From Windhuk to Tsingtau and Samoa. German-colonial architecture: from a global construction project around 1900 to a transcultural heritage today?

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr.-Ing. Michael Falser
• Subject Area: Art History ; Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 438099012

Since 1884 did the German Empire, besides the long-established powers of Great Britain, France and the Netherlands, become the fourth-largest colonial power worldwide. Being a characteristic feature in this context, German colonialism was, with its colonies in Africa (German East- and Southwest Africa, Cameroon and Togo), East Asia (Tsingtau/Kiatschou in today China) and Oceania (German Guinea and Samoa) a truly global project within its geopolitical setup, and it produced, despite its rather short period of existence of mere some thirty years (1884-1914), an astonishingly rich and extensive construction activity, the structural remains of which survived surprisingly well until today. This research project reacts to this context with a twofold project design: Module 1 (termed German-colonial architecture 1884-1914 - a global project) aims to conceptualise this construction activity from a historical viewpoint in its structural globality, whereas Module 2 (termed German colonial architecture as a transcultural heritage) aims to tackle the architectural remains of the German-colonial impact from a contemporary perspective backwards as a kind of shared build heritage, across three continents and in reference back to Germany itself.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants