Rui Aristides Lebre

I am an architect and historian devoted to the study of the social, cultural and political implications of space production. My recent research focuses on the making of colonial and post-colonial African landscapes, particularly in Guinea-Bissau, Angola and Mozambique.  

I have taught BA and MA in Architecture at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, as an Invited Assistant Professor (2017-2022). In parallel I have worked as a designer in colectivo Til, exploring the boundaries of architecture through learning by doing as public intervention, experimenting with participatory and environmentally responsible spatial practices. For a brief overview of some projects from Til see the link here.

After finishing my PhD in 2017 I have been conducting research at Coimbra’s Centre for Social Studies, examining the production of late colonial spatial practices in Guinea-Bissau. This led to the FCT funded research project ‘RegRural: Regulating the Colonial Rural’, that examines the role of wartime villagization in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau during and after these countries’ liberation wars (1961-74). Gathering an international network of architects, planners, anthropologists and geographers, this research aims to understand late colonial villagization as a lived experience making present-day rural landscapes. See here for more information on the project.

Contact: rui.lebre@africa.ox.ac.uk

Recent Publications:

Lebre, Rui Aristides. “Garden of Ruins: The Urban Production of Colonial Bissau and The History of a Dilapidated Present.” In In Whose Place?, edited by Hilton Judin et al. Johannesburg: Jacana, (forthcoming 2023).

Lebre, Rui Aristides and Castela, Tiago. “Wartime Villagization in Portuguese Colonialism in Guinea-Bissau.” E-cadernos CES [online], 37, 2022. DOI