Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ehsan Sheikholharam
Department
CACM – Architecture
Abstract
Modernism emerged as a universal language of geometry, light, and order. What Le Corbusier described as a “fundamentally new aesthetic” that rejected the architecture of past epochs to express “the spirit of an age.” Rooted in abstraction and universality, modernism sought to define a language freed from ornament and guided by progress. Yet when it encounters culture, faith, and climate, modernism transforms. This research asks what happens to modernism when it becomes regional, examining how Luis Barragán and Marina Tabassum reinterpret modernist ideals through light, material, and spirituality. Using a comparative analytical approach, the study looks at Barragán’s work through the lens of phenomenology, where silence, color, and light become direct experiences of emotion and reflection and at Tabassum’s work through her vernacular modernist approach, where brick, air, and light connect to Bangladeshi culture and collective identity. Through the analysis of key projects such as the Capuchinas Chapel, Casa Gilardi, the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, and the Khudi Bari, this research explores how geometry, material, and atmosphere move beyond formal expression to embody emotion, culture, and belonging. From this study, we have found that Barragán turns modernism inward, transforming it into an architecture of introspection and stillness, while Tabassum turns it outward, shaping it into an architecture of community and resilience. Both show that modernism does not lose its meaning when it adapts; it becomes more human, more connected, and more alive through the identity of place.
Disciplines
Other Architecture
Included in
When Modernism Meets Cultural Identity: Luis Barragán’s Peotic Modernism and Marina Tabassum’s South Asian Vernacular Approach
Modernism emerged as a universal language of geometry, light, and order. What Le Corbusier described as a “fundamentally new aesthetic” that rejected the architecture of past epochs to express “the spirit of an age.” Rooted in abstraction and universality, modernism sought to define a language freed from ornament and guided by progress. Yet when it encounters culture, faith, and climate, modernism transforms. This research asks what happens to modernism when it becomes regional, examining how Luis Barragán and Marina Tabassum reinterpret modernist ideals through light, material, and spirituality. Using a comparative analytical approach, the study looks at Barragán’s work through the lens of phenomenology, where silence, color, and light become direct experiences of emotion and reflection and at Tabassum’s work through her vernacular modernist approach, where brick, air, and light connect to Bangladeshi culture and collective identity. Through the analysis of key projects such as the Capuchinas Chapel, Casa Gilardi, the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, and the Khudi Bari, this research explores how geometry, material, and atmosphere move beyond formal expression to embody emotion, culture, and belonging. From this study, we have found that Barragán turns modernism inward, transforming it into an architecture of introspection and stillness, while Tabassum turns it outward, shaping it into an architecture of community and resilience. Both show that modernism does not lose its meaning when it adapts; it becomes more human, more connected, and more alive through the identity of place.