The V&A's 'Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Power in West Africa' is located at the heart of the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale’s revolutionary re-framing. Organised by the museum and the Architectural Association (AA) in London, along with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in Kumasi, Ghana, the show focuses on the legacy of the British architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, and the development of what they called ‘Tropical Modernism’. It is an exploration of modern architecture in newly independent Ghana, and a fascinating insight into the shape-shifting interplay between modern architecture and colonialism.
