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1. BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS) IN ARCHITECTURE
THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303/ARC2224)
SYNOPSIS: REACTION PAPER (MARCH 2015) [5 MARKS]
NAME: Cheah Teck Wei ID: 0315215
LECTURER: Lam Shen Fei TUTORIAL TIME: 2-4PM
SYNOPSIS NO: 4 READER TITLE: Critical Regionalism & World Culture
AUTHOR: Kenneth Frampton
In this reading Critical Regionalism and World Culture by Kenneth Frampton discusses about the
impact of Critical Regionalism towards modern architecture. The author mentioned that architecture
can only be sustained today by critical arriére-gardism which is the conservation of architectonic
forms of the history that generates an identity giving culture but remaining a discreet recourse to
universal technique. He quoted the essay by Alex Tzonis and Liliane Lefavire in “The Grid and the
Pathway (1981)” that “regionalism is a bridge over which any humanistic of architecture of the future
must pass.”
The author points that the strategy of Critical Regionalism is to mediate the impact of universal
civilization with elements derived indirectly from the peculiarities of a particular place, such as the
range and quality of local light, the tectonic derived from a peculiar structural mode and the
topography of site. It basically inherits the world culture then partially deconstruct its overall spectrum
and form their own regionalism by the peculiarities of the place.
The author also pointed out that defined urban forms has been broken down due to the continuous
modern development until the recognition of Megalopolis. This has literally caused the crisis to urban
planning. In order to prevent that is to create a bounded domain to create an architecture of
resistance which will permit the built form to stand against the endless processal flux of the
Megapolis. In the essay “Building, Dwelling, Thinkng (1954)” Heidegess has defined boundaries as
“that form which something begins its presencing” meaning that the existence of being happens only
in a clearly bounded domain. To further explain that, urbanity explained by Venturi says that the
families at home watching televisions do not make a city, they do not care of urban form, they live in
Megapolis.
In my opinion, I think that Critical Regionalism is essential as it gives a sense of placelessness and
uniqueness to the place, by their own culture, climate and topography that is derived from a universal
architecture of a country, without forgetting about its historical design essence. Moreover, I think that
Megapolis does not affect much on the human living inside as they only feel and experience where
their daily life relates, which is in a smaller picture of the city hence the ordinary urban area they live
in still remains to them, instead the bigger city gives them a better chance of living not only because
more of opportunity, but the growth of human population.
WORD COUNT: 409 DATE: 13/6/2016 MARK: GRADE:
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