From my opinion off what I have gathered, I came to an understanding that Critical regionalism can be seen as an approach to architecture that tries to stand up for places culture and identifies the identity of a place where Modern Architecture has failed to, by using the building's geographical context and reference of vernacular architecture. The term critical regionalism was first used by Alexander Tzonis and Liane Lefaivre and, with a somewhat different meaning, by Kenneth Frampton. Critical regionalism could be considered as a particular kind of post-modern response. This response developed as a result of the failure of Post-modernism, together with the influence of Globalization and the spread of Western culture. Critical Regionalism could also be seen as the best solution to cultural issues and the problems of architectural identity. Frampton’s argument is that critical regionalism should not only answer to context, but it should also value the progress of universal modern architecture.
Critical Regionalism, defined by Fred S. Matter
“… is an attempt to synthesize the rooted aspects of a region, including physical and cultural characteristics, with appropriate current technology. It is the search for an architecture that is meaningful within its context and at the same time participates in the more universal aspects of a contemporary mobile society.”
(Matter. F.S: 1989)
In this essay I will discuss how concrete regionalism was presented in the work of Le Corbusier who is the most classic example of this movement, Oscar Niemeyer, and Antoine Predock . With each architect having a highly individual vision that has created unique buildings for people and their environment. These architects each has combined vernacular buildi...
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CONCLUSION
The works of Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer and Antoine Predock shows a high level of honour and truthfulness. These architects were concrete revolutionalists, they partially over-turned the concepts of ‘purism’, ‘less is more’ and functionalism with the plastic freedom made possible by reinforced concrete.
An important aspect of Critical Regionalism is that the occupants of the building should experience the local climatic conditions as well as the response to the nature of the landscape sensitively and thoughtfully. In my view, I think that each of these architects has achieved this aspect in whatever environment they worked with. In conclusion, I think that these international and regional architects have reached an interaction that contributes to the symbolic and iconic architecture that suggests new formal possibilities.
By giving the biographies of architects Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander, Hines does nothing to remedy his aimless writing. He writes that Neutra had a variety of experience as an archi...
In chapter one of Frampton’s writing, “Cultural Transformations,” he describes how changes in society create new architectural styles due to new cultural needs. Frampton starts by explaining the relationship between man and nature in different architectural styles. Man and nature were distinct entities; however, for the sake or ornamentation in architecture, the two were constantly combined. This idea soon changes with Baroque architecture where man and nature started to be distinctly separate, and this later leads to the Neoclassical style which shows an increased desire for man to have control over nature (Frampton 1). Neoclassicism essentially stems from a new cultural formation that grew from the life styles of declining aristocracy and the rising bourgeoisie, and this transition leads
One of the pioneers who used reinforced concrete as a building material is Auguste Perret. Auguste Perret was heavily influenced by reading the works of Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc who backed the unification of architectural form and techniques of construction which had lost its technique in the 19th century. Perret spent 1891-1895 in the Académie des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of Julien Guader. He taught his students the classical principles of composition and proportion with the analysis of building types. Perret left ...
Commercial architecture does it respond to the identity surrounding it? Or does it merely respond to the conditions of Globalization? In order to answer the question above, in the following written piece I must explore the key elements of globalization and identity. I intend to relate both factors to commercial architecture, using the Hilton Tower in Manchester as a prime example. This written piece will effectively be split into two parts (Globalization and Identity).
If modernism and postmodernism are arguably two most distinguishing movements that dominated the 20th century Western art, they are certainly most exceptional styles that dominated the global architecture during this period. While modernism sought to capture the images and sensibilities of the age, going beyond simple representation of the present and involving the artist’s critical examination of the principles of art itself, postmodernism developed as a reaction against modernist formalism, seen as elitist. “Far more encompassing and accepting than the more rigid boundaries of modernist practice, postmodernism has offered something for everyone by accommodating wide range of styles, subjects, and formats” (Kleiner 810).
What is Critical Regionalism? The concept for Critical Regionalism came into existence in the 1980s as an approach towards architecture that retaliates against “placelessness” (Frampton 1983:16) while it aspires to eliminate the lack of meaning in modern architecture by using contextual forces to give a sense of place and depth to buildings. (Eggner 1984:229) The main aim of this well-grounded concept is, as said by Paul Ricour: "How to be modern and to continue the tradition, how to revive an old dormant civilization as part of universal civilization’. According to Frampton, Critical Regionalism should embrace modern architecture for its universal, progressive qualities while simultaneously valuing the responses which are particular to the context (Frampton 1952:148). Emphasis should be placed upon topography, climate, light and tectonic form as an alternative for the visual (Frampton 1952:148). As put forth by Tzonis and Lefaivre, Critical Regionalism is not obligated to extract from the context, instead elements can be removed of their context and can be used in unfamiliar ways.
Renzo stated in an interview, “Architecture is about exploring. Culturally, historically, psychologically, anthropologically, and topographically, every job is different.” Renzo is particularly well known for adapting designs to their location. He later went on to say “(architecture) should make a contribution to the contex. … you must employ a homeopathic process, ... you can easily destroy their (cities) subtle dynamics” (Archinect, 2006).
The paper tries to identify the techniques applied in postmodern architecture in the similarities to traditionalism that leads to the revision of old knowledge and revival of traditional forms through tangible or intangible activities. The
Abstract: Contemporary architects have a wide variety of sources to gain inspiration from, but this has not always been the case. How did modernism effect sources of inspiration? What did post-modernism do to liberate the choice of influences? Now that Contemporary architects have the freedom of choice, how are they using “traditional” styles and materials to inspire them? Even after modernism why are traditional styles still around?
Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier are two very prominent names in the field of architecture. Both architects had different ideas concerning the relationship between humans and the environment. Their architectural styles were a reflection of how each could facilitate the person and the physical environment. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, is considered one of the most important buildings in the history of American architecture and Le Corbusier s Villa Savoye helped define the progression that modern architecture was to take in the 20th Century. Both men are very fascinating and have strongly influenced my personal taste for modern architecture. Although Wright and Corbusier each had different views on how to design a house, they also had similar beliefs. This paper is a comparison of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s and Le Corbusier ‘s viewpoints exhibited through their two prominent houses, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House and Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye.
To understand if and how architecture has had an influence on the way people think and act in the past is an important aspect of questioning architecture’s influence today. Bentham’s Panopticon, and his ideas of surveillance, power, and discipline, have been examined and discussed by a wide variety of people including Foucault. Foucault’s main focus was on the exercise of power in its different forms and the control exercised through its architecture. An interesting view raised by Foucault in his study of the Panopticon is that liberation or oppression is not manifested in architecture by itself. This does not mean that they cannot be made part of it. ‘Positive effects’ could occur when the ‘liberating intentio...
Curtis, W J. "12. The Ideal Community: Alternatives to the Industrial City." In Modern architecture since 1900, 159-173. London: Phaidon, 1996.
Sometimes the best revolutions are those that are forgotten. At least in the short run. And so it is with Robert Venturi, a revolutionary and remarkable architect. While he may not be as celebrated as Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, or Louis Kahn, Venturi leaves behind a forceful intellectual legacy that is perhaps more durable than any building. By condemning the functionalism, simplicity, and orthodoxy of modernism in Contradiction and Complexity in Architecture (1966), he instigated an enduring architectural rebellion. This rebellion continues to run its course today. Notably, Venturi’s ideas sparked and profoundly influenced postmodernism, an international style whose buildings span from the beautiful to the gaudy and vulgar. Ultimately, Venturi’s alternative to modernism succeeded because he prized human experience and the interaction of individuals with architectural forms over a rigid, doctrinaire ideology.
However, architecture is not just the future, after all, buildings are intended to be viewed, traversed and lived by us, people. Despite this, many architects today rarely think deeply about human nature, disregarding their main subject matter in favour for efficiency and an architecture of spectacle. In this there seems to be a misconception that underlies much of architecture, that is, human’s relationship with the city, the building and nature. In much of today’s architecture, people are treated with as much concern much as we treat cars, purely mechanically. The post-modern search for the ‘new’ and ‘novel’ has come to disregard the profound affect design has on our lives, impacting our senses, shaping our psyche and disposition.
In Laugier’s book, “An Essay on Architecture,” he addresses early architects’ ignorance. Laugier explains how architects did not study nature and the set rules nature has already created for us. In his Essay, he reveals the flaws that many early buildings throughout Europe posses. Some of the more general flaws he exposes are disproportioning in architectural design, unnecessary placement, and ignoring the primitive and original purpose of a building all together. Therefore, Laugier believes appropriate and appealing architecture can only be designed and crafted when the architect behind the building has followed the rules of nature.