Panel

Archlabour: Architecture, Colonialism and Labour in Portuguese Colonial Rule

Event: Colonial and Post-Colonial Landscapes: Architecture, Cities, Labour
Chairs: Fernando Pires, Leonor Matos Silva
Date: 12 February 2026

Location: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon (PT)

Session Speakers (from the right): Ana Vaz Milheiro, Francesca Vita, Filipa Lopes and Beatriz Serrazina. Session chair Fernando Pires on the left.
Session Speaker: Ana Vaz Milheiro.

Summary

Who were the workers involved in architecture and construction works in Portuguese colonial territories in Africa? Where did they come from? How were they recruited? What were their expectations? How were they paid? What were their skills and tasks? What materials and construction systems did they work with? What training did they receive? How did they resist and collaborate? What were the repercussions of these (often compulsory) work experiences? How should this legacy be dealt with? Where to find and how to examine construction workers in archives and sources?

In this session, researchers from the ArchLabour project will present their ongoing research and discuss some of the project’s questions. The presentations will cover a variety of topics, time frames, geographies and building typologies, ranging from large-scale infrastructure to archival research. The spotlight will be on ArchLabour case studies, main sources and methodologies, including an analysis of construction work on railways, dams, housing and settlements in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and São Tomé e Príncipe in the 20th century. Key concepts such as subalternity, policies, race, gender, conflict and resilience will be examined in relation to construction materials and systems, the production of localised knowledge and labour skills and categories.

Presentations