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In the course of the twentieth century architecture, like most

aspects of culture, has been marked by increasing homogeneity
across national lines. As Ricoeur points out, the universalizing of
culture is in some ways an advance for humanity but it also
constitutes "a sort of subtle destruction" in which local sources of
stylistic innovation are gradually repressed as universal styles of
architecture, art, food and just about every aspect of culture take
over. There is a tension between local culture and this universalizing
trend that cannot be resolved in favor of one side or the other. The
tendency of styles and forms to spread quickly from one area to
another will only increase and regional culture has become
"something which [must] be self-consciously cultivated." Regional
architects must, therefore, strive to combine the assimilation of
international styles with the reinterpretation of local styles and
settings. Kenneth Frampton has identified what he calls Critical
Regionalism, a critical category oriented toward the shared features
of architecture in which the processes of assimilation and
reinterpretation have succeeded in producing new and vital forms.
One of the architects Frampton singles out as an example of the
concept of Critical Regionalism is Luis Barragºn, the leading
Mexican architect of this century. A discussion of Barragºn's work in
terms of the categories of Critical Regionalism demonstrates the
ability of Frampton's critical category to distingY