Dr Chris Cowell

I am a lecturer in architectural history and theory at London South Bank University. Before this, I was assistant professor of modern and contemporary architectural history at Trinity College Dublin. My longstanding historical research focuses on both southern China and northern India, exploring the entanglement of modernity within European imperialism and its participation in architecture and urbanism. My writing examines the relationship between the practice and theory of architecture against the cultural complexity of colonialism. This intersection draws upon the study of urban militarism, spatial security, hinterland ecologies, cartography, property, climate, disease, and race, among others.

I research and publish extensively on the architectural and urban histories of colonial India and Hong Kong.
I have recently published an important book on the urban and architectural construction of Hong Kong in the nineteenth century. Entitled 'Form Follows Fever: Malaria and the Construction of Hong Kong, 1841–1849', this is the first in-depth account of the turbulent early years of settlement and growth of colonial Hong Kong across the 1840s. During this period, the island gained a terrible reputation as a diseased and deadly location. Malaria, then perceived as a mysterious vapour or miasma, intermittently carried off settlers by the hundreds. Various attempts to arrest its effects acted as a catalyst, reconfiguring both the city’s physical and political landscape, though not necessarily for the better.
The book has won a Paul Mellon publication grant (October 2023) among others. It has been written about in various news media such as the South China Morning Post and Ming Pao (July 2024). I have been invited to speak at the University of Hong Kong (April 2024), the Hong Kong Book Fair (July 2024), the Society of Hong Kong Studies (July 2024), the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, London (October 2024), and the Hong Kong History Centre at Bristol University (November 2024). The UK launch is at the Architectural Association Book Shop in October 2024.
This work on Hong Kong has recently led to a growing number of collaborative initiatives on the urban history of Hong Kong, such as work on infrastructure (for an anticipated edited book) and further research on Kowloon.
My major ongoing historical research work focuses on South Asia, especially standing military camps known as 'cantonments' within northern India and their development under the East India Company (mid 18th to early 20th centuries). I anticipate writing extensively on this subject in the near future.
I welcome applicants wishing to pursue a PhD in architectural and urban history (anywhere from 18th to 20th centuries). I especially welcome historical research focusing on colonialism, imperialism and asia (cities, hinterlands, infrastructure, cartography, race, disease, property, climate, construction, professions, etc.) but am open to many other historical projects.

Architectural History and Theory Urban History and Theory Colonialism (Architecture and Urbanism of) Design Studio