Tradition and Detraditionalisation

The widespread contemporary concern with the restoration, revitalisation and recovery of historic buildings and sites—reborn and re-signified, often through remarkable architectural conceptions—demonstrates an ability to balance and harmonise time and space with modernity. Contemporaneity is marked by the coexistence of the pre-modern, the modern and the post-modern, each contributing its own specificity to the construction of spatial meaning.

The modern imaginary of the avant-garde had previously revived the romantic imaginary, which associated place with the idea of culture rooted in local tradition. Postmodernity, however, offers a new perspective on place—now viewed as eccentric, not necessarily located in peripheral or remote communities, but also reflected in the eclecticism of ethnic neighbourhoods within large cities.

Nowadays, the notion of detraditionalisation may initially seem paradoxical, especially given the emphasis that certain strands of postmodern thought place on the return to tradition. However, to speak of detraditionalisation is not to speak of a society without traditions—far from it, particularly within a context of global cosmopolitanism.

Traditions must now defend themselves, as they are constantly being challenged. Of particular significance in this regard is the fact that the “hidden substratum” of modernity—encompassing traditions that affect gender roles, family structures, local communities and other aspects of everyday social life—has been exposed and brought into the public domain.