Nature reorganized

The history of humanity is a story of organized action upon the land, whether that is considered as a complex ecology that includes living and non-living things or as a functionally empty surface for the imposition of efficient systems and forms. If a place teems with hidden riches then these can be extracted as valuable views and useful materials. Such organization of the natural and its opposite is one of the first and perhaps most fundamental architectural acts.

Article 17 of 17

New Tropicality

Video and text by Mika Savela

New Tropicality
Pause
00:00:00
00:00:00

Bland exotica.

Modernist holiday resorts, Bo Bardi’s garden pond, the anatomies and textures of fruits and flowers, a magazine called The Plant, palm houses, conservatories, botanical gardens, houseplants and mechanisms for greenhouse ventilation systems, air conditioning, hard brutalism coupled with sensual brass and terrazzo, marble with leaves of Monstera deliciosa, viridian colours that only make sense in RGB or on Instagram, jungle graphics on sweatshirts, computer-generated pseudo-rainforests in Avatar, psychedelic Brit-rave circa 1995, and seapunk.

We are living with a changing global climate, record-high temperatures and ocean levels, massive migration, and relentless urbanization. By now, we are aware that the tropics have become territories of new challenges and modernities. At the same time, the visual notion of the tropical is both disappearing and expanding. Traditionally, the imagery of the tropics is one of sensory stimulations and vitality—a kind of collective Club Med where we can all relax while gulping down a glass of pineapple juice. These depictions of lush, faraway forests filled with fantastical species of plants and animals seem forcefully alive and serve as marketable versions of biodiversity.

But now something else might be going on. Tropicality has started to appear as a different kind of aesthetics—far blander, plainer, and more everyday. Occurrences of new tropicality are happening within contexts where the tropical might not conventionally belong, like a reference to an oddball diorama at a provincial natural science museum, or the rediscovery of the Barbican Conservatory on dozens of blogs at the same time. (See, for instance, here, here, here, and here.) Naturally, readings of archival material with hints of tropical or botanical subject matter are becoming part of these new image economies.

In recent years, architectural practices have made similar novel inclusions of plants in their projects. The plant-filled room or the abstract, disruptive interpretations of greenhouses and plant walls have become common typologies. Spanish architects SelgasCano have long had a special interest in bringing nature indoors. Greek office Point Supreme’s proposals for palm-filled Athens squares are more Miami Vice than Mediterranean. In the United Kingdom, Assemble Studio has proposed refurbishing working-class red-brick rowhouses with exotic greeneries, while Asif Khan has made blurred views of exotica part of the inner-city districts of London. (And there’s more.)

But how to explain this emergence of tropicality? Partly, these examples signal an increasing affinity for non-belonging and non-conforming to the traditions of the professional world and the tasks architecture has been given. (There is something visually wilder about pineapples than there is about a bouquet of roses.) An immersion in tropical flora and fauna suggests a positive relationship with distance and a desire for the other, ostensibly without colonization. This is an interest in the exotic without exoticization, an affinity with the faraway without the undertones of cultural appropriation. But while technically only referring to certain latitudes on either side of the Equator, the tropical—even in its new, disconnected visual sense, cannot escape cultural connotations. It appears that tropicality has become newly appealing precisely because of its vague form, which serves as a sophisticated, ambiguous reference.

Today, from Basel to Miami Beach to Hong Kong, from the Old World to the New, there are continuous shifts toward new centres and new latitudes. Perhaps in its new visual presence, the tropical should embrace new cultural contexts. Aside from certain aesthetics, what has tropicality come to entail? Will it forever be colourful, fragrant, and calling for exploration? Will it become a symbol of catastrophes and harsh urban realities, rather than a paradise? Or should the tropical be left alone, to remain a free-to-borrow feature, natural clip art, a getaway from the discourses?

Mika Savela produced this video and text in 2017 as part of a research project entitled “Offness.” This work is the result of the multidisciplinary research program “Architecture and/for Photography” developed by the CCA, with the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

1
1

Sign up to get news from us

Email address
First name
Last name
By signing up you agree to receive our newsletter and communications about CCA activities. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information, consult our privacy policy or contact us.

Thank you for signing up. You'll begin to receive emails from us shortly.

We’re not able to update your preferences at the moment. Please try again later.

You’ve already subscribed with this email address. If you’d like to subscribe with another, please try again.

This email was permanently deleted from our database. If you’d like to resubscribe with this email, please contact us

Please complete the form below to buy:
[Title of the book, authors]
ISBN: [ISBN of the book]
Price [Price of book]

First name
Last name
Address (line 1)
Address (line 2) (optional)
Postal code
City
Country
Province/state
Email address
Phone (day) (optional)
Notes

Thank you for placing an order. We will contact you shortly.

We’re not able to process your request at the moment. Please try again later.

Folder ()

Your folder is empty.

Email:
Subject:
Notes:
Please complete this form to make a request for consultation. A copy of this list will also be forwarded to you.

Your contact information
First name:
Last name:
Email:
Phone number:
Notes (optional):
We will contact you to set up an appointment. Please keep in mind that your consultation date will be based on the type of material you wish to study. To prepare your visit, we'll need:
  • — At least 2 weeks for primary sources (prints and drawings, photographs, archival documents, etc.)
  • — At least 48 hours for secondary sources (books, periodicals, vertical files, etc.)
...