Summary

The open lecture “What Material Should It Be Made Of? Considerations on Labour, Materials and Construction Systems in Cape Verde” explored the relationship between construction technologies, local labour, materials and architectural practices in Cape Verde. Taking as a starting point the tension between imported technologies and local construction knowledge, the lecture questioned whether technological transfers enabled local workers or instead reinforced forms of foreign dependency.

Drawing on archival research, photographs and architectural projects from the colonial and post-independence periods, the lecture examined housing, urbanisation and public buildings across the islands of Santiago and São Vicente, among others. Particular attention was given to the work of architects Maria Emília Caria and António Saragga Seabra, as well as to the materials and building practices documented in their surveys and projects. The lecture also reflected on how similar materials could produce different architectural forms and materialities, and on the continued exchange between local and intercontinental architectural models in contemporary Cape Verde.