The Concept of Regionalism

Alan Colquhoun discusses the concept of regionalism in terms of architecture. The idea that modern architecture can’t be based on regionalism is one of the main themes of the article. Since modern architecture is all so connected through a series of codes, there’s even less possibility of the concept of regionalism being possible in architecture. He argues that the only place that regionalism could possibly exist is in third world developing nations, and even then, it’s unlikely in today’s world.

Colquhoun describes one point of view of regionalism relating to architecture, as follows:

“Architecture should be firmly based on specific regional practices based on climate, geography, local materials, and local cultural traditions.”

Our group found this quote interesting, but not reasonable or possible in today’s world. The idea that one could use all local materials may be a nice thought, but it is not feasible. Not all materials necessary for building construction are available everywhere in the world, which makes it difficult to design a building using only local materials.  While designing a building around cultural tradition may also be a nice thought, it is impossible, because we need to design buildings around codes. On the other hand, our group does think it is possible and necessary to design buildings while keeping local climate and geography in mind.