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Adaptative Regionalism

Part 2 Dissertation 2023
Liam Whittington
De Montfort University | UK
The notion of regionalism and its architectural application is widely misunderstood, and thus arguably undervalued. It is an ongoing theoretical discourse with a multiplicity of nuanced dialectical positions, mainly thanks to the lack of clarity as to the way it should be theorised and practiced. In an attempt to reorient our understanding of what it means for architecture to be categorised as sustainable and ‘regional’, this dissertation presents the concept of ‘Adaptative Regionalism’ and is articulated as having three key areas of concern for architectural designers to consider: principles of longevity; socio-cultural sustainability; and how to practice within a low-carbon, regional economy. It has been argued here that their combined consideration in a project from its inception may lead more easily to functional flexibility, design for future adaptability, architectural sustainability, and a meaningful aesthetics of regionality. Rather than delivering architecture as immediately ‘regional’, this framework for architectural production considers more carefully the socio-cultural dimensions of architecture and strives to foster symbiotic relationships and evolutions between the occupants and the building within which they are situated, in turn providing new architecture with the means to become regional over time, inherently sustainable and to embrace the possibilities of both localism and globalism.

Tutor(s)
Dr Douglas Cawthorne
2023
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