Tropical Modernism: Architecture of Fantastic Imagination in the post-colonial world
A style of modernity Tropical Modernism emerged in the hot, humid conditions of West Africa
Sick Hagemeyer shop assistant as a seventies icon posing in front of the United Trading Company headquarters, Accra, 1971, © James Barnor. Courtesy of galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière
Tropical Modernism emerged in West Africa
Tropical Modernism emerged as an architectural style in the hot, humid conditions of West Africa in the 1940s. Newly independent nations like Ghana and India embraced the movement, viewing it as a symbol of modernity and progress, a clear distinction from their colonial past.
Film still of Senior Staff Club House, KNUST, Kumasi by Miro Marasović, Nikso Ciko and John Owuso Addo – for ‘Tropical Modernism – Architecture and Independence’ © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The V&A has an exhibition on the colonial origins of Tropical Modernism that draws a link between architecture and independence. On the surface, there is no link. However, the curators argue that political pressures caused as much of this architectural style as artistic advancements.
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Tropical Modernism evolved from 1920s European Modernism, whose principles were born of the horrors of World War I. European Modernism in architecture questions traditional values and emphasises that a building’s design should be driven by its intended purpose.
Community Centre, Accra, 1953. Image courtesy RIBA
The central tenet was form follows function. This resulted in buildings with open floor plans, clear lines, and a focus on maximising space and light for the activities that would take place within them.
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They reject ornamentation and embrace new materials like steel, concrete and glass.
Film still of Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast by Fry, Drew & Partners – for ‘Tropical Modernism – Architecture and Independence’ © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Developed by British architects, Tropical Modernism addressed the problems of sun and humidity in West Africa with designs that prioritised natural ventilation, shading and rainwater management. Architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry were the pioneers.
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Drew and Fry applied the core principles of European Modernism to the tropics. They analysed sun movement and weather data to design buildings with passive cooling strategies.
Pierre Jeanneret, view of the model for High Court, Capitol Complex, Sector 1, Chandigarh, India, between 1951 and 1965 Pierre Jeanneret fonds, Canadian Centre for Architecture. Gift of Jacqueline Jeanneret. © CCA
Solid walls on the east and west blocked the harsh sun, while louvres, wide eaves, strategically placed walls and courtyards channelled breezes and provided shade.
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Local materials like wood, bamboo and terracotta were used alongside concrete and glass, and courtyards, gardens and open terraces blurred the lines between indoors and outdoors.
Buildings designed without relying on air conditioning
Open floor plans further facilitated airflow, as did large windows and sliding doors, maximising natural light and ventilation.
University College, Ibadan: Library veranda Courtesy of RIBA
A key design element in this strategy was the incorporation of brise-soleils, a shading system made up of fins or perforated blocks that allow a breeze to enter a building and cool the interior while deflecting sunlight.
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Brise-soleils also allow visually interesting geometric shapes and patterns that play with light and shadow.
Diagram of a brise soleil at Aburi Girl’s School, Ghana, from Tropical Architecture in the Humid Zone, 1956, publisher B.T Batsford
Courtesy of RIBA
Buildings designed with Tropical Modernism aesthetics were comfortable without relying on air conditioning, which was not a practical option at the time.
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Aesthetics aside, in the 1940s and ’50s, the British government sought to offset growing calls for colonial independence by funding building projects. This had a significant influence on colonial architecture.
Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry with a model of one of their many buildings for the Gold Coast, 1945. Image courtesy of RIBA
During the Second World War, Maxwell Fry was stationed on the Gold Coast (now Ghana), and Jane Drew joined him there in 1944 to advise the British colonial governments in West Africa on town planning.
Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew built schools and colleges
After the war, Fry and Drew stayed on to build schools, colleges, and other institutions, funded by the Colonial Office’s large post‑war fund to reform, rebuild, and modernise Britain’s colonies.
Film still of Scott House, Accra by Kenneth Scott – for ‘Tropical Modernism – Architecture and Independence’ © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Fry and Drew attracted international attention for their books Village Housing in the Tropics (1947), a pocket guide to self‑building in hot climates, and Tropical Architecture in the Humid Zone (1956), which set out a design system rooted in climate science.
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Tropical Architecture in the Humid Zone presented case studies across what they identified as the ‘tropical zone’ – a broad geographical zone spanning the equator and covering forty per cent of the world’s surface.
‘Tropical zone’ as identified by Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, 1947, Reproduction of illustration from Village Housing in the Tropic, Publisher Lund Humphries, Courtesy of the estate of Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew
It was a colonial definition that encompassed most of the territories of the British Empire. Against a backdrop of political unrest in the aftermath of the Second World War, colonies sought recognition for their contributions to the war effort by being granted independence.
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Many countries in Asia and Africa succeeded. India and Pakistan in 1947 and Ghana in 1957.
Britain continued investing in these colonies after independence, relying on them for raw materials and as markets for its manufactured goods.
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The first Prime Minister of newly independent Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, reappropriated Tropical Modernism as a symbol of freedom, modernity and progressiveness.
Maxwell Fry in his London office with John Noah, an architect from Sierra Leone, 1940s Central Office of Information London, Ghana. Courtesy of RIBA
Regardless of its colonial roots, it now symbolised new hope and liberation for brand new worlds of independence.
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Nkrumah invited Ghanaian architects, such as Victor Adegbite, back from the United States to create the architecture of modern, independent Ghana, building beacons for his vision of a free and united Africa.
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To celebrate independence, Nkrumah commissioned Victor Adegbite to design Black Star Square, a parade ground built in Accra on the colonial playing fields.
Black Star Square, Accra by Ghana Public Works Department
In 1950, Fry and Drew were recruited by newly sworn-in Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to build a new city at Chandigarh, in the foothills of the Himalayas, which would become independent India’s first large-scale modernist project.
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Nehru wanted Chandigarh to be a city “unfettered by the traditions of the past” and “a model for our glorious future growth of the country”.
Le Corbusier in Chandigarh with the plan of the city and a model of the Modular Man, his universal system of proportion, 1951 © FDL, ADAGP 2014
Fry and Drew invited French architect Le Corbusier, one of the twentieth century’s most influential architects and urban planners, to join them.
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By the 1970s, air conditioning became a practical option, and the influence of the Tropical Modernism style began to fade as oilmen and bankers built air-conditioned office towers. The price paid was the loss of distinctly local buildings.
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The V&A curators make a convincing argument that political pressures from both colonisers and former colonies played a significant role in the rise and fall of Tropical Modernism as an architectural style.
Tower of Shadows, Chandigarh (India). Scale model, 1957, Le Corbusier (Jeanneret, Charles-Edouard 1887-1965) © The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Scala, Florence
Tropical Modernism, born from a complex interplay of colonialism, artistic innovation, and the desire for progress, offers a wealth of insights into contemporary architecture.
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While the movement’s colonial roots cannot be ignored, its focus on passive cooling, natural ventilation and local materials holds valuable lessons for a future grappling with climate change.
Sketch perspective of Linear City, Chandigarh, India, by Aditya Prakash featured in Tropical Modernism
The emphasis on functionality and environmental responsiveness in Tropical Modernism resonates deeply with the current focus on sustainable design.
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As we strive to create comfortable buildings without relying heavily on artificial cooling, Tropical Modernism’s principles offer a blueprint for a more sustainable future.
Aditya Prakash, photo album of architectural projects, people, landscapes, and Aditya Prakash, circa 1960s-2000s © Aditya Prakash fonds, Canadian Centre for Architecture. Gift of Vikramaditya Prakash
The movement’s legacy extends beyond aesthetics, reminding us of the power of architecture to shape national identity and our relationship with the environment.
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In a world yearning for climate-responsive design solutions, Tropical Modernism compels us to revisit its core principles and reimagine them for the twenty-first century.
Text Martin Wray and V&A Curators / Photos courtesy of V&A South Kensington
