The term Third World Modernism is borrowed from a book with the same title, edited by Duanfang Lu. It shifts the discourse of architectural modernism from a Eurocentric perspective to specific countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America against their socio-political backdrop in the context of developmentalism, globalism, decolonization, and nation building.

The notion of Third World sprung up in the early 1950s labeling so called “underdeveloped” countries in Asia and Africa, many of which had a recent colonial past that neither belonged to the industrialized Western capitalist world nor to the Socialist Soviet Bloc.

The so-called non-aligned countries allied themselves, and starting from 1954 regular conferences were held until 1986. The first large-scale meeting of this kind took place in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia.

The NEMOS (Newly Emerging Forces) shared their experiences, and at the same time claimed their political and cultural stance towards the West and the Soviet Union.

Third World Modernism sets the emergence of modernist architecture in relation to the specific conditions of its production and purpose. After decolonization, architecture was used by many countries as a vehicle to foster processes of nation-building, for developmental purposes displaying a path towards modernization and industrialization.

After the Sino-Soviet split in 1959, discourse and self-understanding in China shifted from a sole Socialist state to being a part of the “Third World.” This shift was also reflected in architectural production.

“For example, modernist architecture achieved a decisive victory in China as part of the anti-waste movement in 1955. Modernism was first introduced to China as early as the 1920s, but under Soviet influence revivalist architecture became dominant in the 1950s. 1955 saw a major re-orientation when a resolution was made which denounced the tendency of impractical extravagances in construction. Nationalistic structures with big roofs and traditional ornamentation were condemned as wasteful under the new austerity policy. The modernist style, considered more economical and efficient, was established as the preferable style in development.” (Lu, 2010:10)

Modern architecture with its “neutral” look and relatively recent history clearly distinguishable from colonial architecture was instrumentalized to mark a break with the past and signify a confident and self-assured future. (CL)

Sources:
Lu, Duanfang (2010): Third World Modernism: Architecture, Development and Identity. London: Routledge.