Relational modernities: Pancho Guedes's social architecture for the protestant missions in colonial and postcolonial Mozambique

This dissertation undertakes an in-depth examination of architectural creations conceived by Amâncio "Pancho" Guedes, a Portuguese architect active in colonial Mozambique. These structures were commissioned exclusively by the Protestant missions, specifically emphasizing the Swiss mission, herein referred to as Guedes's social architecture. In contrast to prevailing narratives surrounding late Portuguese colonial society, which frequently succumb to oversimplified dualisms, this study reveals a intricate societal fabric populated by "other" protagonists whose identities resist facile categorization as either colonizers or subjects.
Through an in-depth analysis of three structures designed by Guedes for the missions— the Khovo Lar students' house in Maxaquene, Maputo, the St. Cypriano Anglican Center in Chamanculo, Maputo, and the Eduardo Mondlane Primary School of Facasizze in Magude—the dissertation sheds light on the evolving social significance of these infrastructures within their respective contexts during the late colonial era, the Marxist-Leninist period, and the present neoliberal era in
Mozambique.
While these buildings were originally commissioned to provide religious and educational spaces for the indigenous population, whose access to educational services was obstructed by the colonial regime, this study reframes these spaces and their network of promoters. It posits that they do not align exclusively with either colonial or anti-colonial struggles but instead propose the prospect of an alternative "third way." These structures embody an "altermodern resistance" and functioned as relational spaces, serving as experiments in connecting potentials in both colonial and postcolonial Mozambique where they served – and indeed still serve – the public sphere.
Just like their architectural counterparts, the individuals driving these material pursuits can be characterized as embodying an "altermodern" ethos. Guedes' ethical, political, and artistic stance, along with the neutrality of the Swiss mission, disrupts any rigid dialectical relationship between
modern sovereignty and antimodern resistance.
In line with the discipline of historical anthropology, this dissertation employs theoretical frameworks and methodologies from anthropology and the social sciences. It seeks to construct a socio-cultural history of this facet of colonial architectural modernism, overlooked by postcolonial architectural historiography. Images play a dual role as both sources and outcomes of this research,acting as essential complements to the textual and visual ethnographic report, providing nuanced narratives about Guedes's architectural contributions to the missions.