DETAIL 7/8.2025: Regional Building Culture

Back to the Future?

Traditional building forms have undergone repeated revivals and rejections throughout architectural history – from the medievalist nostalgia of the Arts and Crafts movement to early modernism’s deliberate break with the past, from the fraught alliance of traditionalist styles like Heimatstil with 1930s fascism to the regionalist tendencies of the 1970s. While those earlier movements often focused on formal opposition to the perceived failures of modernism, today’s discourse goes further: there is growing recognition that building regionally also means building in a climate-conscious way, using locally available materials and resources.

The projects presented  – mainly in rural Austria, Switzerland, France, and the UK – show how this can be done in practice. The motivations behind a return to traditional forms vary: in some cases, building codes or a protected historic setting played a decisive role; in others, the regional architectural language aligned with the values of the architect or client. The idea of a collective intelligence embedded in architectural forms refined over centuries also informs several contributions to this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale. Curated by Carlo Ratti under the theme “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.”, the exhibition explores strategies for survival on an increasingly hot planet.

Did you take part in the VELUX Architecture Competition 2024/25 for Licht.Raum.Mensch or did you receive the code for a free copy from colleagues?  Then don not forget to enter this discount code in the shopping basket for your pre-order. As soon as DETAIL 7/8.2025 is published, you will receive your free issue with the report on the Licht.Raum.Mensch award ceremony free of charge.