Tropical Modernism Architecture and Independence

<B>Architecture and Power in West Africa and India<BR/><BR/> Emerging in the death throes of colonial rule, the story of Tropical Modernism is one of politics and power, decolonization and defiance.</B><BR/><BR/> 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.<BR/><BR/> 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.