People are searching for something more authentic, says Kenneth Frampton, a British architect and critic and professor of architecture at Columbia University, who helped define this movement as "critical regionalism." Mr. Frampton says these houses are a reaction to the past couple decades of "compulsive uniformity," whether it's McMansions or the proliferation of "white box" modern houses. — Nancy Keates
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the white box modern houses are a thing from the past couple of decades (?)... like, um, Villa Savoye? Frampton's umpteenth attack against Corbu?
isn't the current reaction more against the recent exaggerated iconic dispendium -both monetary and artistically- than the Int'l Style legacy?
What do you expect? The WSJ piece is an all-over the place overview and the writer confuses Frampton's concept of critical regionalism with Dwell magazine.
i don't think this is really a reaction to anything - most successful architects have operated in local spheres, successfully. in fact, it's very rare to have 'global' status like Rem or Wright. it's really just people sticking to where/what they know and understand. that only makes sense. i don't buy the critical regionalism bit, because kundig's rolling huts/corten tower would make as much sense/look just as in place in upstate new york. and i can easily imagine rick joy's corten huts on a snow covered mountain.
also, with olson kundig doing work all over the US, spain and china, brooks + scarpa on east & west coast, miller hull in san diego and seattle - i think the regionalism is not only incorrect but slowly being watered down with swill.
But holz, isn't the point of critical regionalism that the design is inspired by the climate and local conditions? So Rick Joy wouldn't have conceived of rust-coverd huts in the snow in the first place - their material is inspired by the desert - whether they would look cool later helicoptered into a snowy field isn't important. Rick's Vermont house has a pitched roof - I don't know that he's ever done a pitched roof in Az.
Would the rolling huts make sense in Manhattan?
The silly thing about the article is that it claims this is a "new" approach to design. We were being taught critical regionalism in the early 80s.
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