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Architectural
Regionalism: Collected Writings on Place, Identity, Modernity
and Tradition, edited by Vincent B. Canizaro.
The term "architectural regionalism"
seems to say something without really saying anything in
particular. It connotes a way of approaching building design
through an awareness and appreciation of its regional context,
though this approach can be as varied as the personalities
producing and writing about architecture. How one carries
this attitude, if at all, into a work of architecture is
subject to such a large number of variables -- as is how
one defines a region or the context to which the architect
should respond -- that a means to guide one through the
concept of architectural regionalism seems appropriate,
if one accepts the contemporary relevance of the notion.
This book is the closest thing to
a guide to the various ideas falling under the rubric architectural
regionalism, though of course it is more than that. It is
a collection of seminal, important, and/or otherwise unpublished
writings on the subject in its various aspects: critical
regionalism, history, style, planning, ecology, Modernism,
and more. This list makes the task of choosing and assembling
the essays seem a bit daunting, but professor and architect
Canizaro succeeds in not only presenting a thought-provoking
and varied collection, but in offering a clear and intelligent
introductory essay, as well as short introductions to each
writing.
A few of the stand-outs of the 40+
essays include: Wendell Berry's brief stab at defining regionalism,
what Canizaro calls a "microcosm on the discourse of
regionalism"; Juhani Pallasma's piece in reaction to
the "processes of globalization and commodification";
Benton MacKaye's plan for the Appalachian Trail (a stand-out
for me as I camped near and walked the trail for the first
time around the time of reading this book); and of course
an essay by Kenneth Frampton on critical regionalism, which
layers critical theory over considerations of regionalism.
Regarding the last, what perhaps may be the most valuable
essay in the book is Anthony Alofsin's unpublished essay
called "Constructive Regionalism," what may be
the root of critical regionalism, as it was written while
Alofsin was a student of Liane Lefaivre and Alexander Tzonis,
and before these teacher's text that sparked this intellectual
approach to architecture.
Canizaro admits in his introduction
that he "hoped to find a deeper basis for architectural
design that took into consideration the people for whom
we build, the places in which we do so, and the reasons
we employ to guide us." Perhaps this collection will
guide others in the various ways to think of these considerations,
as well as the unfolding reconsiderations taking place as
architects deal with a situation that calls for a change in
practice.
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