Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Samoan society, like societies everywhere, has changed dramatically, reflecting major advances in science and technology, increased access to higher education, external migration, and a tsunami wave of growth in the demand for consumer goods.

Over the last sixty years, the built structures described in the book ‘Samoa’s Iconic Fale: How Culture Informs Architecture’ —  a new book bringing decades of research together to document Samoa’s iconic meeting houses with photos from the past to the present — have ceased to be the dominant forms in the Samoan architectural landscape. They have been replaced by many buildings, which, although made from corrugated iron with gabled roofs, are obvious derivatives of the traditional fale.

A photo from 1904 is quite unusual since it shows the entire underlying roof structure of the faletele. Normally, the middle section (itū) is built first and the construction of the rounded ends only starts when the itū has been thatched.

The book is set for publication in May 2026.