Regionalism in architecture.pdf

History of Architecture (AP313) | Term Paper | 2013

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.

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

1 1 2

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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 spaces,

to

open-to-sky recreate

the

Gandhian ideal of a selfsufficient

village

community. The building is Figure 1: Gandhi Smarak - Plan

climatically

http://www.architecture.com/LibraryDrawingsAndPhotographs/Collections/Recentacquisitions/Charle sCorrea/GandhiSmarakSangrahalaya.aspx

sound

and

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

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National Crafts Museum located at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi Charles

Correa

interprets

also 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 Figure 3: National crafts museum – plan

http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=1026

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 semiopen

passages

covered

with sloping, tiled roofs and lines

with

wooden

old

carved

bidri

work;

paintings; terracotta

and

cane and bamboo work.

Figure 4: Crafts demonstration area

http://nationalcraftsmuseum.nic.in/about_Museum.htm

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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.

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

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

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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----010-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-100-0-0-11-1-0utfZz-800&cl=CL1.4&d=HASH393b9426a740aee93ea3fc.6>=1

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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. Figure 8: TCI Headquaters, Gurgaon

http://www.ashoklallarchitects.com/projects/offices.htm

In the design and planning of this building, Ashok Lall has been inspired from a traditional inwardlooking haveli plan of Rajasthan. He further includes

elements

fountain in the courtyard, which

like

a

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 Figure 9: Courtyard of the TCI Headquaters

purpose.

http://www.ivoryresearch.com/writers/kate-andrews-ivory-researchwriter/

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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.

Figure 10: Revati Kamath’s Mud house

http://www.greenprospectsasia.com/content/mud-house-modern-green-living

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.

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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.

Figure 11: Interior of the mud house http://www.architecturelive.in/project/104/mud-house-katchi-kothi-atanangpur-village-Faridabad-kamath-design-studio/

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.

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

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.

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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-thanjust-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/karikakarkhana. [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].

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Regionalism in architecture.pdf

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