Arriere-garde : A New Perspective

This reading of Frampton had an interesting perspective of critical regionalism and the point of view of arriere-garde. Generally, when we think of the critical regionalism, it takes a self-reflective perspective on the current architecture of the area. It takes into account the international style that generically appears all of the world for various purposes the cultural architecture of the area and its historic styles/techniques. Frampton looks at this critical regionalism as an opportunity for an aggressive strategy for analyzing architecture of an area. It is criticizing of both avant-garde and regional styles of architecture, indiscriminately condemning each area of design in order to develop a new perspective and learn from the mistakes of the past. However as Frampton also mentions, arriere-garde might be a new perspective. It can be used to lessen the critical scope of critical regionalism and refocus on some of the local styles and tectonics. the use of critical regionalism has its time and place and undoubtably its advantages of being more ambiguous and unbiased in its evaluation. However, this ambiguity has its limits and ultimately stands as a transitional method for reevaluating architecture of regional significance. This can lead to a stronger understanding of how the architecture of the area has changed and how the architecture of the past can be reinterpreted in a positive manner that does not conform to the sentimentality of the past but builds upon its strengths.