Description

The Information and Tourism Centre of Angola organised a competition in 1961 called the “Angola Broadcasting Plan” (Portaria 1961) among architects residing in the province. Following the competition, the project was commissioned to Fernão Simões de Carvalho (1929–), who had some knowledge of the programme due to his final course project for a television centre and who would develop it in collaboration with José Pinto da Cunha (1921–1985) and Fernando Alfredo Pereira (1927–?). Simões de Carvalho, a graduate of the School of Fine Arts in Lisbon, completed an internship at Le Corbusier’s studio under the guidance of André Wogenscky between 1956 and 1959. Simões de Carvalho’s training was deeply influenced by the significant projects taking place at Le Corbusier’s studio during this period – including experiments with the construction and plasticity of béton brut and the application of the Modulor system. This training would play a pivotal role in the work he would later undertake in Angola.

The programme envisaged the phased development of a complex that would include, in addition to the broadcasting studios, a television centre, a large auditorium and an administrative services block. Only the first phase of the complex plan was realised, with the development of the project and the construction of the studio block, located next to the main thoroughfare and situated in the centre of the plot, and a workshop building, located to the northeast of the site.

The studio block is a large rectangular-based parallelepiped volume, positioned in the centre of the plot and set back from the perimeter, creating surrounding landscaped spaces. The building functions as a dense box contained within a grid of exposed concrete, resting on a partially submerged base floor, with functional spaces only at the periphery of the building.

The building’s design is based on the harmonious measurements of Le Corbusier’s Modulor system. Thus, the rectangular floor plan is organised using modules of 3.66 metres (which correspond to one of the base modules in the Modulor’s blue series) (Le Corbusier, 2000). In addition to the application of the Modulor, which Simões de Carvalho used in all his projects (Prado, Martí and Spencer, 2011, p. 236), references to Le Corbusier are very prominent in this work. The design of the broadcasting centre clearly harkens back to Le Corbusier’s research on the expression of béton brut in his later works, especially in projects undertaken in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad, or in the plasticity of the Convent of La Tourette. In addition to the alternating grid geometry, Simões de Carvalho incorporates Corbusian formal elements, as it can be observed in the expressiveness of the concrete gargoyles or in the interplay of materials: the dominant exposed concrete combined with tiled or glazed surfaces.

Effectiveness in responding to the tropical climate was one of the concerns that guided the design of the building. In addition to its favourable orientation with respect to the prevailing winds in the Luanda region, the layout of circulation spaces promotes efficient cross-ventilation. The design and placement of sunshades were carefully considered based on solar exposure, although compositional choices prevailed. Thus, the façades are designed in pairs: a grid pattern on the northeast and southwest façades, and vertical sunshades oriented at 45 degrees on the upper façades, which are more exposed to harsh sunlight. The grid pattern is set back from the glazed surface by movable glass blade frames of the Beta window type to allow for façade ventilation. On the main façade, which is more exposed to the afternoon sun, partially opaque, narrow ventilation slits enclosed by pivotable shutters have been introduced. The semi-external entrance atrium and the array of interior landscaped courtyards are elements that promote natural ventilation and airflow. It is important to highlight the presence of water mirrors, both in the atrium and around the building’s periphery, which, in addition to their formal character, serve the dual purpose of cooling and reflecting sunlight.

The Luanda Broadcasting Centre, a facility of great programmatic and technological complexity, was, during this period, a pioneering equipment within the framework of Portuguese architecture. The Rádio Angola Building (also called Centro de Radiodifusão – Emissora Oficial de Angola) is a contemporary work similar to European infrastructure of the same kind, which was visited by Simões de Carvalho and extensively featured in architecture magazines.

Today, the National Radio of Angola remains fully operational and, despite being in good condition, its service area has expanded beyond the limits of the building. On the periphery of the plot, a series of makeshift constructions have been added, which do not allow for a comprehensive reading of the building and diminish its quality. The Rádio is an exemplary work of the Modern Movement heritage and, very specifically, a legacy of the modern models disseminated by the globalised work of Le Corbusier.

References

Le Corbusier (2000). The Modulor | Modulor 2. Translated by Peter de Francia and Anna Bostock. Basel: Birkhäuser.

Magalhães, A. (2013). “Rádio Nacional de Angola Building. Le Corbusier’s Legacy in the Tropics”. In: A. Tostões (ed.), Modern Architecture in Africa: Angola and Mozambique. Lisbon: ICIST/Técnico-University of Lisbon, pp. 150–163.

Magalhães, A. (2015). Migrações do Moderno: Arquitectura na diáspora- Angola e Moçambique (1948–1975) [Doctoral dissertation, Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa]. Repositório das Universidades Lusíada. http://hdl.handle.net/11067/1570

Portaria No. 18357/1961. Diário do Governo. I Série. 71 (1961-03-27), pp. 331–332.

Prado, R. G., Martí, P. N. and Spencer, J. (2011). “Interview Fernão Simões de Carvalho”. In: R. Goycoolea Prado and& P. Núñez Martí (eds.), La Modernidad Ignorada. Arquitetura Moderna de Luanda. Alcalá de Henares: Universidad de Alcalá, pp. 227–242.

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Originally published in: Uta Pottgiesser, Ana Tostões, Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Birkhäuser, 2024.