Materiality in Critical Regionalism
What struck me as more important than form or function is the use of material in critical regionalism. Understanding how material functions in that environment, its presence and how it will change over time becomes the key element to realizing a project that is both aware of and respondent to its environment. In Siza's Leca Swimming Pools, the use of concrete responds to the scale of the rocks; its treatment notes its roughness, and without this careful eye to materiality, the project would not have been effective. In all the examples discussed in class, the material becomes the expression and interpretation of the cultural region it is a part of, without it, it is only mimicry.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteConsidering how materials age over time is so often overlooked in today's "architecture." So often buildings are looked at as commodities used to generate as much money as possible for as little cost as possible for a lifetime of maybe 15 years. I really appreciate when a designer considers how a building will age and does this with intention. Dan Harding really inspired me personally in this regard with his corten steel projects he showed us in Productions and Assemblies, planning for the steel to rust and choosing accent materials that will compliment the steel in both conditions.
I completely agree. This plays a bit into “design for resources” through a COTE lens, that local materials aren’t just more sustainable in their acquisition, they’re also more characteristic of the region itself. By that notion, it wasn’t until somewhat recent human history that this kind of regionalism wasn’t a given fundamental aspect of the built environment.
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