In search of authenticity

Monika Grubbauer

City, 2017, vol. 21, issue 6, 789-799

Abstract: This paper critically examines the role of the architectural vernacular in the discourse about socially engaged architectures in the context of the metropolises of the Global South. Design practitioners and theorists currently seek to improve the livelihoods of households in informal settlements through architectural projects and design interventions, which claim to be socially engaged. Such projects and interventions are often presented as simultaneously addressing social and environmental concerns. The authenticity of a building’s material and structure in terms of local building traditions is used to argue for a positive social impact. In this paper, I argue that in this discourse we can note a tendency to reinstate object-centred, static and dichotomist interpretations of the vernacular. I show that the fetishization of the vernacular in the discourse about socially engaged architectures bears the danger of depoliticizing debates about urban informality and self-help building. This is exemplified through reflections on a case study of an upgrading project in Ecatepec, Mexico City.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1080/13604813.2017.1412200

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