CRITICAL Regionalism
In an interview, Alvaro Siza mentions: "Tradition is not the opposite of innovation, it is complementary.Tradition comes from successive interchanges. Isolated cultures that try to preserve their traditions without being open to new ideas collapse"
I think this statement is fundamental to understand the notion of critical regionalism. It is not a return to tradition, rather it is how you use tradition to innovate and create architecture that has a sense of place. It is the ability to create Architecture that not only responds to the climate and specific location but also to materiality and natural resources resources from its site. We tend to focus on the word "regionalism" but the word "critical" is equally as important as it helps us push the boundaries of the resources.
Critical regionalism is from what I came to understand a reconciliation between nature and the built environment.
This can be seen in the Leca swimming pools. Siza's intervention does not come in to destroy its surrounding but work in unison with the ocean and rocks all while making it accessible for people to enjoy. It is those same barriers that become access points, and that same sea water that create a home for people to bathe. “Like Aalto’s, all of Siza’s buildings are delicately laid into the topography of their sites."
In that same fashion, in the Raulston Arboretum Lath House, Frank Harmon uses the local climate and placement of its project to guide his process. " the new pro bono structure fulfills the specific light-to-shade ratio needed for the plants in the spring".
I think this statement is fundamental to understand the notion of critical regionalism. It is not a return to tradition, rather it is how you use tradition to innovate and create architecture that has a sense of place. It is the ability to create Architecture that not only responds to the climate and specific location but also to materiality and natural resources resources from its site. We tend to focus on the word "regionalism" but the word "critical" is equally as important as it helps us push the boundaries of the resources.
Critical regionalism is from what I came to understand a reconciliation between nature and the built environment.
This can be seen in the Leca swimming pools. Siza's intervention does not come in to destroy its surrounding but work in unison with the ocean and rocks all while making it accessible for people to enjoy. It is those same barriers that become access points, and that same sea water that create a home for people to bathe. “Like Aalto’s, all of Siza’s buildings are delicately laid into the topography of their sites."
In that same fashion, in the Raulston Arboretum Lath House, Frank Harmon uses the local climate and placement of its project to guide his process. " the new pro bono structure fulfills the specific light-to-shade ratio needed for the plants in the spring".
I find this subject incredible interesting and complex. I think that the part that I finally understand is the "critical" part. I think too that staying critical will keep this movement alive in that being critical we will continue to question the how and the why. Maybe this was where Lewis Mumford felt that other approached to regionalism were flawed.
ReplyDeleteI've definitely been one to overlook the "critical" part of the concept. You've made a great point in saying that "it is not a return to tradition, rather it is how you use tradition to innovate and create architecture that has a sense of place" because sometimes traditional architecture needs to change and evolve in order to truly have that sense of belonging.
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