Postmodernism and Architecture at the End of Apartheid traces how South African architects turned to classical forms and colonial symbols during the final brutal decade of apartheid, revealing postmodernism not as aesthetic preference but as a register of disintegrating political conscience.
About This Book
Set against a landscape of segregation and forced removals, this book examines the specific conditions under which postmodernism took hold in South Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. Hilton Judin argues that architecture and apartheid interacted in ways that simultaneously buttressed and undermined a state in collapse. Architects trained at the University of Pennsylvania absorbed Louis Kahn's reinvention of ancient ruins in concrete and brick; others, influenced by Denise Scott Brown, found their route through what she termed an "African view of Las Vegas." The book draws on architectural theory, urban spatial politics, and critical voices from Robert Venturi to Fredric Jameson, alongside literary resistance from Nadine Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee.
Key Features
- 332 pages of architectural history, urban theory, and cultural criticism examining South African postmodernism within a global context
- Analysis of key theorists including Robert Venturi, Paolo Portoghesi, Colin Rowe, Manfredo Tafuri, Fredric Jameson, and Kenneth Frampton
- Engagement with literary resistance through the work of Nadine Gordimer and J.M. Coetzee
- Published by Routledge
What You'll Discover
- How Louis Kahn's pedagogy at the University of Pennsylvania shaped South African architects' turn to postmodernism as a formal reinvention of ancient orders
- The role of Denise Scott Brown's "African view of Las Vegas" in transmitting postmodern urbanism back to a South African context
- The ways postmodern aesthetics — corporate temples, neon strips, white suburban sprawl — physically encoded the spatial politics of apartheid
- How resistance operated across multiple registers simultaneously: grassroots struggle, community participation, and literary culture alongside architectural practice
About the Author
Hilton Judin is the author of this study connecting architectural theory and apartheid-era urban politics. His work examines the intersection of postmodernism, public culture, and spatial justice in South Africa during a period of acute political crisis.
Specifications
- Format: Softcover
- Pages: 332
- Dimensions: 174 × 246 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781041193074
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects, historians, and theorists interested in postmodernism's political dimensions, South African urban history, and the relationship between architectural form and state power.