An Appropriate Regionalism: Contextualizing Joseph Allen Stein’s Architecture in Delhi Open Access

Abstract

This thesis makes a historiographical intervention in the discourse on regionalism by charting it’s inadequacies and misgivings through the case study of American architect Joseph Allen Stein’s (1912 – 2001) work in Delhi. As such, it is divided into two sections. The first is dedicated to a thorough engagement with the specific terms of the regionalist argument, and focuses on the treatment of form and material in the influential iterations posited by Harwell Harris, Lewis Mumford, and Kenneth Frampton. Then, in the second section, Stein’s work is offered as a model that filled in the gaps of their respective arguments — bringing them together in a manner that allowed for an “appropriate modern regionalism” to be achieved. The paper further contends that Stein expanded the terms of “function” to include not only a dedication to rational use of form and material towards need-driven ends, but also to the regionally derived idea of “rural simplicity.” This allowed for critique of universal modernity’s principles of mass urbanization without falling into the risk of creating a binary opposition between the universal and the regional. 

Table of Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................1

The Regionalist Framework..............................................................................4

Joseph Allen Stein’s Intervention...................................................................19

Conclusion....................................................................................................37

Appendix......................................................................................................40

Bibliography..................................................................................................54 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Art History
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Art Criticism Art History Architecture
Keyword	Modernism Regionalism Delhi Architecture
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dr. Todd Cronan, Emory University
Committee Members	Dr. Christina Crawford, Emory University Dr. Sean Meighoo, Emory University

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