Three Case Studies in Critical Regionalism: Takashi Sugimoto, Kengo Kuma, and Hiroshi Sambuichi

This study examines the relationship between the design philosophies and practices of three Japanese case study subjects-the commercial space designer Takashi Sugimoto, the architects Kengo Kuma and Hiroshi Sambuichi-and the body of architectural theory knows as "Critical Regionalism" as well as some related theoretical work (including bioclimatic design theory), in both in Japan and in the West. The thesis examines the extent to which their work integrates concerns associated with local values and traditions (and often with topographical particularities) into strategies for practice in the international marketplace. Based on interviews, site visits, and analyses of selected writings and design works, the author enunciates key concepts, techniques, and qualities in each designer's oeuvre, focusing on "regionalist" elements and on each designer's response to the exigencies of design practice in the era of globalization. The study also considers recent work by design historians on the impact of globalization on scholarship and practice, insights from which are applied to the case studies alongside those derived from an examination of the debate in twentieth century architectural theory and practice over the place of "regional" and "universal" elements. Attention is paid to the rise and proliferation of the International Style as the architectural manifestation of (universal) Modernism and the responses to this by mid-twentieth century American regionalists. In addition, practitioners of Postmodernism in Japan and the West are examined alongside the central concern with "Critical Regionalism" as articulated in the early 1980s by Liane LeFaivre, Alexander Tzonis, and Kenneth Frampton. The study concludes that critical regionalist theory offered a perspective that combines the functional efficiency of Modernism with concern for the distinctiveness of particular sites. However one of the reasons this theory did not translate into a sustained practice movement was that available technologies were insufficient at the time to support the full vision of practitioners in this regard. While the study does not argue that any single approach can satisfy all design clients and stakeholders, it further concludes that regionalist ideals, realized through today's technology, can provide a new paradigm for architectural and space design practices that preserve a high degree of local cultural specificity while resisting homogenization and responding effectively to rising concerns regarding environmental sustainability-at least when applied as adroitly as in the work of Sugimoto, Kuma, and Sambuichi.