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Abstract

According to Engberg, “Humidity is that in-between state. It is the storm pending. The bulging part of weather, all moist and dense, and hanging in a kind of limbo state of being. Like a large droplet of water, it suspends, tremulous in the moment before bursting or evaporating off.” This article explores the interior architecture of humidity. In particular, it draws from an experience of humidity in Darwin, Australia, in early October 2001 before the monsoon season. The article examines how this specific climatic condition produces an architecture independent of building. With humidity, the mechanics of enclosure are independent of what is conventionally understood as architecture as, in humid contexts, “the dialectics of inside and outside multiply with countless diversified nuances.” The article also examines notions of enclosure and intimacy, and considers the architectures of the shadow and of air-conditioning in humid climates. Kristeva’s notion of abjection informs this discussion.

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Before the Rain

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