The third edition of the Colonial and Post-Colonial Landscapes Congress will take place in Lisbon, Portugal, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, from 11-13 February 2026. The conference will intersect the topics of Architecture, Colonialism and Labour.
Although a common topic in colonial historiography, the influence of large-scale labour on the production of the built environment —including the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure, buildings and landscapes—has not been fully explored in the context of colonial architecture. The issue has significant implications not only for the description of past societies, but also for understanding and supporting contemporary communities with a colonial past and their relationship to the production of space. Linking architecture and labour in these contexts offers a promising avenue for addressing some of the challenges encountered by postcolonial societies. These include the relationship with “Western” construction technologies and materials, the scarcity of traditional building systems and their undervalued insights into climate adaptation and sustainable solutions, and persistent racial and gender inequalities in public works labour environments. The congress welcomes contributions from diverse geographical, disciplinary, and chronological backgrounds to encourage a broad and stimulating debate that cuts across the histories of colonial architecture, labour and social history, and construction technology.
We invite proposals for sessions that include: – Title; – Identification of chair(s) with institutional affiliation and email contact(s); – Abstract (max. 300 words); – Summary CV of the chair(s). Pre-organized session proposals (max. 5 papers) are also welcome. The submission deadline is 28 February 2025. The accepted sessions will be announced on 20 March.
More information is available on the website: https://www.archlabour.com/cpcl-2026. For any queries please submit to cpclcongress@gmail.com.
Calendar:
Call for sessions: 1 January 2025 – 28 February 2025
Sessions announcement: 20 March 2025
Call for papers: 20 March 2025 – 20 May 2025
Papers selection notification: 20 June 2025
Registration for Chair and speakers: 20 June 2025 – 31 July 2025
Early Bird Registration deadline: 31 August 2025
Late Registration: after 1 September 2025
Congress Dates: 11-13 February 2026
This meeting is part of the ongoing research project “ArchLabour: Architecture, Colonialism and Labour. The role and legacy of mass labour in the design, planning and construction of Public Works in former African territories under Portuguese colonial rule,” coordinated by Ana Vaz Milheiro [ERC grant 1101096606], based at Dinâmia’CET-Iscte, Lisbon.