When the book 'African Modernism' was first published in 2015, it was received with international praise and has been sought after constantly ever since it went out of print in 2018. Marking Park Books’ 10th anniversary, this landmark book becomes available again.

In the 1950s and 1960s, most African countries gained independence from their respective colonial power. Architecture became one of the principal means by which the newly formed countries expressed their national identity.

Parliament buildings, central banks, stadiums, convention centers, universities and independence memorials were built, often to heroic and daring designs. At the same time, these buildings exemplify also the difficulties, contradictions and dilemmas these countries experienced in their nation-building process.

The groundbreaking book 'AFRICAN MODERNISM' investigates for the first time the relationship between architecture and nation building in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia. It features 103 buildings with brief descriptive texts, images, site plans and selected floor plans and sections. The vast majority of images, commissioned especially for this book, is contributed by Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster. Their photographs (by Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster) document the buildings in their present state. Each country is portrayed in an introductory text and a timeline of historic events. Further essays on post-colonial Africa and specific aspects and topics, also illustrated with images and documents, round out this outstanding book.

When the book 'African Modernism' was first published in 2015, it was received with international praise and has been sought after constantly ever since it went out of print in 2018. Marking Park Books’ 10th anniversary, this landmark book becomes available again.

In the 1950s and 1960s, most African countries gained independence from their respective colonial power. Architecture became one of the principal means by which the newly formed countries expressed their national identity.

Parliament buildings, central banks, stadiums, convention centers, universities and independence memorials were built, often to heroic and daring designs. At the same time, these buildings exemplify also the difficulties, contradictions and dilemmas these countries experienced in their nation-building process.

The groundbreaking book 'AFRICAN MODERNISM' investigates for the first time the relationship between architecture and nation building in Ghana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Zambia. It features 103 buildings with brief descriptive texts, images, site plans and selected floor plans and sections. The vast majority of images, commissioned especially for this book, is contributed by Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster. Their photographs (by Iwan Baan and Alexia Webster) document the buildings in their present state. Each country is portrayed in an introductory text and a timeline of historic events. Further essays on post-colonial Africa and specific aspects and topics, also illustrated with images and documents, round out this outstanding book.