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 distinguish architecture that draws on universalizing trends while discovering fresh uses for the inspiration derived from local style and settings.
Luis Barragßn had a long and influential, though not very prolific, career. He was awarded architecture's highest honor with the Pritzker Prize in 1980 yet Barragßn never trained as an architect. Barragßn was born into a wealthy Guadalajara family in 1902 and, in 1925, took his degree as an engineer. He then trave...