INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL REGIONALISM
Buildings basically rely on specific knowledge of the climate, geology and topography of the region. Different societies used what they had available and invented ingenious ways to build their accommodations. What they had to built had to keep them warm in the cold, cool in heat and dry in rain. Regionalism in architecture often has a cultural aspect built in and you can see political structures, family dynamics and society organization reflected in some buildings. It is broadly about the context and customs of making buildings in a particular region. The notion of a modernist approach fits in very well in any part of the world. Therefore, in a way, it also led to the fading away of local and cultural significance, which further led to the movement of regional awakening. Architects Charles Correa, Raj Rewal and Balkrishna Doshi sought to overcome the dominance of modernism that they had themselves inherited through their Western education, by utilizing a new form of regionally influenced design. Buildings in critical regionalism co-relates with the local environment and showcases cultural and regional features. Architecture is about creating spaces that are comfortable and habitable to the users. What the society failed to understand is, a tall glass structure might do well in Mediterranean/sub-tropical zone considering the climate. In the process of establishing that modern aspects, even the hot and arid regions around the world ignored the environmental conditions. Of which the materials in such region then lead to more economical stress in the form of money spent on cooling.
