THE RECOURSE TO THE AUTHENTICITY IN THE MODERN ARCHITECTURE OF MOBUTU’S ZAIRE

In 1960, the Belgian Congo became an independent nation, gaining independence from the colonial power. The later constitution of the Republic of Zaire sparked the rediscovery of so-called authenticity, which also influenced the architectural language that shaped the colony for decades, the so-called tropical modernism. However, the hybridisation characterising the country’s vast territory carries its new identity. A particular form of eclecticism was already shaping the nation established from the ground up at the Berlin Conference of 1885: a country with nine climatic zones and more than four hundred tribes. Since then, the term “hybrid” is no longer used in opposition to “authentic,” but has become synonymous with it. This paper delves into the unique and intriguing legacy left by the research of a Congolese identity in architecture during Mobutu’s reign through the lens of two intriguing case studies: the INSS (National Institute of Social Security) building designed by Marcel Lambrichs (1966) and the Saint Anthony II Church (1982) designed by Paul Dequeker. These selected artefacts, located in the capital city of Kinshasa, were respectively created at the beginning and close to the end of the recourse to authenticity. To make the constructions local, architects designed them in accordance with the climatic characteristics of a specific climate, place, and culture while using elements of decoration inspired by traditional art. Therefore, modernism is adapted to the context and updated according to the ongoing political orientation. The analysis of the case studies is conducted using a qualitative method, in which the historical and recent literature support the thesis of the hybridisation of an international architectural language by injecting local traditional decorative artworks into the design process.