The 9th International Network for Tropical Architecture (iNTA) Conference, slated for 2025, places the spotlight on an increasingly urgent global issue: the future of housing in tropical and subtropical regions. Under the theme “Housing Futures in the Tropics: Resilience, Sustainability, and Action,” the conference calls upon architects, planners, engineers, policy makers, and community advocates to confront the deeply intertwined challenges of climate change, social inequality, and urbanization. These regions—often vulnerable to hurricanes, floods, and droughts—require more than just shelter. They need design that is resilient, adaptive, and rooted in local culture.
Designing homes in the tropics is anything but straightforward. Take, for example, Karen Meyer, an architect based in Miami, Florida—a city all too familiar with the wrath of hurricanes. In one of her community housing projects, she combined high-wind-resistant roofing systems with open courtyard layouts that allow for quick evacuation when necessary. But perhaps her most meaningful contribution was less technical: recognizing the needs of Miami’s large Latino population, she integrated spaces that support family-centered living, such as semi-outdoor gathering areas for meals and celebrations. Her work embodies the values iNTA 2025 seeks to promote—design that functions as both ecological solution and cultural artifact.
In the tropics, housing cannot be approached with a one-size-fits-all mentality. It must be reimagined not just as physical infrastructure, but as a social and ecological interface. On the Indonesian island of Java, a collaboration between European architecture students and local artisans resulted in a housing prototype built primarily from regenerative bamboo. Not only did the structure withstand the intense monsoon rains, but its passive ventilation system—based on traditional Javanese design—dramatically reduced the need for air conditioning. As Lukas, a German architecture student involved in the project, noted, “We weren’t here to teach people how to build. We came to learn how to build with them.”
This sentiment strikes at the heart of the iNTA 2025 agenda: design must grow out of its context. It cannot be imposed from above. It must be culturally respectful, environmentally sensitive, and socially attuned. Housing in the tropics should not merely protect people from nature, but reconnect them with it. It should preserve collective memory, support local economies, and foster community ties.
In line with this philosophy, the conference will also host the 2025 iNTA Design Competition, an international call for housing proposals that address the realities of tropical and subtropical climates. Open to architects, students, and interdisciplinary teams worldwide, the competition accepts projects—built or unbuilt—completed within the last five years. The key criterion is responsiveness: designs must directly engage with the environmental and cultural challenges posed by tropical climates, from storm surges and extreme heat to water scarcity.
This year’s design brief places special emphasis on one architectural element often overlooked—the roof. In tropical climates, the roof is not merely a cap on the structure; it is the building’s first line of defense against sun, rain, and wind. But it can also be a site of innovation. In a post-disaster reconstruction project in Sri Lanka, Swedish architect Jonas Bergman developed a dual-roof system: the lower level provides shaded living space, while the upper level serves as a rainwater harvesting and vegetable-growing platform. This multifunctional approach not only enhances resilience but fosters a deeper connection between the household and the environment.
As climate change continues to reshape urban life, housing in tropical zones is emerging as one of the defining challenges of our era. This is no longer a localized issue—it is part of the global urbanization puzzle. Tropical housing must evolve from mere survival structures into spaces of dignity, creativity, and harmony with nature.
Whether in Karen’s hurricane-ready courtyards in Miami or Lukas’s bamboo village in Java, one thing is clear: innovation in tropical housing lies not only in flashy new materials or technologies, but in the ability to listen, adapt, and respond to people and place. iNTA 2025 aims to be more than a conference—it seeks to be a catalyst for collective reimagining, where bold ideas meet local wisdom to shape homes that protect, connect, and empower.