The History of Tropical Architecture and Urbanism

Overview

This PhD opportunity focuses on the history and theory of tropical built environment in any (sub)tropical geographical area worldwide, of any historical period in the 19th and 20th centuries. You might understand “tropical architecture” as “a form of critical regionalism” in response to climatic conditions of the non-Western world (Le Roux, 2003), a “power-knowledge configuration” inextricably linked to colonial power relations (Chang & King, 2011), a new architectural language free from “the ghost of the Northern box aesthetics” (Tay, 1997), a regionalist aesthetic “incapable of solving real social problems” (Lai & Pieris, 2011), the engagement of global socialist actors in mediating transnational exchanges of architectural resources (Stanek, 2020), or “a shifting, context-dependent” discourse shaped by historical forces (Chang, 2016).

We welcome potential candidates who are passionate about pushing the disciplinary or methodological boundaries of architectural history, and bridging across disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences, including but not limited to environmental humanities, history of science and technology, human geography, political ecology, environmental history, and Science, Technology and Society (STS).

With the “Environmental Turn” in architectural history against the global backdrop of climate change (Heynen, 2024), we particularly encourage innovative proposals that engage the co-constitution between architecture’s environmental management and the exercise of racialized, classed, or gendered forms of power, by focusing on marginalized actors, suppressed knowledge, neglected practices, and ignored things.

You may hope to put forward a proposal based on the following keywords:

• architectural history
• tropical architecture
• climatic adaptation
• thermal comfort
• environmental management
• colonial empire
• decolonization
• Cold War politics
• South-South collaboration.

Research activities

Literature review, archival research and analysis, in-depth oral-history interview, field survey, development of new theoretical frameworks, and writing of novel historical narratives

Outcomes

This project aims to produce a techno-political history of (sub)tropical Queensland's postwar housing. It will be ideally in the form of a monograph published with a prestigious University Press, along with several peer-reviewed journal papers.

Skills and experience

We are looking for a candidate with a background in architectural studies and a strong interest in interdisciplinary research bridging architectural history, history of science, and environmental thinking. The ideal candidate should have a degree in relevant disciplines, excellent written skills in English, and capacity to work both independently and collaboratively.

Scholarships

You may be eligible to apply for a research scholarship.

Explore our research scholarships

Keywords

• Tropical Architecture
• Climatic Adaptation
• Thermal Comfort
• Science Technology and Society
• Housing Crisis
• Female Labor

Contact

Contact the supervisor for more information