Regionalism in architecture.pdf

History of Architecture (AP313) | Term Paper | 2013

Page 1 of 12

Regionalism in architecture as an expression of appropriate

technology and sustainably

Term Paper for History of Architecture (AP131)

Vedika Agrawal

Roll Number: 11

Sushant School of Art and Architecture

“Love one’s locality, pride in its accomplishments, and loyalty to everything in it bring about a state of

mind known as regionalism.”

Harwell Hamilton Harris

Regionalism and its inception

Regionalism, in architecture, means an architecture that is derived directly from its local setting. The

concept of regionalism leads to the building being intrinsically site specific and responding to the local

climate and culture of the place, where it is being built. From its initiation, regionalism has often fallen

in opposition to modernity and the language of modernism. Regionalism may be viewed as a specific

form of modernism, thus becoming an integral part of the search for both identity and modernity.

Regionalism recognizes modernism, but is critical of many of its features, such as its high level of

abstraction.

“To be truly modern, we must first reconcile ourselves with our traditions.”

Octavio Paz

In the 1980s, a few architects and theorists were dissatisfied by the direction postmodernism was

taking architecture to. They started to believe that postmodern architects were producing another

avant-garde style, mimicking the classical style, instead of depicting the historicity of style in their

designs. In the postmodern period, architecture had started to lack social individuality, cultural

uniqueness to the place where the buildings belonged. In contrast to the postmodern ideology,

regionalism gave priority to the identity of the building, considering the ecological, social and cultural

elements of the region where the buildings were constructed. Regionalist architecture started to

treasure and reflect the particularity of a region, its unique environment, locally available materials,

the cultural value the place held, and the life led by the people of the place.


Page 2 of 12

Essentially, regionalism is linked to the aim of achieving visual harmony between a building and its

surroundings. In other words, it endeavors to create a connection between past and present forms of

buildings. This value is also often related to preserving and creating regional and national identity.

Regionalism consciously tries to correspond to vernacular architecture, without partaking in the

universal.

The use of vernacular techniques

Vernacular architecture portrays a belief in a system of inherited, established or customary patterns of

thoughts, forms, and styles. It usually expresses in use of local materials and handed-down building

technologies. The approach of vernacular architecture can be both historical and contemporary. A

common definition of vernacular architecture is as 'architecture without architects', or ‘unself-conscious

design’. Vernacular is the architecture that was created by using local materials and usually built by its

own inhabitants without the help of architects; regional architecture is built by architects integrating the

local available resources with modern ones, while critical regionalism is a regional architecture

approach seeking universality.

Critical regionalism

Critical regionalism designated a form of architectural practice that embraces modern architecture

critically for its universal unifying qualities while simultaneously responding to social and cultural and

climatic contexts of the region in which it is built. Critical regionalism, as a style, counters lack of

identity and placelessness in modern architecture by relating to the building's geographical context.

The term "critical regionalism" was first used by the architectural theorists Alexander Tzonis and Liane

Lefaivre and later more famously by the historian-theorist Kenneth Frampton in “Towards a Critical

Regionalism: six points of an architecture of resistance.”

Critical regionalism is not regionalism in the sense of vernacular architecture.1 It is, on the contrary, an

avant-gardist, modernist approach, where one consciously starts from the premises of local or regional

architecture. Critical regionalism is not just regionalism, but it also portrays how world culture and

global concerns can be blended with regional issues to create a style that is more critically self-

conscious and expansive.2 It is often argued that regionalism sometimes goes back to just conservation

and resorts to just usage of the vernacular. However, critical regionalism seeks architectural traditions

that are deeply rooted in the local context. The main problem of critical regionalism is to seek answers

to the question of Paul Ricour: “How to be modern and to continue the tradition, how to revive an old

dormant civilization as part of the universal civilization?”

1 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_regionalism 2 Allison Lee Palmer, 2008. Historical Dictionary of Architecture. Edition. Scarecrow Press


Page 3 of 12

Charles Correa’s work, as important examples of critical

regionalism

Charles Correa’s architecture is contextual and is considered a prime example of critical regionalism.

Correa’s usage of open-to-sky spaces deliberately evokes the image of early Indian schools, where

the guru sat underneath a Banyan tree. These spaces are also used to provide comfort to the warm

climate, which is alien to the west. His use of the chhatri creates minimal shelter from the sun in the

hottest part of the day, while allowing the users to enjoy being under the open sky.

The Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya, Ahmedabad

The Gandhi Smarak

Sangrahalaya, Ahmedabad,

by Charles Correa, is a

conscious attempt to combine

modernity with regionalism.

Correa uses a network of

interconnected open-to-sky

spaces, to recreate the

Gandhian ideal of a self-

sufficient village

community. The building is

climatically sound and

energy efficient, uses low-

cost material and finishes,

and above all conveys some

sense of the solemnity and dignity dedicated to

Gandhi’s life and work.

The building uses vernacular materials like brick

walls, stone floors and tiled roofs. The spaces are

grouped around a central water court to cool the

buildings in the arid heat.

Figure 1: Gandhi Smarak - Plan http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Collections/Recentacquisitions/CharlesCorrea/GandhiSmarakSangrahalaya.aspx

Figure 2: The view of the courts http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1026


Page 4 of 12

National Crafts Museum located at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

Charles Correa also

interprets India’s

vernacular architecture in

a modern typology in the

National Crafts Museum

located at Pragati

Maidan, New Delhi. Its

spaces are massed

together to recreate an

Indian village. The museum

incorporates extensive use

of vernacular materials such as stone, bamboo, brick, mud and thatch. There is usage craftwork as

both interior and exterior ornamentation, which not only represents the purpose of the building, but

also reflects India’s tradition of crafts. Correa demonstrates here a successful transition of the

vernacular to the modern, as also how traditional architectural vocabulary need not be synonymous

with ‘backward’.

A walk across the Crafts

Museum building meanders

through open and semi-

open passages covered

with sloping, tiled roofs and

lines with old carved

wooden bidri work;

paintings; terracotta and

cane and bamboo work.

Figure 3: National crafts museum – plan http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1026

Figure 4: Crafts demonstration area http://nationalcraftsmuseum.nic.in/about_Museum.htm


Page 5 of 12

Hassan Fathy and his works

Hassan Fathy, a noted Egyptian architect and a supporter of vernacularism in architecture, developed

a construction system that arranged locally produced, low-cost mud-bricks to create domed and

vaulted building forms reminiscent of regional architecture of the lower Nile valley.

“Fathy devoted more than half a century of his professional to bringing back to the vernacular mode

building tradition endangered by extinction due to the massive post war building activity.”

Hassan Fathy believed in humanistic values and the connections between people and places and the

use of traditional knowledge and materials. He believed in the usage of technology suitable to time

and place, i.e. climate and local economies. Furthermore, he also promoted earth as a construction

material. His projects are based on the elements taken from tradition, that he did extensive studies

about: parabolic arches, square spaces covered with domes, rectangular rooms or narrow spaces with

vaults, courts, balconies and wind towers. He assigned an essential role to tradition and hence to the

re-establishment of a national cultural pride. New Gourna was a critical experiment in the

implementation of this philosophy.

Figure 5: Mosque, Luxor, Egypt http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/637/

Figure 6: New Gourna Village, Luxor http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/637/


Page 6 of 12

The work done by Hassan Fathy in New Gourna village inspired a new generation of architects and

planners worldwide through an integration of vernacular technology with modern architectural

principles.

Moreover, Fathy is known to have used traditional techniques that extremely reduce the use of

machinery and instead use what is readily available, at low costs: earth, straw, man’s labour, stones. In

fact, the brick is the only material used in his works. The supporting walls are made either of sun dried

mud bricks and reinforced with straw or of local stones or fired bricks.

Hassan Fathy has effectively used the

Malqaf, which is a traditional wind catcher,

and wind escapes in a lot of his works. This

defined his usage of low cost climate control

techniques to promote sustainability.

Figure 7: Malqaf (traditional wind catcher) with wetted baffles and a wind escape, designed by Fathy http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0envl--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-1-00-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-8-00&cl=CL1.4&d=HASH393b9426a740aee93ea3fc.6&gt=1


Page 7 of 12

Ashok Lall and his works

Ashok Lall is one of the famous Indian architects who have been successful in expressing global and

Indian identities in relation to today’s rapid changes.

For example, he has designed the TCI Headquaters

in Gurgaon, where he has balanced the usage of

global materials and the corporate identity of

Gurgaon. However, what is different is that the

materials used are sustainable in terms of energy

and local availability.

He has successfully adapted the concept of the

courtyard in a modern city office, which has

achieved a high level of energy efficiency. Small

windows have been used for daylight on the

periphery and openness towards the fountain court

within. Furthermore, the usage of local materials

makes the building look aesthetically appealing in

a contemporary perspective.

In the design and planning of this building, Ashok

Lall has been inspired from a traditional inward-

looking haveli plan of Rajasthan. He further

includes elements like a

fountain in the courtyard, which acts as a

water body for cooling air, a solid, insulated wall

with peep windows, which encourages cross

ventilation, higher windows for increased daylight.

All these are typical feature of Rajasthani

buildings, which traditionally include landscaping

and shaded courts with water bodies for cooling.

Thus, the TCI Headquaters building is a true

example of critical regionalism, as it not only

demonstrates how world culture can blend with the

usage of distinct Indian elements used for a

purpose. Figure 9: Courtyard of the TCI Headquaters http://www.ivoryresearch.com/writers/kate-andrews-ivory-research-writer/

Figure 8: TCI Headquaters, Gurgaon http://www.ashoklallarchitects.com/projects/offices.htm


Page 8 of 12

Revathi Kamath and her works

Revathi Kamath is an architect who is known to have an aim of achieving inexpensive, sensitive

architecture using indigenous construction methods, local materials and craftsmen.

Revathi Kamath has built a unique mud house in Anangpur village, Faridabad. The emphasis of this

structure is on basic and natural construction techniques, use of locally available materials, and being

ecologically sensitive.

The house is surrounded by

ample greenery. Moreover,

the roof is covered with

grass that absorbs heat, in

order to keep the house

cool.

Revathi Kamath has ensured the usage of local, eco-friendly materials, such as sun-dried mud bricks

instead of clay bricks. The mud has been used from their own land, the bricks have been moulded on

site and sun dried. For wall plaster, traditional mud and cow-dung mixture has been used for the first

coat. The subsequent finer coats are of chandan and haldi mixed into the mud. It is evident that Revathi

Kamath has experimented well with traditional and locally available materials to being about

sustainability in her house.

Figure 10: Revati Kamath’s Mud house http://www.greenprospectsasia.com/content/mud-house-modern-green-living


Page 9 of 12

The chandan and haldi, mixed with mud, as a

wall finish, give an extremely indigenous look

to the house. In addition to that, Indian

elements such as the arch have been used in the

interiors, which brings close association to the

region the house is built in.

The Karika Karkhana, at Noida, U.P., is another building, designed by Raevathi Kamath, in a way that

it receives ample natural light and ventilation, keeping in mind the climate of the site of the building,

which is Noida.

The building was designed to accommodate traditional block and screen printing activity within an

ambience suggestive of its ‘haveli – karkhana’ past. The design was evolved around the need for

passive climate control, as air conditioning was unaffordable. The printing tables are organized

around the courtyard and have good natural light and cross ventilation from the tall windows and the

courtyard. Glass brick skylights built into the roof in each structural bay reinforce and even out the

natural light on the printing tables. To minimize heat gain in the hot summer, the roof is insulated with

inverted ‘ghadas’ (clay pots) built into the roofing system.

The design of the tall windows around the printing hall addresses the need for hot air outlets at the

roof level, cool air inlets at the body level, natural light on the printing tables and protection from the

sun and rain.

Figure 11: Interior of the mud house http://www.architecturelive.in/project/104/mud-house-katchi-kothi-at-

anangpur-village-Faridabad-kamath-design-studio/


Page 10 of 12

The basement below the printing hall is transformed into a colonnaded verandah by cutting and

sloping down the earth around the basement to bring in natural light and air. A skylight in the

courtyard of the printing hall above brings light into the heart of the basement, becoming a virtual

courtyard around which various functions such as the dyeing of thans of cloth, workers’ lounges and

eating spaces revolve.

It can be seen that Revathi Kamath has effectively brought in various elements such as the courtyard,

skylights, roof insulation and tall windows, which are all traditional Indian methods, to allow passive

cooling of the building. She has ensured that the workspace is suitable to the users and the need of the

building.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that regionalism in architecture leads to the building being essentially site

specific and having its own uniqueness. The building responds to the local climate and the culture of the

place it is built in. Along with keeping with the distinctiveness of the context, regionalism takes

sustainability into account. The works of Charles Correa, Hassan Fathy, Ashok Lall and Revathi

Kamatha, as discussed above, demonstrate that regionalism can be brought about by employing

different elements and by using various sustainable design techniques.

Figure 12: Section showing the basement of the Karika Karkhana http://www.kamathdesign.org/project/karika-karkhana


Page 11 of 12

References

Books

1. Ahmad Hamid, 2010. Hassan Fathy and Continuity in Islamic Arts and Architecture. Edition. The

American University in Cairo Press.

2. Linda Van Santvoort, Jan de Maeyer, Tom Verschaffel, 2008. Sources of Regionalism in the

Nineteenth Century: Architecture, Art, and Literature (KADOC Artes). Edition. Leuven University

Press.

3. Allison Lee Palmer, 2008. Historical Dictionary of Architecture. Edition. Scarecrow Press

4. Liane Lefaivre, 2011. Architecture of Regionalism in the Age of Globalization: Peaks and

Valleys in the Flat World. Edition. Routledge.

5. Khan, Charles Correa. Edition. Butterworth-Heinemann, Asia.

Websites

1. Regionalism architecture – more than just style | S7g Architecture. 2014 [ONLINE] Available

at: http://bluearchitecture.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/regionalism-architecture-more-than-

just-style/. [Accessed 14 March 2014].

2. Notes on “critical regionalism” | The Charnel-House. 2014 [ONLINE] Available at:

http://thecharnelhouse.org/2013/08/26/notes-on-critical-regionalism/. [Accessed 15 March

2014].

3. A HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE - CRITICAL REGIONALISM. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.historiasztuki.com.pl/kodowane/003-02-05-ARCHWSP-REGIONALIZM-eng.php.

[Accessed 15 March 2014].

4. Critical Regionalism. 2014. Critical Regionalism. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.slideshare.net/ar_suryas/critical-regionalism. [Accessed 16 March 2014].

5. World Heritage Centre - Safeguarding project of Hassan Fathy’s New Gourna Village. 2014

[ONLINE] Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/637/. [Accessed 15 March 2014].

6. Kamath Design Studio : Revathi Kamath : Vasant Kamath : Ayodh kamath, Architects in India,

New Delhi. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.kamathdesign.org/project/karika-

karkhana. [Accessed 16 March 2014].

7. Charles Correa | Lesson | Disegno Daily. 2014. Charles Correa | Lesson | Disegno Daily.

[ONLINE] Available at: http://disegnodaily.com/lesson/charles-correa. [Accessed 15 March

2014].


Page 12 of 12

Documents

Regionalism in architecture.pdf