By Christopher Turner

Emerging in the death throes of colonial rule, the story of Tropical Modernism is one of politics and power, decolonisation and defiance. British architects Jane Drew and Maxwell Fry, adapted a 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, progression, and internationalism in projects such as Le Corbusier's Chandigarh Victor Adegbite's Black Star Square. Foregrounding the experience of African and Indian practitioners, Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence reassesses an architectural style which has increasing relevance in today's changing climate.