This document summarizes a reaction paper about the article "Towards a Critical Regionalism" by Kenneth Frampton. It discusses how Frampton believes architects should consider the characteristics of the land and local climate when designing buildings. The placement of windows and openings can reflect the regional conditions, such as sun paths and wind directions. Using local materials can also express the regional culture through tactile qualities. Overall, critical regionalism is about giving buildings a distinct sense of place through consideration of the site context and local culture rather than creating placeless designs.

1. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE ANDURBANISM (ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2015) [5 MARKS]
NAME: BENNY TAN SHIOWEE ID: 0315447
LECTURER: MS. IDA TUTORIAL TIME: 4PM – 6PM
SYNOPSIS NO: 4 READER TITLE: FROM “TOWARDS A CRITICAL REGIONALISM”
AUTHOR: KENNETH FRAMPTON
Nowadays, people always clear and flattens the site before they build the building. This movement is
actually an optimization of the economy of earth equipment and rational layout of building but it also
creates a placelessness by removed the topography which the place have. In the response to critical
regionalism, we should take the consideration about the characteristic of the land and design the
building form according to the land culture. On the other hand, the climate of the site can also affect
the building due to wind direction or sun path. The thing architect can do is actually design the
placement of the opening of the building according to the site conditions. For an example, the
window, which is a critical and important elementin the expression of architecture, it has an ability to
show the sense of regional with the placement on the wall. The climate will not only affect the
placementofthe windows but also the building form. The building may have several opening due to
the wind direction butalso the lighting. The lighting goes into the building can create the poetic which
will become an extraordinary and special ofthe building. Every building has its own poetic elements
which is hard to copy due to the site context. The poetic feeling can used to represent the critical
regionalism.
Other than the site context, the ability of tactile surface can make the architecture become more
clearly and easy to understand by the people due to its tactile tectonic. From the example given in
the book, he showed how the tactile tectonic of brick, wood and so on will affect the senses and lead
the people enter a building. In the sense of critical regionalism, Kenneth Frampton did not really
relate it back to the visual and tactile. However, I think the sensations experience we have can be
affected by the tactile tectonic of materials. Therefore, using the local materials to build the building
can actually show the regional and culture senses to public where this building is belong to the place.
In a nutshell, the human perception towards a regional feeling is actually determined by the critical
regionalism. Critical regionalism is actually a method to the placelessness and create the own
identity of the building with the regional characteristics.
WORD COUNT: 384 DATE: 13-6-2016 MARK: GRADE:
ASSSESSED BY: