{"id":984079,"date":"2026-05-25T15:23:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T15:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/984079\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T15:23:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T15:23:42","slug":"climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/984079\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803093e920189864a51-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"attachment nofollow noopener\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 1 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803093e920189864a51\" fetchpriority=\"high\" height=\"426\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"eager\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803093e920189864a51-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_6.jpg\" style=\"min-height: var(--featured-height, auto); aspect-ratio: auto 640 \/ 426\" width=\"640\"\/><\/a>CEPT University Foundation Hall, Lecture Hall and Kund \/ CCBA Designs. Photo \u00a9 Ashish Bhonde, Ramprasad Akkisetti<\/p>\n<p>    Share<\/p>\n<p>Share<\/p>\n<ul class=\"afd-share__networks clearfix\">\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Facebook\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"facebook_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1041645\" data-social=\"facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\n<p>Facebook<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Twitter\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"twitter_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1041645\" data-social=\"twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Climate%2C%20Culture%2C%20and%20Modernism%3A%20The%20Postcolonial%20Campus%20as%20Architectural%20Laboratory&amp;url=https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory&amp;via=archdaily\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\n<p>Twitter<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"email_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1041645\" data-social=\"email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory&amp;body=https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\"><\/a>\n<p>Mail<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Pinterest\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"pinterest_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1041645\" data-social=\"pinterest\" href=\"https:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archdaily.com%2F1041645%2Fclimate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory&amp;media=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.adsttc.com%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F6a0c%2F0803%2F093e%2F9201%2F8986%2F4a51%2Flarge_jpg%2Fpostcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_6.jpg%3F1779173388&amp;description=Climate%2C%20Culture%2C%20and%20Modernism%3A%20The%20Postcolonial%20Campus%20as%20Architectural%20Laboratory\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\n<p>Pinterest<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"afd-share__social\"><a aria-label=\"Whatsapp\" class=\"afd-share__button\" data-action=\"share\/whatsapp\/share\" data-insights-category=\"share\" data-insights-label=\"whatsapp_sharing_options\" data-insights-value=\"1041645\" data-social=\"whatsapp\" href=\"whatsapp:\/\/send?text=Climate%2C+Culture%2C+and+Modernism%3A+The+Postcolonial+Campus+as+Architectural+Laboratory+%7C+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.archdaily.com%2F1041645%2Fclimate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory%3Futm_source%3DWhatsapp%26utm_medium%3DIM%26utm_campaign%3Dshare-button\" rel=\"nofollow\"><\/a>\n<p>Whatsapp<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Or<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory<\/p>\n<p>In the decades following independence, some of the most ambitious architectural experiments in the world did not emerge through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/871555\/23-examples-of-impressive-museum-architecture\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">museums<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/986307\/monumental-question-how-are-the-places-of-memory-in-the-future-of-cities?ad_campaign=normal-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">monuments<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1027169\/brutalism-and-bureaucracy-an-architectural-language-of-authority-in-the-postwar-united-states?ad_campaign=normal-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">government palaces<\/a>. They emerged through universities. Across <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/south-asia\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">South Asia<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/africa\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Africa<\/a>, newly formed nations turned campuses into testing grounds for entirely new ways of imagining collective life. These <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/989449\/campus-sacred-spaces-are-changing?ad_campaign=normal-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">campuses<\/a> functioned as more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/943322\/letter-from-berkeley-campus-planning-in-an-increasingly-virtual-world?ad_campaign=normal-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">educational institutions<\/a>. They became territories where states tested how modernity might be organized, for citizens to gather, institutions to function, climate to shape architecture, and imported ideas to transform local realities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"thumbs afd-desktop-e clearfix\"><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0805fd52920189f20c53\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0805fd52920189f20c53-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"attachment nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 2 of 12\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0805fd52920189f20c53\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_10.jpg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0805fd52920189f20c53-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" title=\"Film still of Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast by Fry, Drew _ Partners - for 'Tropical Modernism - Architecture and Independence'. Image \u00a9 Victoria and Albert Museum, London\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0801093e920189864a4e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0801093e920189864a4e-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"attachment nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 3 of 12\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0801093e920189864a4e\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_5.jpg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0801093e920189864a4e-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" title=\"Barnato Hall Addition Phase 1 \/ 26\u201910 south Architects. Photo \u00a9 Nic Huisman\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803093e920189864a50\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803093e920189864a50-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"attachment nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 4 of 12\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803093e920189864a50\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_8.jpg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803093e920189864a50-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" title=\"Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (IIMA) \/ Louis Kahn. Image \u00a9 Laurian Ghinitoiu\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"thumbs__link\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803fd52920189f20c51\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803fd52920189f20c51-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"attachment nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 5 of 12\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803fd52920189f20c51\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_7.jpg\" height=\"125\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803fd52920189f20c51-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" title=\"Science Research Facilities \/ Ludwig Hansen Architects + Urban Designers. Photo \u00a9 Ludwig Hansen Architects + Urban Designers\" width=\"125\"\/><\/a><a class=\"gallery-link afd-desktop-e\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803093e920189864a51-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - More Images\" class=\"thumbs__img b-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_6.jpg\" itemprop=\"image\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAUEBAAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=\"\/>+ 7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Unlike isolated civic buildings, campuses offered something rare: scale. They operated like miniature cities, containing housing, infrastructure, landscapes, circulation systems, and public space within a controlled framework. For architects working in newly independent nations, this made universities ideal sites for experimentation. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/modernism\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Modernism<\/a> could be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Third-World-Modernism-Architecture-Development-and-Identity\/Lu\/p\/book\/9780415564588?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">tested as an environmental, political, and social system<\/a> rather than reduced to style. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803fd52920189f20c50-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 8 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803fd52920189f20c50\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803fd52920189f20c50-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_12.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>Le Corbusier in Chandigarh with the plan of the city and a model of the Modular Man, his universal system of proportion, 1951. Image \u00a9 FDL, ADAGP 2014<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This ambition was visible in India almost immediately after independence. When Jawaharlal Nehru described <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/chandigarh\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Chandigarh<\/a> as symbolic of a new nation freed from colonial tradition, he was not only referring to its monumental Capitol Complex. The city&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/opac.nls.ac.in\/bib\/40547?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">educational and institutional sectors formed part of the same vision<\/a>: a planned environment where governance, learning, and civic identity could be reorganized through architecture. Universities <a href=\"https:\/\/dokumen.pub\/architecture-and-independence-the-search-for-identity-india-1880-to-1980-9780195639001-0195639006-9780195652475-0195652479.html?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">increasingly operated as extensions of statecraft<\/a>. They would educate the bureaucrats, planners, and technocrats responsible for building the nation, while giving physical form to the bureaucratic and developmental ambitions these institutions promoted.<\/p>\n<p>  Related Article <a class=\"rel-article__link\" data-insights-category=\"related-article\" data-insights-label=\"3\" data-insights-value=\"1041645\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1015194\/victoria-and-albert-exhibition-explores-tropical-modernism-movement-in-west-africa-modern-india-and-ghana?ad_medium=widget&amp;ad_name=related-article&amp;ad_content=1041645\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Victoria and Albert Museum Investigates Tropical Modernism Movements in West Africa, Modern India, and Ghana<\/a>  <a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803093e920189864a50-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 4 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803093e920189864a50\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803093e920189864a50-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779722613_121_postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_8.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (IIMA) \/ Louis Kahn. Image \u00a9 Laurian Ghinitoiu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Symbolism only explains part of these campuses. It was the way they transformed modernism once it encountered climate. Many architects arriving from Europe brought with them the assumptions of the International Style: glass facades, universal planning systems, and machine-age aesthetics intended to function anywhere. But the realities of tropical heat, monsoon rain, dust, and unreliable infrastructure quickly exposed the limits of those ideas. Campuses became sites where modernism <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/articles\/about-the-tropical-modernism-exhibition?srsltid=AfmBOopAu9Z-FqT2FtUgVkvQKsNoNyRbpY_jRFCJIbG2nAI9hDt5LOjt&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">encountered climatic limits and began to change<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Modern architecture was gradually transformed through climatic pressures rather than rejected outright. Across postcolonial campuses, deep overhangs replaced exposed curtain walls, shaded corridors replaced sealed interiors, and courtyards became environmental devices rather than ornamental gestures. <a href=\"https:\/\/search.sl.nsw.gov.au\/primo-explore\/fulldisplay?context=L&amp;docid=SLNSW_ALMA21126745260002626&amp;lang=en_US&amp;mode=advanced&amp;offset=0&amp;query=sub%2Cexact%2Cadam&amp;tab=default_tab&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com&amp;vid=SLNSW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Architecture itself performed the work of cooling<\/a>. Buildings relied on orientation, thermal mass, ventilation, and landscape rather than mechanical conditioning alone. Later framed as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/tropical-modernism\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tropical modernism<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/A-Genealogy-of-Tropical-Architecture-Colonial-Networks-Nature-and-Technoscience\/Chang\/p\/book\/9780415840781?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">these strategies operated first as responses to climate<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0802093e920189864a4f-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 6 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0802093e920189864a4f\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0802093e920189864a4f-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_1.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>Sangath\/ Balkrishna Doshi. Image \u00a9 Vitra Design Museum<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Few projects demonstrate this more clearly than the Indian Institute of Management <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/ahmedabad\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ahmedabad<\/a> designed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/louis-kahn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Louis Kahn<\/a> in collaboration with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/928927\/architecture-is-an-extension-of-life-an-interview-with-balkrishna-doshi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Balkrishna Doshi<\/a>. The campus reads as monumental at first encounter \u2014 massive brick walls punctuated by geometric voids. But its spatial intelligence lies in how those forms work environmentally. Deep recessed openings minimize heat gain. Brick provides thermal stability in extreme temperatures. Courtyards and shaded circulation create cooler transitional spaces between classrooms, dormitories, and public gathering areas. The <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/modernarchitectu0000curt?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">campus grounds institutional modernity<\/a> in climate, material depth, and thermal performance rather than lightweight enclosure. <\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0801fd52920189f20c4d-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 9 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0801fd52920189f20c4d\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0801fd52920189f20c4d-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_2.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>IIM-B New Classroom Complex \/ Mindspace. Photo \u00a9 PHX India<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Environmental adaptation also reorganized how space was socially occupied. On many postcolonial campuses, circulation was no longer treated as merely functional. Corridors widened into gathering zones, terraces became extensions of classrooms, and shaded walkways encouraged informal interaction between students and faculty. Movement and occupation increasingly overlapped.<\/p>\n<p>At the CEPT University, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/928927\/architecture-is-an-extension-of-life-an-interview-with-balkrishna-doshi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Balkrishna Doshi<\/a> pushed this even further. The campus dissolves rigid boundaries between inside and outside through open studios, exposed brick platforms, shaded terraces, and porous circulation systems. Rather than isolating learning inside conditioned rooms, the architecture encourages occupation across gradients of light, heat, and enclosure. Students move continuously between landscape and building, between formal instruction and informal exchange. Learning unfolds across shifting gradients of shade, heat, enclosure, and exposure.<\/p>\n<p>Environmental experimentation intersects with cultural negotiation here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2095263513000642?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Modernism arriving from Europe was transformed<\/a> not only by heat and geography, but by different ways of inhabiting space. Courtyards, thresholds, verandahs, and open collective areas carried social meanings deeply rooted in local patterns of gathering and public life. Architects such as Doshi reworked modernist forms through Indian spatial traditions and everyday occupation.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0805fd52920189f20c53-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 2 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0805fd52920189f20c53\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0805fd52920189f20c53-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779722618_220_postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_10.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>Film still of Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast by Fry, Drew _ Partners &#8211; for &#8216;Tropical Modernism &#8211; Architecture and Independence&#8217;. Image \u00a9 Victoria and Albert Museum, London<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0197397505000020?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">same negotiation unfolded across parts of West Africa<\/a>. Universities such as Obafemi Awolowo University adopted many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/262872683_Tropical_Architecture_and_the_West_Indies_from_military_advances_and_tropical_medicine_to_Robert_Gardner-Medwin_and_the_networks_of_tropical_modernism?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">principles associated with tropical modernism<\/a>, including passive cooling systems, shaded circulation, and climatic orientation. But these campuses also reflected the political ambitions of newly independent African states, where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1015194\/victoria-and-albert-exhibition-explores-tropical-modernism-movement-in-west-africa-modern-india-and-ghana\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">architecture became tied to visions of technological progress and national self-determination<\/a>. Educational institutions were expected to produce graduates capable of participating in postcolonial futures while helping define modern citizenship.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0801093e920189864a4e-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 3 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0801093e920189864a4e\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0801093e920189864a4e-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779722619_452_postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_5.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>Barnato Hall Addition Phase 1 \/ 26\u201910 south Architects. Photo \u00a9 Nic Huisman<\/a><\/p>\n<p>These campuses feel newly relevant today because their most innovative ideas were often treated as regional deviations from modernist orthodoxy. Deep shading devices, naturally ventilated corridors, thick masonry walls, and landscape-integrated planning were often treated as departures from the purity of high modernism. In an era increasingly defined by energy consumption and climate crisis, those same strategies now sit closer to contemporary environmental priorities.<\/p>\n<p>Many of these campuses continue to function largely through passive environmental systems developed decades before sustainability became institutionalized language. Their architecture understood that climate was not an obstacle to design, but one of its primary generators. Postcolonial campuses anticipated current concerns around low-energy construction, adaptive comfort, and environmental responsiveness.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0804fd52920189f20c52-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 7 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0804fd52920189f20c52\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0804fd52920189f20c52-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_11.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>Film still of Unity Hall, KNUST, Kumasi by John Owuso Addo and Miro Marasovi\u0107 &#8211; for &#8216;Tropical Modernism &#8211; Architecture and Independence&#8217;. Image \u00a9 Victoria and Albert Museum, London<\/a><\/p>\n<p>At the same time, these sites remain politically unfinished. Campuses such as <a href=\"https:\/\/lecorbusier-worldheritage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dec-2018-Status-Report-Chandigarh-Capitol-Complex.pdf?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Chandigarh&#8217;s institutional complexes now face difficult questions<\/a> around preservation, expansion, and infrastructural pressure. Air-conditioning retrofits often undermine the very climatic systems that made these buildings significant. New construction disrupts carefully calibrated spatial relationships. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/344942082_Keeping_It_Modern_A_Getty_Foundation_Initiative_to_Preserve_20th-Century_Architecture?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=archdaily.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Conservation debates expose unresolved tensions<\/a> about how postcolonial modernism should be valued: as heritage, infrastructure, or living institution.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"js-image-size__link lazy-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803fd52920189f20c51-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Climate, Culture, and Modernism: The Postcolonial Campus as Architectural Laboratory - Image 5 of 12\" data-nr-picture-id=\"6a0c0803fd52920189f20c51\" height=\"427\" itemprop=\"image\" loading=\"lazy\" longdesc=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/1041645\/climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory\/6a0c0803fd52920189f20c51-climate-culture-and-modernism-the-postcolonial-campus-as-architectural-laboratory-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779722622_994_postcolonial-campuses-universities-as-laboratories-of-hybrid-modernity_7.jpg\" width=\"640\"\/>Science Research Facilities \/ Ludwig Hansen Architects + Urban Designers. Photo \u00a9 Ludwig Hansen Architects + Urban Designers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>These campuses continue to feel unusually alive. They were conceived as frameworks for occupation, negotiation, and change. Students continue to inhabit their shaded corridors, gather in their courtyards, and adapt their spaces in ways the architects anticipated. The buildings age, evolve, and absorb new realities without entirely losing the ambitions embedded within them. These universities did not simply import modernism into new nations. Climate, material, pedagogy, and public life reshaped modernism into forms that remained contingent, adaptive, and locally negotiated. The lesson these campuses continue to offer lies in how architecture was treated as a collective experiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>This article is part of the ArchDaily Topic:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/tag\/archdaily-topic-2026-20th-century-design-in-flux\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> 20th Century Design in Flux: A Global Reinterpretation of Architectural History<\/a><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about<a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/monthly-topics?ad_source=monthly_article&amp;ad_medium=bottom_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> our ArchDaily Topics<\/a>. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.archdaily.com\/contact?ad_source=monthly_article&amp;ad_medium=bottom_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CEPT University Foundation Hall, Lecture Hall and Kund \/ CCBA Designs. Photo \u00a9 Ashish Bhonde, Ramprasad Akkisetti Share&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":984080,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3939],"tags":[273651,2740,212830,33149,270954,4023,4021,4020,273652,273650,50286,4022,77,88887,96795,273653,5724,30275,273649,16,15],"class_list":["post-984079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-ad-india-building-for-billions","tag-africa","tag-african-modernism","tag-ahmedabad","tag-archdaily-topic-2026-20th-century-design-in-flux","tag-architecture","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-balkrishna-doshi","tag-campus-design","tag-chandigarh","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-institutional-architecture","tag-le-corbusier","tag-louis-kahn","tag-modernism","tag-south-asia","tag-tropical-modernism","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116635908332730103","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=984079"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984079\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/984080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=984079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=984079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=984079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}