BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303/ARC2224) SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2017)
Name: Chia Sue Hwa Lecturer: Mr. Prince Favis Isip Reader/Text Title: Point 5&6 – Towards a Critical Regionalism
ID No.: 0317920 Tutorial Time: 10am Synopsis No: 3 Author: Kenneth Frampton
In ‘Towards a Critical Regionalism – Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance’, Frampton describes modern culture and buildings as moving towards a state of civilization that is both universally conditioned and exhaustively optimized by technology. In turn, his answer to this dilemma is Critical Regionalism, which he describes as, “mediating the impact of universal civilization with elements derived indirectly from the peculiarities or a particular place.” Frampton believes this is a more balanced approach that can recapture a lost sense of “place” which has become an endangered species as globalization moves architecture towards homogeneity. Neither blending in or disappearing into another time and place is critical, nor significantly responsive, nor very respectful of the time, place, or conditions that lent their inspiration. Critical Regionalism demands reflection on the difference between blended mimicry and defamiliarized transformation, hybridizing the local through the influence of universal technology. Point five ‘Culture versus Nature: Topography, Context, Climate, Lighting and Tectonic Form’ calls for a ‘placeconscious poetic’; the ambient light and atmosphere of the volume changes under the impact of time, season and humidity. Point six ‘The Visual versus the Tactile’ explores tectonic architecture - the poetic and expressive combination of materials in joints, surfaces, details, construction and structures. The project of Critical Regionalism seems to loom over the present day with new potential but new urgency. As we increasingly recognize the magnitude of architecture’s own contribution to global warming, and its unsustainable consumption of natural resources, alternatives to these practices must be developed. An architectural approach which combines the evolved agility of the local with the most effective capabilities of current technology must hold great sway. Kenneth Frampton’s texts are critical, but they may also be instrumental in the development of architectural practices that revitalize local character and culture, intelligently engage the natural environment through low and high-tech means, and recover the humane experiential potential of architectural place-form. Word Count: 303 Assessed by:
Mark Date
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