Upon gaining independence in the mid-20th century, many cities in Southeast Asia changed dramatically in terms of their physical appearance. The task of becoming an independent nation was accompanied by the desire for a symbolic new beginning in architecture and urban planning. International modernism not only offered an aesthetic programme that reflected expectations of progress and prosperity, but also served as a means of emancipation from the colonial powers. Local modernities were created, based on an understanding of cultural specifics and the climatic requirements of building in tropical regions.

But the built legacy of this transformational period is increasingly under threat. Rapid urbanization and the accompanying rise in property values, reassessments of local architectural histories that are often politically motivated, and demands to adapt old buildings to new uses are causing ever more iconic structures to be razed or disfigured through careless modifications. And such developments are not limited to Southeast Asia. In Germany as well, architecture from the 1950s to 1970s is falling victim to demolition for very similar reasons.

In addition to working in initiatives which engage with and preserve these modernities, Southeast Asian networks in architecture, art, and culture challenge common narratives about and responses to modernity. The spectrum ranges from academic studies to artistic actions to research-based cultural work and outreach. The question of decolonization in teaching is also an issue here, as the curricula for architecture at Southeast Asian universities have often been adopted from Western institutions. Furthermore, where and how do you work on such issues outside university circles? What approaches already exist, and what formats are needed to facilitate new and critical perspectives? What political, social, and cultural hurdles must be overcome? How can cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural exchange be strengthened in the future? Finally, how can discourses in Asia be included in a global narrative of architectural history, education, and exchange?

About Contested Modernities. Postcolonial Architecture in Southeast Asia:

Postcolonial architectural modernism in Southeast Asia is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion in light of rapid urbanization and ongoing processes of decolonization in the region. In Germany and Europe, however, this architecture and the debate surrounding it are barely known. Contested Modernities now brings this Southeast Asian discourse to Berlin with an exhibition, online events, and a publication, revealing surprisingly similar discussions that are currently being held about the architectural heritage of modernism.

Contested Modernities brings current positions on Southeast Asian modernism into an international dialogue and opens up new perspectives on the history, meaning, and future of modernism – in the region and beyond.

This project is part of the long-term programme Encounters with Southeast Asian Modernism and is based on a multi-year exchange between the Berlin curatorial team and scholars, architects, artists, and curators from the region. In 2019, intensive explorations of postcolonial architecture in each city were made possible by research, exhibitions, and events taking place in Phnom Penh, Jakarta, Yangon, and Singapore. The extensive findings gathered through the collaborative experience, together with the knowledge developed thanks to transdisciplinary exchange, form the starting point for this year’s programme in Berlin.

As part of the project, an issue of ARCH+, Germany's leading discursive journal for architecture and urbanism, was published in April 2021. An English edition was published in September 2021 on the occasion of the exhibition at House of Statistics in Berlin.

Contested Modernities is an initiative by the curators Sally Below, Moritz Henning, Christian Hiller, and Eduard Kögel.