The Western Influence on the architecture of multi-functional hotel structures in post-colonial cities: A case study of “City” and “Cape Sierra” hotel in Freetown, Sierra Leone
Abstract
The Western Influence on the architecture of multi-functional hotel structures in post-colonial cities: A case study of “City” and “Cape Sierra” hotel in Freetown, Sierra Leone
Incoming article date: 30.11.2025This study's objective is to assess the extent to which Western architecture influences the design of hotel structures in post-colonial cities using Freetown as a case study. Using a qualitative approach, this study draws on historical records of post-colonial hotel buildings, interviews with architects, and employs a comparative case study to compare colonial hotel projects in Freetown. Most hotels built after colonization still maintained properties of Western influence. Some designs were transcended by architects, others by the owners of the projects themselves, asking architects to replicate the same designs they saw abroad. Theoretically this study suggests and provides evidence of a borrowed model of architecture of hotels largely influenced by western architectural design styles for which this is not sustainable and Sierra Leone needs to find its own architectural language. This research adds to the cultural theory of transcending architecture, where hotels built in a post-colonial era still retain designs passed on from colonial masters. Not enough research has examined the postcolonial effects on the architecture of hotels in past colonized cities.
Keywords: post-colonial, hotel design, Western influence, architecture