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The 2020 biennial architectural exhibition in MoMA was about ‘Post Colonial Southeast Asian Architecture’. Due to covid, the show was postponed but it was a valuable time to learn about the overall background of southeast Asian architecture, mostly focusing on Geoffrey Bawa's Steel Corp HQ.

Geoffrey Bawa is an ceylonese architect renowned for tropical modernism. Steel Corp, just like other tropical modernism buildings, blends into the surroundings while embracing the natural environment at the same time. Although it is now an abandoned building, the building’s facade and roof proves Bawa’s considerations for the natural surroundings.

Half of the building is positioned on a reservoir, which is in the midst of rubber and palm trees, while the other half is on the ground creating an illusion as if the building is moored on a river shore. All the facades are made of precast concrete forming a tight grid to scatter the sunlight. Some are glazed and some are open for natural ventilation. The third floor itself acts as a canopy in order to protect the building from sun and rain.