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In the mid-20th century, British architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry believed that modernism could chart a utopian path forward as the world entered a period of postwar modernization and decolonization. The couple’s rejection of tradition failed to convince conservative Britons of the virtues of concrete and glass, so they seized the opportunity to put their principles into practice in a West Africa increasingly uneasy under British rule. To appease calls for independence, the government invited the pair to design public projects—community centers, educational buildings—using modernist principles but adapted to the hot and humid climate. A style called “tropical modernism” was born, resulting in buildings marked by louvres, adjustable louvres and wide eaves that provided passive cooling while maximizing sun shading and ventilation.
As a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum demonstrates, the reality of tropical modernism was trickier. The “tropics” cover about 40% of the world’s surface, but one of the key tenets of the emerging aesthetic is that “the same architectural language can be applied everywhere,” as former professor David Robson puts it. Published a book about Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa once told surface. Fry and Drew rejected West African architectural traditions in favor of their own ideas, which often made superficial nods to regional symbols. Perforations in the visor of a school in Ghana reference the crescent shape of Ashanti ceremonial stools, which may fascinate students there but may not be as popular in Sri Lanka, where Bawa has completely abandoned tropical modernity ism. Instead, he pioneered an indigenous style that blended colonial and indigenous styles to suit the country’s own monsoon climate and design heritage.
“Architecture from Ghana must show evidence that it is Ghana because it comes from a Ghanaian context – the culture of the people, the economy, the environment may all be reflected in the architecture,” said Henry Wellington Professor Ghana Kwame Kwame, former chair of the Department of Architecture. Nkrumah University of Science and Technology professor told the V&A Museum. “All of these things had very deep psychological and spiritual significance that British architects didn’t take the time to understand.”
Tropical modernism also flourished in Chandigarh, the new capital of the Indian state of Punjab, where Le Corbusier designed a group of government buildings. The French architect banned dairy cows and informal markets, an essential feature of most Indian cities, and renowned architect and scholar Aditya Prakash denounced his buildings as “places where gods play, Rather than a place for humans to play”. Although flawed, they laid the foundation for indigenous architects such as John Owusu Addo in Ghana and Balkrishna Doshi in India to adapt tropical modernism equipment and create spaces that are unique to the local area.
Tropical Modernism’s heyday was short-lived, as open facades that promoted cross ventilation were soon made obsolete by air conditioning, and now its future is threatened by redevelopment. As architects are asked to respond to climate change, we can draw plenty of wisdom from tropical modernism’s principles of passive cooling—and hopefully they will take a more sensitive approach than their predecessors.
‘Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence’ will be on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington (Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL) until September 22.
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