Urban Policies, Architectural Dissonances, and Not So ‘Modern’ Buildings in Late Colonial Luanda

Abstract This article examines urban policies and projects in Luanda during the 1950s, focusing on the housing and offices built by Diamang, a colonial mining enterprise that operated in northern Angola but maintained premises in the city. Although Diamang was criticized in the public sphere for being at odds with the drive to modernise Luanda, it was still permitted to construct housing for its officials and indigenous workers. The article explores overlooked agents, bureaucratic procedures, and an apparent institutional autocracy that constrained architectural practices in the city. These contrasting perspectives shed light on the period preceding significant “modernising” policies, providing a fundamental understanding of the tensions and complexities surrounding urban space in Portuguese-speaking late-colonial African cities.