Critical regionalism

The stylings of critical regionalism seek to provide an architecture rooted in the modern tradition, but tied to geographical and cultural context.

This is revealed by the rational, modular, neutral and economic, partly prefabricated concrete outer shell (i.e. universal civilization) versus the specially-designed, 'uneconomic', organic, reinforced concrete shell of the interior, signifying with its manipulation of light sacred space and 'multiple cross-cultural references', which Frampton sees no precedent for in Western culture, but rather in the Chinese pagoda roof (i.e. world culture).

In the case of Aalto, Frampton discusses the red brick Säynätsalo Town Hall (1952), where, he argues, there is a resistance to universal technology and vision, affected by using the tactile qualities of the building's materials.

He notes, for instance, feeling the contrast between the friction of the brick surface of the stairs and the springy wooden floor of the council chamber.

In addition to his own writings on the topic, Frampton has furthered the intellectual reach of these ideas through contributions, in the form of introductions, prefaces and forewords, written for publications on architects and architectural practices that conform with the ethics of critical regionalism.

In addition to Aalto and Utzon, the following architects have used Critical Regionalism (in the Frampton sense) in their work: Álvaro Siza Vieira, Studio Granda, Mario Botta, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Mahesh Naik, Sahil Ahmed, Mazharul Islam, B. V. Doshi, Max Strang, Charles Correa, Christopher Benninger, Jorge Ferreira Chaves, Rafael Moneo, Geoffrey Bawa, Raj Rewal, Dharmesh Vadavala, Ashok "Bihari" Lall Neelkanth Chhaya (Kaka), P.K.Das, Soumitro Ghosh, Nisha Mathew Ghosh, Ngô Viết Thụ, Tadao Ando, Mack Scogin / Merrill Elam, Glenn Murcutt, Johnsen Schmaling Architects, Ken Yeang, Philippe Madec, William S.W.

Lim, Tay Kheng Soon, WOHA Architects (Singapore), Juhani Pallasmaa, Wang Shu, Juha Leiviskä, Peter Zumthor, Carlo Scarpa, Miller | Hull, Tan Hock Beng.