Routledge A Genealogy of Tropical Architecture: Colonial Networks, Nature and Technoscience (Architext)

A Genealogy of Tropical Architecture traces the origins of tropical architecture to nineteenth century British colonial architectural knowledge and practices. It uncovers how systematic knowledge and practices on building and environmental technologies in the tropics were linked to military technologies, medical theories and sanitary practices, and were manifested in colonial building types such as military barracks, hospitals and housing. It also explores the various ways these colonial knowledge and practices shaped post-war techno scientific research and education in climatic design and modern tropical architecture. Drawing on the interdisciplinary scholarships on postcolonial studies, science studies, and environmental history, Jiat-Hwee Chang argues that tropical architecture was inextricably entangled with the socio-cultural constructions of tropical nature, and the politics of colonial governance and postcolonial development in the British colonial and post-colonial networks. By bringing to light new historical materials through formidable research and tracing the history of tropical architecture beyond what is widely considered today as its "founding moment" in the mid-twentieth century, this important and original book revises our understanding of colonial built environment. It also provides a new historical framework that significantly bears upon contemporary concerns with climatic design and sustainable architecture. This book is an essential resource for understanding tropical architecture and its various contemporary manifestations. Its in-depth discussion and path breaking insights will be invaluable to specialists, academics, students and practitioners. Review "In this masterly account of the evolution of tropical architecture, Jiat-Hwee Chang combines the insights of Foucauldian governmentality with in-depth historical research and a keen understanding of colonial exceptionality. Focussing on four building types – the home, the barracks, the hospital and ‘native’ housing - he uncovers the colonial lineage of modern architectural forms and offers a radical reinterpretation of the ancestry of architectural tropicality. While centring on Singapore, Chang’s theoretically informed and richly empirical study opens up a wider critical perspective on architectural history across the entire region of South and Southeast Asia." - David Arnold, Professor Emeritus, University of Warwick, UK, author of Colonizing the Body and The Problem of Nature "Meticulous and rigorous, Jiat-Hwee Chang brings us the first major study convincingly to span Victorian and modern colonial architecture. From colonial bungalows, through barracks, hospitals, public housing, court buildings and shophouses, covering technoscientific research and architectural education, and drawing from rich visual and scientific material, the book provocatively re-draws our understanding of tropical architecture. This is a true ‘genealogy’, a history of an idea as much as an account of its technologies and architectural manifestations." -  Mark Crinson, Professor of Architectural History, Birkbeck College (London), UK, author of Modern Architecture and the End of Empire "Jiat-Hwee Chang gives us a masterful history of "tropical architecture" way before that term was invented. He shows us how this architecture is entangled with social constructions of nature, the politics of colonialism, and the development of post-colonial discourses. It is a substantive and fascinating account that will be of significance to the architecture practitioners and academics in the region and beyond." - Nezar AlSayyad, Professor of Architecture, Planning, Urban Design, and Urban History, University of California, Berkeley, USA "In this important and timely book, Jiat-Hwee Chang argues that tropical architecture -- often understood as a localized response to climatic conditions in the global south -- was conceived and produced through (post)colonial networ