De-Tropicalizing Africa: Architecture, Planning and Climate in the 1950s and 1960s

In the mid–1950s, British architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew were among the leading figures behind the institutionalization of the Tropical Architecture field, contributing to the proliferation of publications, international conferences and establishment of academic centers. During the same time, the global shortage of housing and United Nations’ development agendas for the “third world” brought a shift in planning priorities. Focusing in that particular moment, the paper traces the efforts for the de–tropicalization of Africa and planning practice alike, through the research activities of the Athens–based firm Doxiadis Associates and the writings and visions of Greek architect Constantinos Doxiadis.