Impact on Education: Decolonising the Architectural Canon and its Study of Dark Architecture and Heritage

This paper investigates a seminar group, Decolonising Meanings in Architecture, within the architecture module of Architecture Theory. The seminar sessions are designed to facilitate to the understanding of decolonisation of meanings in architecture, with a focus on dark architecture and heritage. The seminar group and its sessions take on an interpretive approach to the contemporary knowledge related to human society and highlights the pervasive influence of Western-centric historical narratives. It challenged the dominant colonial, neo-colonial, and settler colonial paradigms that have traditionally shaped architectural discourse. The sessions critically interrogates the architectural canon, aiming to dismantle the Western interpretations that have dictated the understanding of architectural history and heritage. It further explores the concepts of dark architecture examining selected buildings to reveal the complex legacies of exploitation, cultural erasure, and historical narratives intertwined with its physicality. Through a decolonial lens, the seminar sessions uncovers how these sturctures reflect on the socio-political dynamics and power imbalances inherent in their creation and preservation. In assessing the impact of the module, the data for this study were collected through questionnaires administered to students who partook in the 10 week module, with responses analysed to assess the extent to which historical and heritage narratives in architecture are within the students viewpoints. The pre-module assessment focused on student’s initial understanding of key concepts, including decolonisation, dark architecture and the influence of Western-centric narratives in architecture. The post-module assesment gauged shifts in student’s perspectives and the effectiveness of the module in enhancing their understandings of these concepts. The analysis reveals significant insights on the perpetuation of these biases and pushes for the necessity of adopting a decolonial approach to architectural education and its practices. Ultimately the study highlights the importance of integration of diverse cultural and historical perspectives into architectural education advocating for a radical shift in the architectural discourse where it actively challenges and redefines the legacy of colonialism within the built environment.