Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Tropical Modernism: Keep rooms shallow and open on both sides so air crosses through.
- Type
- Set in Tropical Modernism's manner (Place signs in the shade of the eaves so glare never blanks them.), and let Vernacular Architecture's lettering (Set the size and position of openings from sun and wind direction) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Tropical Modernism's material (Concrete louvers, perforated terracotta blocks, timber shutters that breathe.); bring in exactly one thing from Vernacular Architecture (Use only materials found nearby and detail them so they can be repaired).
- Colour
- Build on #e2dfcc, #779173, #48514a and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Both belong to Modern Architecture, so the difference is small. Push the roles further apart than feels comfortable.
Caution
- Tropical Modernism Louvers and canopies added as shapes, with no calculation of orientation and sun angles, stop neither sun nor rain. Look past a tropical look to colonial rule, nation building after independence and local architects.
- Vernacular Architecture Quoting the form while dropping local material and local builders yields an imitation nobody can maintain, and the reason for responding to place disappears.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Tropical Modernism (Style, 1940s–1970s) and its accent from Vernacular Architecture (Style, prehistory–). Structural cues: Brise-soleil; Deep eaves; Cross-ventilation; Permeable screens. Accent cues, used sparingly: Local materials; Response to climate; Anonymity and repeated types; The settlement as a whole form. Composition: Keep rooms shallow and open on both sides so air crosses through.. Type and lettering: Place signs in the shade of the eaves so glare never blanks them.. Let one material quality come from the second style: Use only materials found nearby and detail them so they can be repaired. Mood: Trust, Calm, Futurism, Intimacy. Color: build on #e2dfcc, #779173, #48514a with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Tropical Modernism 1940s–1970s / Style / Modern Architecture
Adapts modern architecture to hot, humid climates through canopies, louvers, ventilation and sun control.
- Vernacular Architecture prehistory– / Style / Modern Architecture
Building without architects, grown from local materials, climate and custom. Since Rudofsky's MoMA show presented it as 'non-pedigreed architecture,' it has served as the textbook of climate adaptation and sustainability.
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