The making of cultural identity in contemporary architecture of developing countries - A comparative study with reference to Brazil, Mexico, the Middle East, India and Singapore.

In recent years the issue of cultural identity in architecture has been assigned a pivotal role in creating local uniqueness as an asset in a globally increasingly competitive environment. The formula of critical regionalism has also been applied to contemporary architecture in developing countries. However, it seems that the concept of "critical regionalism" overlooks fundamental differences and neglects important factors underlying the postcolonial development of architecture in these countries. Specifically, it does not reflect the diverse and dynamic nature of the emergence of local identities. It superimposes a rather static and narrow notion of local vs. universal, traditional vs. modern concepts. As an analytical approach it seems inadequate to capture the products of "local architecture" and their perception by theorists and the general public. In many developing countries identities can hardly be localized and places show "composite" patterns with more than one identity. In addition, the works of architects labelled as contributions to promoting "local identity" seem to have more in common with the developments in other countries than with the characteristics of the place where they have been erected.
In the light of the developments outlined above the concept of critical regionalism needs to be reconsidered and new approaches be developed that respond to the specific situation of countries in the South. Although various attempts have been made to understand the emerging new identities in the developing world, there is as yet no clear understanding let alone a coherent theoretical concept of these identities and the ways they are built. Bringing together the scattered thinking of theorists and of practitioners who claim to produce local identity, the project aims at contributing to answering the questions whether at all, how and which form of identity is created in contemporary architecture in the developing world and which are the criteria to differentiate "own" and "foreign" form . The project has adopted a case-study-approach focusing on regions and countries where the discussion has gained some momentum.
In its first phase the project will form an international group of researchers from a limited number of countries. Each researcher will work out a country study based on commonly developed criteria that are discussed and developed in an internet conference.
The outputs of the first phase serve as a baseline for an international conference on the subject to be held in Berlin in the project's second phase. It will widen the scope to other regions and countries and invite other relevant disciplines to contribute including history, sociology, anthropology and art history.

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