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Rodrigues, I. (2022). The role of construction companies in modern housing: Precol’s footprint in late colonial Angola. In Carmen Jordá Such, Maite Palomares Figueres, Ana Tostões, Uta Pottgiesser (Ed.), Proceedings 17th International Docomomo Conference. (pp. 276-286). Valencia: Docomomo international.

I. L. Rodrigues,  "The role of construction companies in modern housing: Precol’s footprint in late colonial Angola", in Proc. 17th Int. Docomomo Conf., Carmen Jordá Such, Maite Palomares Figueres, Ana Tostões, Uta Pottgiesser, Ed., Valencia, Docomomo international, 2022, pp. 276-286

@inproceedings{rodrigues2022_1764915216360,
	author = "Rodrigues, I.",
	title = "The role of construction companies in modern housing: Precol’s footprint in late colonial Angola",
	booktitle = "Proceedings 17th International Docomomo Conference",
	year = "2022",
	editor = "Carmen Jordá Such, Maite Palomares Figueres, Ana Tostões, Uta Pottgiesser",
	volume = "",
	number = "",
	series = "",
	pages = "276-286",
	publisher = "Docomomo international",
	address = "Valencia",
	organization = "",
	url = "https://docomomo.com/proceedings-17th-idc/"
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - The role of construction companies in modern housing: Precol’s footprint in late colonial Angola
T2  - Proceedings 17th International Docomomo Conference
AU  - Rodrigues, I.
PY  - 2022
SP  - 276-286
CY  - Valencia
UR  - https://docomomo.com/proceedings-17th-idc/
AB  - This article reflects on Angola’s modern heritage and discusses its relevance to
housing research, bringing to light modern architectural projects in Sub–Saharan Africa
that are little known internationally. During the Portuguese colonial period, mainly
in the 1960s, Luanda was transformed into an urban laboratory of modern western
architectural experimentation. In this process, the role of neighbourhood units from
the city centre to the suburbs stands out, announcing a futuristic and optimistic
vision for urban living. Beyond the formal expression this article also shows that Luso–
Angolan architects achieved the original adaptation of modern architecture to the
climate. The aim of this paper is to outline the footprint of private promotors in the
construction and property development of modern dwellings in Luanda. An example
is a footprint of Predial Económica Ultramarina (Precol), a company engaged in the
construction and marketing of large housing complexes, such as the neighbourhood’s
units of Prenda (1963) and CTT (1968), part of urban plans of public promotion
launched by the urbanisation of the city of Luanda. Did the private promotors act as
mediators between private contacts and state administrations? Had they influenced
the choice of construction techniques and the following architectural design? These
neighbourhoods, mostly of modern affiliation, represent the transversality of the
Modern Movement, born in Europe and applied by Portuguese architects in other
countries. Inhabited by the colonial upper–middle class, the “Precol neighbourhoods”
could adapt to new living after independence. Today, they show their resilience through
excellent construction techniques and architectural details, harbouring various forms
of occupation. By rescripting the historical narrative of architectural modernism,
highlighting the specific construction elements or systems relevant to the architectural
design of dwellings, other futures may emerge as possible for new stakeholders who
are committed to strategies for the renewal of modern heritage.
ER  -