Critical regionalism
Critical regionalism is an approach to architecture that strives to counter the placelessness and lack of meaning in Modern Architecture by using contextual forces to give a sense of place and meaning. The term critical regionalism was first used by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre and later more famously by Kenneth Frampton.
Frampton put forth his views in "Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six points of an architecture of resistance." He evokes Paul Ricoeur's question of "how to become modern and to return to sources; how to revive an old, dormant civilization and take part in universal civilization". According to Frampton, critical regionalism should adopt modern architecture critically for its universal progressive qualities but at the same time should value responses particular to the context. Emphasis should be on topography, climate, light, tectonic form rather than scenography and the tactile sense rather than the visual. Frampton draws from phenomenology to supplement his arguments.
Two examples Frampton briefly discusses are Jørn Utzon and Alvar Aalto. In Frampton's view, Utzon's Bagsvaerd Church (1973-76), near Copenhagen is a self-conscious synthesis between universal civilization and world culture. This is revealed by the rational, modular, neutral and economic, partly prefabricated concrete outer shell (i.e. universal civilization) versus the specially-designed, 'uneconomic', organic, reinforced concrete shell of the interior, signifying with its manipulation of light sacred space and 'multiple cross-cultural references', which Frampton sees no precedent for in Western culture, but rather in the Chinese pagoda roof (i.e. world culture). In the case of Aalto, Frampton discusses the redbrick Säynätsalo Town Hall (1952), in which, he argues, one finds a resistance to the domination of universal technology, as well as to vision by means of the tactile qualities of the building's materials; for instance, in 'feeling' the friction of the brick floor of the stairs to the springy wooden-floored council chamber.
As put forth by Tzonis and Lefaivre, critical regionalism need not directly draw from the context, rather elements can be stripped of their context and used in strange rather than familiar ways. Here the aim is to make aware of a disruption and a loss of place that is already a fait accompli through reflection and self-evaluation.
Critical regionalism is different from regionalism which tries to achieve a one-to-one correspondence with vernacular architecture in a conscious way without consciously partaking in the universal.
Critical regionalism is considered a particular form of post-modern (not to be confused with postmodernism as architectural style) response in developing countries.
It can be argued that the following architects have used such an approach in some of their works: Alvar Aalto, Jørn Utzon, Studio Granda, Mario Botta, B.V.Doshi, Charles Correa, Alvaro Siza, Rafael Moneo, Geoffrey Bawa, Raj Rewal, Tadao Ando, Mack Scogin / Merrill Elam, Ken Yeang, William S.W. Lim, Tay Kheng Soon, Juhani Pallasmaa, and Tan Hock Beng.
References
- Kenneth Frampton, "Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance", in The Anti-Aesthetic. Essays on Postmodern Culture (1983) edited by Hal Foster, Bay Press, Port Townsen.
- Alex Tzonis and Liliane Lefaivre, "The grid and the pathway. An introduction to the work of Dimitris and Susana Antonakakis", Architecture in Greece (1981) 15, Athens.
External links
Alexander Tzonis Authorised website Template:Modernarch
