Lecture Topic
Migration is often associated with impermanence, its spaces perceived as temporary and without architecture. In this lecture, Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi challenges these assumptions, drawing from her groundbreaking research as detailed in Architecture of Migration (Duke University Press, 2023). Focusing on the Dadaab refugee camps on the Kenya–Somalia border—established in 1991 but rooted in deeper histories—she examines the camp as a site of profound architectural, political, and social significance. By constructing a material and visual archive of Dadaab, Siddiqi uncovers its histories, spatial practices, and iconography, revealing the layered traditions and knowledge systems embodied in its design. She critiques ahistorical portrayals of refugee camps as sites of placelessness and transgression, reframing them instead as dynamic settlements shaped by legacies of migration, colonialism, domesticity, and ecological adaptation.
Speaker Biography
Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi’s work centers on the histories of architecture, migration, and modernity, with a focus on African and South Asian perspectives. Born in Chennai, India, she explores questions of historicity, heritage politics, and the intersections of feminist and colonial practices. Her scholarship elevates narratives of marginalized communities, creating intellectual frameworks that champion collaboration and inclusion. Through the study of objects, buildings, and landscapes, Siddiqi’s research reveals diverse forms of aesthetic and cultural production, highlighting the voices and stories often excluded from dominant historical discourses.
This program is made possible through the generous support of the Betty R. and George F. Pierce Jr., FAIA, Fund; the William B. Coleman Jr. Colloquium Fund for Architecture; and the Wm. W. Caudill Lecture Series Fund.