Critical Regionalism of Architecture
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In the course of the twentieth century architecture, like most aspects of culture, has been marked by increasing homogeneity across national lines. As Ricoeur points out, the universalizing of culture is in some ways an advance for humanity but it also constitutes "a sort of subtle destruction" in which local sources of stylistic innovation are gradually repressed as universal styles of architecture, art, food and just about every aspect of culture take over. There is a tension between local culture and this universalizing trend that cannot be resolved in favor of one side or the other. The tendency of styles and forms to spread quickly from one area to another will only increase and regional culture has become "something which [must] be self-consciously cultivated." Regional architects must, therefore, strive to combine the assimilation of international styles with the reinterpretation of local styles and settings. Kenneth Frampton has identified what he calls Critical Regionalism, a critical category oriented toward the shared features of architecture in which the processes of assimilation and reinterpretation have succeeded in producing new and vital forms. One of the architects Frampton singles out as an example of the concept of Critical Regionalism is Luis Barragßn, the leading Mexican architect of this century. A discussion of Barragßn's work in terms of the categories of Critical Regionalism demonstrates the ability of Frampton's critical category to disting
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eep their interiors a closed book to the outside. The contrast between the elaborately designed interior of the Gilardi house and its plain exterior demonstrates the manner in which Barragßn establishes an internal territory filled with complex pleasures of revelation and concealment. The plan of Barragßn's own house at Tacubaya shows this clearly. The street-side exterior of the house is as plain and concealing as possible with little in the way of access offered to the viewer. But, in looking at the plan, it is possible to see how the visitor is drawn into the interior through the long entry hall and into the vestibule. From the vestibule the access to the other rooms is staggered. Although there are no curves, there are no direct lines leading through from one room to another. Each space is revealed in stages and when the visitor reaches the exterior gardens there are further gradual stages of privacy to pass through until one is finally in the main open garden space which is, of course, walled.
Another significant instance of this slow revelation of the interiors can be seen in the remarkable entrance to the Galvez house. The simple door space is unevenly divided and as the door swings open it reveals an interior wa
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Approximate Word count = 2364
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)
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