Abstract:
This thesis examines the development of architecture in Kumase from 1874 to
1960. In other words, the study focuses on the rebuilding of the built
environment of Kumase from 1874 to 1960. Using qualitative evaluation of
archival documents, interviews with Asante chiefs, owners of houses, heads of
families, trustees of households etc., and some secondary sources of historical
information, this work discusses the traditional architecture of Kumase and,
how the British colonial government and its agents joined forces with the
Asante political authorities and the entire citizenry to architecturally
reconstruct the city. The collaboration between the local people and the
Europeans produced striking alterations within the built space of Kumase.
This study shows that the alteration of the traditional Kumase architecture did
not only affect the city’s built environment, but it also had impact on the
cultural values of Asante. This is because British and European building
technology did not completely and entirely support the observation and
performance of some aspects of Asante cultural values and practices which
found customary expression within the domain of a built environment. This
thesis is a contribution to architectural history and the history of built
environment which as fields of study are burgeoning within the historiography
of Ghana.
