What is a house? What is dwelling? How can a house be a body? What does being modern mean in rural Africa? How are local and global worlds intertwined through material culture? This book reflects on the meanings of housing in West Africa by analysing vernacular architectural traditions and the related ideas and worldviews grounding these building traditions. In the West houses no longer grow organically, and are no longer layered by time, or embedded in a social community and intertwined with the natural environment. The house, and even more the interior of the house, has become an expression of the individuality of the inhabitant. In contrast to the poor signifier that the Western house has become, the chapters in this book analyse the rich meanings embedded in the processes of dwelling in rural West African worlds, with a specific emphasis on Ghana and Burkina Faso. At the same time, the authors document the changes that are manifest in the material and social structures of these houses, and show the flexibility and responsiveness of traditional practices of building and dwelling when confronted with the influences of urban modernity. As such, this reflection on local architectural forms also deals with many of the challenges and issues currently facing Africa.
