndour、Miriam Makeba等等，这一盛事标志着非洲大陆的文化复兴，同时也标志着非洲音乐、电影、时尚、烹饪、艺术的影响力日益增强。

可是，非洲传统建筑，尤其是撒哈拉以南地区，并没有从文化复兴中获益，反而逐渐失去了原有的吸引力。尽管这些地区的建筑在前殖民时期仍然有着一定的影响力，但在后期并没有突破传统的土墙和茅草屋顶的限制，因此，这些建筑对人们并没有很大的吸引力，从而也导致了熟练工匠的匮乏和传统建筑艺术知识的流失，更进一步使非洲传统建筑复兴的希望变得更加渺茫。

非洲当地人民对于统一的乡土风格建筑没有过多的依赖，相反来说，当地的建筑风格多种多样。在前殖民时期，非洲各部落都有着自己独特的建筑形态和施工方式，每种方式都有属于自己的文化背景。例如在尼日利亚北部的传统Hausa建筑(Tubali)，其设计灵感主要来源于西非古国桑海帝国Sudano Sahelian建筑，再例如在南部的古老奥约帝国、贝宁共和国、Nri帝国，这些地区都有着自己的文化特征，每个部落的建筑既反映了当地的特性，也代表了当时的社会结构、文化遗产、宗教、民族价值观，以及当地的习俗。

This article was originally published on Common Edge as "Making a Case for the Renaissance of Traditional African Architecture."
Last September, Nigerian Afrobeat musician Wizkid played to a sold-out house at the Royal Albert Hall in London, joining a growing list of illustrious African musicians, such as Selif Kaita, Youssou Ndour, Miriam Makeba and others, that have performed at that prestigious venue. This event affirmed the unfolding cultural renaissance across the continent, but it also signified the rising global influence of African music, movies, fashion, cuisine and the arts.
Sadly, traditional African architecture, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, has not profited from this renaissance and has instead steadily lost its appeal across the continent. In spite of its towering influence in the pre-colonial era, it has largely failed to develop beyond the crude earthen walls and thatch roof architecture; for this reason it has remained unattractive to homeowners who often associate it with poverty. Consequently, the neglect of indigenous architecture has resulted in the dearth of skilled craftsmen knowledgeable in the art of traditional building, a reality that has further dimmed hopes for a revival of this architectural style.
Africa has never laid claim to a homogenous indigenous style of architecture; rather, its architectural styles are as varied as the numerous influences that had inspired them. Each traditional tribal state in pre-colonial Africa had its unique architectural morphology, iconography and construction methodology, each one influenced and shaped by its own peculiar socio-cultural narratives. In northern Nigeria, for instance, the traditional Hausa architecture (Tubali) was chiefly inspired by Sudano-Sahelian architecture of the ancient Songhai Empire; while that of the southern tribal states, like ancient Oyo, Benin or Nri Kingdoms in the south, were also shaped by their own peculiar cultural influences. These pieces of indigenous architecture both highlighted the individuality of each of these tribal states and reflected their social structures, cultural heritage, religious and ethnic values, and local customs.


Traditional Benin Architecture. Image Courtesy of Mathias Agbo, Jr

如今，非洲大陆人民一致认为长期的殖民主义严重阻碍了非洲传统建筑的发展，很大程度上是因为殖民地管理者没有承认该地社区的原有架构。他们甚至一度地将传统建筑标准化，并且忽视不同部落的文化差异。

当前，非洲文化的复兴表明了自从非洲大陆的民族独立之后，当地传统建筑近六十年来的发展方向。然而讽刺的是，非洲大陆早期的民主斗争者并没有特别注重传统建筑文化的保护，甚至是在民主斗争达到顶峰时，对于文化保护的理念仍旧非常薄弱。他们只是拆除了殖民时期的部分建筑，在自由战争中获得胜利的人们似乎只是在表面上表明对于侵略者的反抗，实际上却仍然十分崇尚那些风格迥异的外来建筑。

在独立后，非洲大陆殖民时期的建筑开始迅速发展，对于当时大多数有钱人来说这是一个极具吸引力的项目。因此，殖民时期风格不断地在非洲大陆上蔓延，从而导致传统建筑逐渐消逝。取而代之的是一种奇怪但无处不在的国际风格。虽然没有既定的模式，但建筑却具有不同的风格，其中有现代主义元素、希腊罗马元素，甚至具有亚洲特点，这些不同的元素混杂在一起，最终形成了诡异的后殖民主义风格。

而在现代社会，人们对于传统文化过于忽视，非洲大陆的大部分建筑院校在上课时谈及相关话题时只是一带而过，甚至将它们从课本中删除。在大多数国家的传统非洲建筑历史，只是囊括了众所周知的国家发展脉络，这是很奇怪的现象，国家的发展似乎受到政治社会危机的摆布，甚至需要通过大肆渲染历史信息来维持国内的民族和谐。

非洲大陆的建筑教育并不会系统地教授非洲建筑历史知识，当然也不会教授传统历史风格的表达方式。目前，非洲大陆只有极少数的设计学院会将传统建筑当做一门独立的课程，但也只是提及一些皮毛，并没有实际意义。但是，几乎每所设计学院都会让学生们学习欧洲传统建筑风格，例如哥特、巴洛克，甚至包括包豪斯风格。这些学校的教育重点则在于西方建筑及其建筑师，学生们非常了解格罗皮乌斯、柯布西耶、赖特等大师的作品，但是几乎没有人了解非洲当地的建筑师Demas Nwoko和Francis Kere，后者甚至通过将传统工艺、当地材料，和现代设计策略的结合，来创造出非洲现代新风格，从而大力推动了非洲建筑的发展。

Today, there is a near consensus on the continent that colonialism significantly impeded the evolution of traditional African architecture, largely because colonial administrators had failed to acknowledge the pre-existing architectures of the local communities they colonized. And even when they did, they often tried to standardize the indigenous styles, while ignoring the peculiar differences of each sub-ethnic group in the various tribal states.
The current renaissance of other spheres of African culture shows the direction indigenous architecture could have taken in the last sixty years, since a gust of national independence first swept across the continent. It’s ironic that the early freedom fighters on the continent did little to revive indigenous architecture, post-independence; especially at a time when African nationalistic sentiments were at their peak. Even as they went about dismantling other vestiges of colonial legacies, the freedom fighters who succeeded the colonialists were more than happy to move into the palatial mansions left behind by the colonial administrators, while mouthing heavy anti-western rhetoric.
Naturally, the post-independence era ushered in the booming period for colonial architecture, one that became an aspirational item for most of the continent’s nouveau riche. As a result, this style was endlessly replicated across the continent, helping to sound the death knell for indigenous architecture. It was eventually abandoned for a strange but ubiquitous international style. It’s one without a clearly defined pattern, a potpourri of styles, bearing imprints and elements of Modern, Greco-Roman and even Asian influences, combining elements and iconographies from various styles to create an eccentric anonymous style, a bizarre sort of post-Colonialism.
Presently, this cultural neglect is so systemic that most architecture schools on the continent have either completely expunged the history of traditional African architecture from their curriculum, or have simply made it a fleeting discourse. The history of traditional African architecture in most countries, like several other aspects of African history, has often become a casualty of the state-sanctioned censorship on historical narratives across the continent; one dictated by socio-political exigencies and the odd need to preserve intra-ethnic harmony by suppressing or coloring historical narratives.
Architectural education on the continent doesn’t equip architects-in-training with knowledge of the history of African architecture, nor does it teach them the right skillset to propagate this style. At present only a few design schools in Africa teach traditional architecture as a standalone course and even that hasn’t translated into much in terms of brick and mortar. Yet, every design school on the continent teaches its students the history and theory of classical European architecture styles like gothic, baroque and even about modernist styles like Bauhaus. For these schools, emphasis is placed entirely on western architecture and architects. The students extensively study the works of Walter Gropious, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and are often made to see them as infallible idols to be emulated verbatim. No one mentions local designers, such as Demas Nwoko, or even contemporary African designers like Francis Kere, who is currently pushing the boundaries of traditional African architecture by combining traditional craftsmanship, local materials and modern design techniques to create a contemporary African architecture style.


The Benga Riverside Residential Community, in Mozambique. Designed by Diébédo Francis Kéré, the building elegantly fuses traditional and modern elements. Image © Kéré Architecture

濒危的非洲建筑文化遗产可以说是非常危急的社会状况了，因为传统建筑是国家历史不可或缺的一部分，文化遗产才能表明这里是非洲大陆。虽然例如马里共和国、苏丹共和国、尼日尔共和国等国家在这方面做得还不错，但大多数国家对于非洲传统建筑的保护和发展并没有采取明确的政策。低廉的造价和简单的施工方式让建筑适用于低收入人群，可是，建筑师和设计师却很难承接到此类项目，因为城市规划部门并没有资格对传统建筑颁发施工许可，因为当地没有合适的法规为它们赋予权利。

我认为政府不仅有义务编写出合理的规范来管理发展传统建筑，也需要通过这种风格委托一些公共建筑来表明对它的信心。他们应当适当地鼓励传统建筑师、设计师，以及房屋所有者来大力发展传统建筑，让这些建筑在非洲大陆上蓬勃发展。而建筑学院同样需要进一步地宣扬传统建筑方式与材料，让当代人们更能接受这些建筑的特有风格，因此，如果想要复兴非洲传统建筑，那么最根本的策略则是从学校做起，让学生们学习传统历史、设计理论、建造方法。

由于当地建筑的结构、物理，以及美学的局限无法满足每个项目的不同需求。但是，当代非洲建筑师的作品结合了现代设计方式、材料，以及施工技术，仍然展示了传统非洲建筑的巨大潜力。

“建筑的场所应当比建筑的建设时间更为重要——Gunnar Asplund”

The dying African architectural heritage is a socio-cultural emergency, as traditional architecture remains an indispensable aspect of our history, our cultural heritage—defining who we are as Africans. While some states like Mali, Sudan and Niger Republic, have done better than most in the preservation and propagation of indigenous architecture, most countries (like Nigeria, my country)  have no stated policy towards the protection and promotion of traditional African architecture. The affordability and ease of construction should ordinarily have made this style of architecture the most appropriate for low-income housing and communal buildings like schools, hospitals and markets in suburban communities. Sadly, architects and designers will typically have a hard time obtaining building permits for these kinds of buildings in Nigeria, because the development control units at the city planning departments are mostly ill-equipped to arbitrate over the building permit approval for indigenous architecture, because the existing codes do not cover them.
I believe city authorities have the moral obligation to not only write a new category of building codes to cover this indigenous architecture, but must demonstrate faith in it by commissioning some of its public architecture in this style. They must also incentivize local architects, designers and homeowners (especially in low-income communities) to look towards indigenous architecture, as a way to encourage the mass production of it across the continent. Universities must bridge the unacceptable divide between design practice and education to further develop traditional building methods and materials, to make this brand of architecture more acceptable aesthetically and functionally. The recipe for the revival of indigenous African architecture has to start with the compulsory introduction of traditional architecture into architecture school curriculums—its history, design theory and construction methodology.
Traditional African architecture will never satisfy every project brief and specification, because of its structural, physical and aesthetic limitations. But new works by contemporary African architects and designers have demonstrated the vast potential of traditional African architecture, when combined with modern design, materials and construction techniques.
“The architecture of place should be more important than the architecture of time.– Gunnar Asplund”


作者简介：

Mathias Agbo, Jr.是一位设计研究员，同时也是环境设计师。他在尼日利亚的首都阿布贾经营着一家小型设计咨询公司，并定期进行设计建筑方面的写作。

Mathias Agbo, Jr. is design researcher and built environment designer. He runs a small design-build consultancy in Abuja, Nigeria and periodically writes on design and architecture.


出处：本文译自www.archdaily.com/，转载请注明出处。