"The Seat of an Alien Tyranny": Intentionality, the Mediation of Colonial Power, and Dublin's Custom House

• Main Author: Digman, Edward
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS) 2018
• Subjects: architecture; built environment; power; conflict; colonial planning; Social Sciences; Samhällsvetenskap
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23949

This historical case study applies the theoretical and methodological framework of Kim Dovey, Ambe Njoh, and Liora Bigon to examine the ways in which a colonial administrative building, the Dublin Custom House, served as a mediator of colonial power over Ireland, and how this process was understood by the creators of the building. This investigation is a response to the inconsistent way that intentionality is discussed in existing academic literature on the relationships between built environments and societal power structures. The study found that that the creators of the Custom House had a clear and nuanced understanding of the ways the building could be used to extend cultural and political power over Ireland, within the existing political framework in the country. In contrast to the theoretical framework used, the study found that in this case, the mediation of economic and political power was understood as functioning within the existing political-economic structures of the country, rather than creating new structures. The clarity of the findings suggest that further investigations into intentionality is likely to yield informative results, and that it would be beneficial to apply the methodological and theoretical framework used in this study to other cases in the future.