The architecture of “Authenticité”. Between the invention and the reinterpretation of tradition

The article takes into consideration two buildings conceived by two Belgian architects that practised in Congo after its independence – in a period when traces of Belgian colonial presence were aimed to be erased. In this paper, I focus on these architects and their built work in order to explore the way they tried to formulate an architectural answer to the upcoming discourse of the recours à l’authenticité. To root their architecture in local traditions, Marcel Lambrichs (1917-1986) reintroduced mural frescoes and Claude Strebelle (1917-2010) privileged sculptural aesthetic. Combined with climate responses and adaptation to the environment, these two architectures had an important influence on the first generation of Congolese architects that unfortunately were not able to realize an important body of work inspired by these examples. The article suggests that the reinterpretation of tradition, in Zaire, called recours à Authenticité, was at the heart of a revaluation of architecture, which led to the emergence of a brand of regionalism. By considering these early examples as sources of what will become the architecture of authenticité, I would like to draw attention to the potential, still existing in these works, to conceive a locally rooted and contextual architecture in the Democratic Republic of Congo.