PAUL DEQUEKER AND THE TROPICAL CHURCH : Analysis of a conceptual approach to Catholic church building in tropical Africa 6 case studies

This thesis entitled «Paul Dequeker and the tropical church» is an analysis of a conceptual approach to the construction of Catholic churches in the tropical zone. In the specific case of this study, it concerns the typology of tropical churches carried out by Paul Dequeker in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1960 to 1988. Through the rereading of the work bequeathed by Brother Paul Dequeker during his apostolic mission in Africa, this study retraces the ambitions of an Africa confronted with the concept of inculturation which provoked several reactions from the Pan-Africanists, Malula, who has been campaigning for a Catholic church in Africa for Africans since the 1950s, believes that the African church must be characterized by local habits. To respond to this legitimate aspiration of a people in search of cultural identity at that time and to the expectations of Pan-Africanists, Paul Dequeker was chosen to design churches in the Congo adapted to the aspirations of the Congolese. Defining tropical architecture as a way of life in the tropics, this thesis examines the particular character of the architecture of the churches built by Paul Dequeker. From six (6) examples of churches built by him in Kinshasa, this research demonstrates how traditional local influences, modernism and the climatic, economic and socio-cultural demands of the time guided their design processes.