Regional Reign
Regional Reign
I never considered
the term ‘Regionalism’ as architectural but after reading the text and
listening to the ‘ever-entertaining and ever-informative’ lecture by one, Dr.
David Franco, ‘Regionalism’ is present in the built environment in most
everywhere global. If this is the case, I wonder if ‘Regionalism’ is a sub-category
of ‘Globalism’. The intermingling of architectural forms and ideas that are
unique to regions of the world seems like an inevitability as knowledge of
these architectures’ spreads. Similar regions adopt ideas that are successful to
the well being of the people who inhabit them.
On the other
hand, the policies of historical political figures have innately determined regional
aspects that create a sense of pride within the region. For example, being from
Cherokee County SC, a region well known for its peaches and ‘Peachoid’, the
pride that surrounds this architecture spans through to the community and the governmental
figures who approved the project. So, if a County in Ga, also known for its
peaches, were to create or simulate a similar type of architecture, could that
be considered regionalism? I know its trivial at its face, but the concept is there,
at least I hope.
VSThe adaptations that ‘Regionalism’ has taken on, to me, can be seen in some of our earlier readings by Koolhaus, where a typology of architecture is replicated, not in its entirety but in a way that reflects in a knowledgeable mind. The reign of ‘Regionalism’ continues and will be a seen in the future, I believe. Why? An example of this may one day be seen in coastal regions such as Charleston SC where the unbiased sea level rise will affect it in ways that have already dealt with it. Will Charleston adapt certain aspects of regional architecture from others to address these happenings? Maybe not but if there’s no innovative solutions, the answer has to come from somewhere.
Your comment about Charleston makes a good point. If there isn't any regional solutions to a problem, what does critical regionalism offer? I think Regionalism has to do with more than just the precedents in the built environment, but also just the environment as it is. This could let architects some the problems as they see fit, creating a new, more Critical, form of Regionalism.
ReplyDeleteI find the philosophy of regionalism as common sense; the methods are essentially addressing issues at hand and adding a bit of flair. So I could see how it can fall as a subcategory of globalism in the sense that individuals are tackling issues that are unique to their environment.
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely an interesting relationship between regionalism and replication. Replication seems to assume that the project is no longer regional in characteristic, but must be promoted as its own entity.
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