Histories of the Built Environment

Through archival research on Soviet design and construction organisations, this research project critically historicises Western Siberia’s material transformation into the world’s largest fossil fuel extractivist region during the late Soviet oil boom. How were the state’s extractivist goals shaped and reshaped by urban planning, architecture and construction technologies? What were the consequences of these for local Indigenous communities and Soviet society at large? more

The joint German-Flemish-Ivorian project CTRAAF examines the genealogies, materialisations and legacies of various forms of transport architecture in West Africa from the 1950s to the 1980s. At this time, a large wave of infrastructure projects was being promoted throughout West Africa. Transport infrastructures were nation building projects. CTRAAF examines ideas and realisations of transport architecture in this context, as well as the agency and power of political actors shaping it.<br/><br/>Le projet commun germano-flamand-ivoirien CTRAAF examine les généalogies, les matérialisations et les héritages de diverses formes d'architecture des transports en Afrique de l'Ouest entre les années 1950 et 1980. À cette époque, une grande vague de projets d'infrastructure a été promue dans toute l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Les infrastructures de transport étaient des projets de construction nationale. Le CTRAAF examine les idées et les réalisations de l'architecture des transports dans ce contexte, ainsi que l'agence et le pouvoir des acteurs politiques qui la façonnent. more

The network "(Post-)Colonial Business History (PCBH)" aims at organisational networking, exchange on methodology and theory, and expanding the intersections and connections of two fields of research which so far have been conducted rather independently of each other in the German-speaking world: on the one hand, (global) historical approaches to imperial and post-imperial entanglements, and on the other hand, business history, understood broadly as not just the history of the firm, but of organised business and business activity. more

The bridge project "Disruption and spatial development: concepts on spatio-temporal dynamics, modes of perception and strategies of action" continues the conceptual elaboration of the disruption heuristic, uses it to interpret empirical findings in the lead project research (and beyond) and, conversely, incorporates suggestions from the empirical research of the lead projects into the further conceptual development. more

This dissertation project explores the planning and construction history of GDR building projects in Cuba within the context of transnational networks and the exchange of technology, materials, and ideas. The study spans from the first trade and credit agreement between the GDR and Cuba in 1960 to the collapse of the state-socialist countries of Eastern Europe in 1990, which resulted in Cuba losing its most important foreign trading partners. Despite the close relations between Cuba and the GDR within the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), many of these building projects remain largely unexplored. more

Global construction companies impact our futures. Yet, the role of these global players and their persistent presence in different regions has barely been reflected upon. This project uses German construction companies as a prism to address a wide spectrum of economic, political, environmental or cultural impacts in specific local contexts throughout the long 20th century and aims to critically analyse success stories and moments of failure. This choice is triggered by the label ‘Made in Germany’, which was established in the late colonial period and remains an unquestioned marker of quality. Focusing on production cycles, the research team scrutinises global flows of capital, labour, know-how and construction materials, primarily in West and Southern Africa as well as Latin America.<br/><br/> more