Critical Regionalism at Play

This is the second time the topic of critical regionalism has surfaced in a history class for me. The first was while in Charleston and we discussed regionalism and universal civilization and the design influence or impact. From my interpretation of critical regionalism, it is an expression of place and time within an architectural design. Through the use of geographical context and references to vernacular architecture, regionalism could sustain culture and questions of identity in a place. I feel that critical regionalism breaks the understanding of identity when it carries world culture on its shoulders as a means of design for universal civilization. Take for example any new construction taking place in Charleston. I think Charleston is a great example of regionalism with a culture and identity like no other, but I see a lot of new buildings constructed in the area that try to reference the surrounding context. I think in the end, the design is masquerading the reality of the construction in hopes that the exterior looks historical to the context, and the process in which it was constructed diminishes the actual historical context because it is pretending to be something it is not.