Book details

Get the story, format, and availability.

Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence cover

Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence

by Turner, Christopher

EAN: 9781838510558

$50.00

Category: Architecture | History | Contemporary (1945 -)

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Publication date: Oct 22, 2024

In-Store Pickup in 2-5 Days

Back to books
Pioneering and sometimes problematic Tropical Modernism is an essential subject for fans of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus

Emerging in the death throes of colonial rule, the story of Tropical Modernism is one of politics and power, decolonization and defiance. Its leading proponents, British architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry, adapted a utopian Bauhaus-derived Modernist aesthetic to hot and humid conditions. After Independence, Tropical Modernism was championed by leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Kwame Nkrumah as a symbol of freedom, progressiveness and internationalism in monumental projects such as Chandigarh in Punjab planned by Le Corbusier and Black Star Square in Accra designed by Victor Adegbite. Scrutinizing the colonial narratives surrounding Tropical Modernism, and foregrounding the experience of African and Indian practitioners, this book reassesses an architectural style which has increasing relevance in today's changing climate.