I totally relate to the foreign feeling when hearing terms like critical regionalism and vernacular architecture - I never felt like there was a standard set of definitions for some of them and instead they felt like elusive concepts that only professors and starchitects understood.
And speaking of starchitects, I agree that Aalto is one …
I totally relate to the foreign feeling when hearing terms like critical regionalism and vernacular architecture - I never felt like there was a standard set of definitions for some of them and instead they felt like elusive concepts that only professors and starchitects understood.
And speaking of starchitects, I agree that Aalto is one of the few that I give allowances for. I think that he’s the last in an era that was so focused on the removal of ornamentation and a shift towards modernism, but still designed for emotional movement. And I can respect that.
definitely—I think even chasing down the original definition of certain terms (or an article explaining how the term has changed over time) has felt stressful at times!! but also very rewarding when I do make the effort
the interest that the Aaltos had in gentle forms & softer materials (bent plywood over tubular steel, for example) seems to resonate a lot more in 2024 than the extremely precise, machine age approach Le Corbusier had
it makes me want to think about other design celebrities from the past—who speaks to us now? whose work feels useful for our current challenges? (critical regionalism feels especially valuable in a world where climate concerns are more urgent & more buildings need to adapt to local conditions…and a world where people are so consumed by digital experiences that they want deeply tactile ones in the physical world)
I totally relate to the foreign feeling when hearing terms like critical regionalism and vernacular architecture - I never felt like there was a standard set of definitions for some of them and instead they felt like elusive concepts that only professors and starchitects understood.
And speaking of starchitects, I agree that Aalto is one of the few that I give allowances for. I think that he’s the last in an era that was so focused on the removal of ornamentation and a shift towards modernism, but still designed for emotional movement. And I can respect that.
definitely—I think even chasing down the original definition of certain terms (or an article explaining how the term has changed over time) has felt stressful at times!! but also very rewarding when I do make the effort
the interest that the Aaltos had in gentle forms & softer materials (bent plywood over tubular steel, for example) seems to resonate a lot more in 2024 than the extremely precise, machine age approach Le Corbusier had
it makes me want to think about other design celebrities from the past—who speaks to us now? whose work feels useful for our current challenges? (critical regionalism feels especially valuable in a world where climate concerns are more urgent & more buildings need to adapt to local conditions…and a world where people are so consumed by digital experiences that they want deeply tactile ones in the physical world)