This paper critically assesses the role of workers' villages in shaping the colonial landscape in Angola. Following a genealogical approach, the paper explores the diversity of villages built in the Lunda district, where public and private powers were responsible for accommodating thousands of labourers and families. In particular, Diamang, a supra-national diamond company, appears as an important player in the (re)configuration of these places, from their materiality to lexicon and design. The paper will conclude by articulating the importance of understanding the long history of workers’ villages to engage with difficult architectural legacies and counter flatten histories of (post)colonialism.

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