A LOOK AT THE PRESENT…

ARE WE TREADING ON THE RIGHT PATH?

Triggering factor• The conceptions of time changed the output

that men produced in the physical environment.

Linearity brought about a strong sense of progress stressing upon the need to change to showcase progress and novelty became an essence

THE FIRST CHANGE…There was loss of hierarchies within societies and all buildings tend to

have equal prominence.

The city of jodhpurA showcase of clear hierarchy established within society.

THE CHARMINAR AT HYDERABADThe fancy sale banners seem more prominent than it!

THE SECOND CHANGE…De-sanctification of nature and dehumanisation of our relationship with

the land and the site

LONDON PRIOR TO INDUSTRILISATION

LONDON OF TODAY

THE THIRD CHANGE…Links among form, culture and behaviour got more complex.

Buildings were built which spoke of the cultural believes of the people. The form was according to the

functionality of the space.

The building form evolves to meet the changing human perception of the built. Culture and form are hugely

divorced.

BIRTH OF A NEW CONCEPTThe three values of function, structure and aesthetics that combined to give vernacular architecture interacted differently to give the high style of architecture.

Vernacular architecture• Suites the basic functions of living

and working. It reflects the technology, skills, and traditions of local cultures.

• Structure is highly adaptive to specific needs and the context of the site.

• Local citizens use local materials and natural solutions to shield against climate and other specific problems. Local materials are frequently used, giving the entire community physical identity in the architecture.

HIGH-STYLE ARCHITECTURE• Relies less on utilitarianism and

more on aesthetics. It provides permanence and media for the elite, for the institutional, and flashy trends in culture.

• High quality materials are used without the community context in mind.

• Religion and government have historically been a major influence in this style. Recently, museums and corporate needs have become major influences, and Western cultures try to make high style architecture the norm.

All functions, from residential to governmental, are increasingly speculative and removed from local

contexts. Non-functional needs take precedence and we are left with a hollow gesture toward upper class

aesthetics. Like Heinrich Hübsch, we are left asking, “In which

style should we build?”

AND HENCE. HERE COMES ANOTHER CONCEPT.

Popular architectureArchitecture popular with the public or rather

roadside architecture which maintains a connect.

IMPLICATIONS OF POPULAR ARCHITECTURE

• Represent certain values which are lacking in architect designed buildings and thus tell us something about lifestyles.

• Reflect popular values and goals more closely than do those of the design

subcultures- and these houses constitute the bulk of the built

environment.

Modern man may still have their own myths and the forms of houses very different but the motivations are still socio-cultural. For example: the design of housing estates and new towns around recreational facilities is an old ideal in a new guise.

POPULAR ARCHITECTURE

Can the dynamics in a developing country shape the popular architecture to maintain a connect or does cause a disconnection?

The problem of excessive choice• Excessive choice leads to the

breakdown of folk arts, which cease to have symbolic value and hence no longer communicate.

• Folk art in such cases is a result of learning to make choices among a limited number of approved alternatives.

• The lack of taste is an inability to choose outside the framework of traditional forms.

Problem with western concepts• Western concepts represent only one choice

among the many possible, to the problems of other areas, instead of looking in terms of local way of life, specific needs and ways of doing things.

New materials climatically unsuitable to Sanaa, Yemen.

Little abodes for the guardian spirits of each house in context of multi family high

rise dwelling.

One family- one houseghana

• Family in Ghana meant something very different and it’s to the house did not suit the English dictum of one family-one house.

• The women traditionally lived apart from the men and shared a communal kitchen. And they voiced how they were happier to spend only a part of their time with their husbands.

• The one family- one house thus became an alien pattern that was imposed on the women of Ghana.

Inferences from the aforesaid case studies

• All housing needs to achieve four objectives to be successful.I. It needs to be socially and culturally valid. (Here traditional housing possibly

works best)

II. It should be sufficiently economical to ensure that the greatest number can afford it. (in primitive and vernacular contexts most, if not all, people have houses)

III. It should ensure the maintenance of the health of the occupants. (in relation to climate, traditional housing succeeds and in relation to sanitation and parasites, it usually fails)

IV. There should be a minimum maintenance over life of the building (here the evidence is equivocal)

Problem of non-utilitarian values • Barriadas of Peru:

The status symbol of the house- the door- takes precedence

over the utility of keeping out the cold and rain. Façade

treatment finished to high standards before rest of the

dwelling is complete.

THE CASE OF AMERICAN CULTURE

What about the basic framework of vernacular in the developed countries? Does form culture and behaviour have any linkage?

Definition of image and house• Helps explain the difference between

houses in different locations. Agricultural workers in central valley of California in self help housing build ranch houses based on the popular press image, a symbol of belonging through the middle class house.

• New type of apartment for single people in cities due to their different understanding of a house. The studio apartment arose from the needs of a specific group.

Link between behavioural patterns and form

• Eating: a behaviour influences the house form.

Separate dining hall for formal family meals

For families who have meals in the kitchen, dining hall isn’t separate.

Barbecue and pool parties make the house the centre of life and affects the house form. Example: Los Angeles.

Link between behavioural patterns and form

• Bathrooms

The form of the bathroom is the result of the attitudes about the body, relaxation and privacy. American houses are advertised by the number of bathrooms they possess.

A new symbolism• Modern house orients itself to

the view, beach, sun and sky, and this orientation and the picture window replace the religious, symbolic orientation of the past.

• Thus, a new symbolism has taken over- health, sun and sport as an idea.

• In the US, ideal of health becomes the new religion

Dream home as a new symbolism

The dream home is surrounded by trees, a pool in either country or suburb and must be owned, yet Americans rarely stay in it more than 5 years. It is not a need but a symbol.

• This symbol means a free standing, single family house and the ideal of home is aesthetic, not functional.

• The form of the house is colonial- the symbol of home to many Americans.

Symbol of security and prestige

An American model of residential streets with houses without fences.

Which one would u prefer?

Picket fences to define territory

Fences as a prestige show

High fences for privacy

“…it’s man putting his own stakes into the ground, staking out his own little share of the land. No matter how small, he likes his own

frontier distinct. In it he’s safe and he’s happy. That’s what the fence is.”

Privacy is thus a new status symbol.

Roof as a symbol

Roof became a symbol of home.

• Pitched roof is symbolic of shelter whereas flat roof is not. And hence not acceptable.

Children’s interpretation of homeThe popular house is based on the ideal that one’s home is indeed one’s castle, and on a belief in independence.

CONCLUSION

Even though the high style architecture is widely divorced from the vernacular framework, the popular architecture consisting a majority still has a vague connection.

Modern symbols related to the house are as strong as those of the past, and still take precedence over physical aspect- they are only different.

If we accept the utilitarian functions of the house are not primary and rather paralleled by culture and at the same time realise that even those functions may be better satisfied by traditional housing than by new housing in many areas, our attitude towards traditional housing may change.

Can we still use vernacular?It’s all a matter of being fully aware and learned rather

than being well trained.