Tropical modernism was a unique architectural style that emerged in the late 1940s. Here are the key points about this intriguing movement:
- It combined modern, functional designs with features to control the environment
- The goal was to create naturally cool buildings suited for hot, tropical climates
- Pioneered by British architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry during colonial rule
- Embraced by newly independent nations like Ghana as a symbol of progress
Does this simple, climate-conscious approach from the past hold solutions for today’s environmental challenges?
Colonial Origins, Independent Vision
While working under the British colonial government, tropical modernism began as an “African experiment” by Drew and Fry. Buildings used:
- Painted concrete to reflect heat
- Adjustable slats and breezeways for cooling airflow
- Elevated structures allow air to circulate underneath
After Ghana gained independence in 1957, its first prime minister, Kwame Nkrumah, championed this architectural style. He saw the modern, functional designs as representing the young nation’s entrance to the global stage.
Traditional Blend for Modern Times
While impressed by tropical modernism’s climatic performance, some Ghanaian architects seek to fuse it with the country’s traditional courtyard-style structures.
“I reference them for technically mitigating climate…but they fall short culturally,” said Courage Doro, who studied at Ghana’s tropical modernist university campus in Kumasi.
Doro wants to blend colonial influences with local building methods, integrating communal courtyards that “people can look into and congregate in.”
Sustainable Solutions for Rising Temperatures
With Earth’s climate growing hotter, this environmentally-responsive architecture is being revisited as a model for sustainable building practices.
Christopher Bere, curator of a tropical modernism exhibit, notes, “We have important lessons to learn…about how to work with rather than against climate when we build.”
A new generation of African architects may use these mid-20th-century designs as a starting point for creating structures suitable for our warming world.
Could reviving and updating aspects of tropical modernist architecture help address one of humanity’s greatest challenges? It’s an intriguing prospect worth exploring further.
