vernecular architecture

8/10/2019 Vernecular Architecture

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Vernacular Architecture


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Index:

Titles Pages

Assignment Brief I

Definition of Vernacular Architecture 1

Climate Regions 1

Libya 2

Zimbabwe 4

Canada 5

Comparing the Vernacular Architecture 6

References 7


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Definition of Vernacular Architecture

According to Heath (2009), the term vernacular comes from the Latin word 'vernaculus'. It is

referred to the "native language or dialect" of that particular place, which can only be

understood by the people within the society. This philosophy is also concerned to vernacular

structures and to the environment. These vernacular buildings and landscapes are "regionally

distinctive and regionally understood". These indigenous buildings are influenced by the

surrounding culture and religion, by the climate in the region and by the materials and

knowledge available to the society. External influence such as migration can shape and alter

the main characteristics of a vernacular structure (Heath, 2009, p. 6).

Heath (2009) further states that "over time, these elements become part of a predictable

pattern of use and expression within a region or sub region" (p. 6). He additional affirms that

when the communities share the same knowledge, they communally relate another approach.

This is when the uniqueness of the "Place" comes into sight. Therefore the people within the

community modify their buildings within the spaces they own in relationship with their

current and future possible opportunities, restriction, threats and emotional response. All kind

of vernacular buildings are constructed to achieve the required needs and reflect on the

cultural traditions of the community (Heath, 2009, p. 6).

Climate Regions

With the study of vernacular buildings one comes to a conclusion of what the characteristics

of these types of constructions are. In order to understand the characteristics of the different

types of vernacular architecture, three different climate regions were chosen for this paper

which includes Desert, Sub-Tropical and Sub-Arctic climatic regions. Desert type of weather

is defined by aridity or absence of moisture while Sub-Arctic climatic regions are defined by

the extreme weather conditions. Sub-Tropical climatic regions are those places which have

humid warm coastal climates because they are warm but outside the tropics (Oliver, 1997, pp.

127-139).

Libya and Zimbabwe were the places chosen from the African continent to review the Desert

and it's Sub-Tropical climatic conditions respectively whereas, Canada was the place chosen

from the American continent to review the places which have Sub-Arctic climatic condition.

One may note that most people living in Libya and Zimbabwe have lived in very poor

environmental conditions but still they have managed to build homes that provided

commodity and protection against their wild and harsh environment they live in. It is

fascinating to note that although these people never had any academic knowledge of how is

the proper way to build, their cultural experiences was passed on to each and every son in the

family in order to continue building houses that meet the basic needs. Over time their houses

became stronger as when new knowledge on how to built was acquired. Therefore, new

alterations were done. Their building are so adequate to the harsh environment that even if

the people became rich and would afford to build a bigger and richer house most probably

they would still use the same principles from the vernacular buildings on their new structures.Like the African people, the Canadian indigenous people lived in the vernacular houses they


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built but as they improved economically they abounded their vernacular houses and moved to

better houses that accommodate their needs but also accommodated their luxurious wants.

The American continent compared to the African Continent contains more developed

countries and has much more better status then African places have. Their vernacular

architecture was compared to show that although Africa is relatively economically poor butrich in resources, they have still applied the properties of the materials that were at hand, to

protect themselves against the harsh environment.

The difference in climate conditions of the African content, lead all the tribes to adopt

different constructions methods in their dwelling. The typical environment varies from forest

areas to grassland to complete desert. Another factor that caused the tribe to adopt different

construction methods is that the resources of construction materials varied from each place.

The materials available in rural areas were grasses, wood and clay. According to Hess &

Oliver (2011), where the area is covered by a thin crop layer, people living there are more

often than usual nomadic. For shelter they used to use animal skins and their hair to protectthemselves from the hot weather. Trees were scars, whereas grasses were used as a building

material and a cover for the roof. On the other hand, in forests areas, hard wood was used as a

building material such as raffia palm and bamboo.

Libya

Libya is located in the northern part of the

African continent and it makes contact with

the Mediterranean Sea, thus, in its coastal

area it has a Mediterranean climate. In Libyaone can find two deserts, the Libyan Desert

and the Sahara Desert. The regions of the

Sahara Desert and the Libyan Desert

contributed to this area to have a Desert

climatic condition. All these different

climatic environments contributed to

different types of vernacular architecture to

be constructed.

According to Hess and Oliver (2011), rural and urban housing were planned round acourtyard. The dwelling was one or multiple story high. In the Mediterranean climate region,

the dwellings of the Libyan people sometimes included a courtyard. In this courtyard they

build a pond so that the air passing by will be cooled by the evaporation of the pond, giving

the building a cooler natural breeze. This was possible because, the form and how the house

was designed allowed so. The materials that are used are wood, clay and stone. Contrary in

the Desert, the dwelling had to have a higher thermal mass. This means that the building was

kept cool during hot days and warm during cold days. Due to the high temperatures in these

areas, clay is mostly used. The construction method of the Libyan vernacular buildings in the

warmer regions is practically the same. Oliver (1997) states that for the construction of thewalls, they used sun dried clay bricks and then they plaster it with clay. The roofing of the


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structure is made out of packed clay and then reinforced wood. To improve the thermal

system of the building, they plaster it with clay to maximize the effect.

In Awagil, a Berber society in Libya one can find four native patriclans with a population

amounting up to 3633 citizens and 608 families. The average size of a family was six. All

these four patriclans lived in Al Bilad an oasis settlement. Each clan was divided by wall

which served as fortifications and at sunset the gates of all the four patriclans was closed. In

each tribe, wealth was not in buildings but in the numbers of wives, goats or camels the men

owned. Due to this reason there was no design in their houses and extended the number of

rooms according to the needs at the current situation. A classically dwelling incorporated an

"entrance hall, reception room, open courtyard, family sitting room bedroom, store for cloths,

food store, cooking place, latrine and cleaning place, and a courtyard for domestic animals"

(Oliver, 1997, pp. 2101-2102). In their construction they used local materials such as

"limestone, mud with spring for reinforcement, date palm trunks, branches and camel tendons

for binding" (Oliver, 1997, pp. 2101-2102). The walls were made out of bricks or from mudplaster with pieces of limestone. They used as well mud and limestone blocks for Domes.

They cut limestone into slices to reinforce the arches and corners of the house. They used

whole palm trunks to serve as planks for the door and also incorporated them in the ceiling as

beams. The roof was covered with Palm fronds and were tied together to cover the roof and

then mud was placed on the top. The floors were made out of sand and had to be changed at a

point in time. Once all these steps were done, it was time to strengthen the structure. They

used fabric of plaster to attain a compact dwelling. This technique was done generally by an

old man, the most experienced of his clan. In order for this technique to be trespassed to

younger generations, he was assisted by his relatives. He soaked mud into water and worked

by foot. Generally a new house was build in summer in summer since the structure need ten

days in order to dry and when there is excessive rain, repairs had to been since mud get

damaged (Oliver, 1997, pp. 2101-2102).

Courtyard inside the house

Narrow corridors to increase draft
http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1848/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1848-22434.jpg


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Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is cited in the southern part of the African

Continent. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,

(2011) Zimbabwe is entirely contained by the tropic region

but it is a sub-topical country because of its "high average

elevation." The seasons in Zimbabwe are irregular. In

summer although the temperature is very high it rains a lot

and in winter although the temperature is low it doesnt

rain at all. In fact it only rains few in the southern regions

of Zimbabwe.

Shona is a tribe from Zimbabwe, who grows crops and farm animals (Oliver, 1997, pp.

2147). The vernacular architecture of Zimbabwe relates a lot with nature as they cultivate

their land and their buildings are more likely to be farmhouses.

These are designed according to the culture of that particular

tribe. In fact they have the main house where they sleep and at

times, they build huts to serve different function such as a kitchen

and storage. They also build huts to hold their pigs or goats, and

chickens. Whereas, the outside space is left for food preparation,

washing, crafts and processing of crops, during the day, the

animals are left to roam freely. The outside space serves also as

the men's meeting place. Away from the village they build their

grass-walled washrooms and bathrooms without ceiling. Since

Zimbabwe has a very warm climate, the materials that are used in the constructions tend to be

lighter. Oliver(1997) states that, the form of the building is round and their construction is

done by men. They built all the huts for sleeping and kitchens without windows. The material

they use is timber found locally, grass and bark string. He further state that in order to

construct a hut for maximum 2 person, it must has a diameter of 2.5 meter and "200 straight,

closely-spaced, wall poles set into holes in the ground 40 cm deep." All the huts consist of

one wooden door and their roofs are in the shape of a cone, 1.65 meters high. 20 or more roof

beams are covered in numerous sheets of long, rough grass attached in with collars of

saplings. Grass is finally used to finish the ceiling.

When the hut is finished the women uses different type of clay

such as "anthill clay, river silt, cow dung and ashes" for

decoration. Between the wall and the roof they leave an aperture

so that air can flow easily in the structure. In some of the

vernacular buildings there is no difference between the ceiling and

the wall. In parts of Zimbabwe, were it is more likely to rain, the

roofs are clothed with tiles of fired clay. These are then attached

to a wooden skeleton to make the roof stronger so that it can

support the rainfall during summer (Oliver, 1997, pp. 2147-2148).

A women decorating and strengthening the hut


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Canada

Canada is located in the

North of the American

continent and was chosen as

it has different forms of

vernacular architecture from

that of the African Continent

because the materials, culture

and climate are very different

from each other (Worldmark

Encyclopedia of the Nations,

2007). Oliver (1997) states

that, Canada has a Sub-Arctic

climate region and aresurrounded "from the North

by the Arctic, from the west

by the North West coast and

from the South by the

plateau" (pp. 1789). Due to its large area of landscape, its physical environmental conditions

vary from place to place. The climate conditions varies from moderate temperatures to high

precipitation in Western Cordillera, and in the other places in the Sub-Arctic they have cold

winters, short, hot summers and low rainfall. The precipitation falls more often than not in the

type of snow. Snow hides the land for five to seven months of the year because of the "cold,

darkness, and permafrost" (Oliver, 1997, p. 1789).

In the Sub-Arctic one can find different types of vernacular houses. For example as stated by

Oliver (1997), Northern Athapaskans constructed "plank houses or semi-subterranean log,

earth and moss dwellings, or skin-covered dome shaped houses, or skin- or bark-covered

conical structures" (p. 1791). "Northern Algonquians built conical or oblong tipis" (Oliver,

1997, p.1791). These types of buildings where built as temporary refuge to protect

themselves for a night or two from the harsh environment. They dig under their house in a

platform type to serve as a storage place for their food and materials.

Gwich'in is a tribe also known as Kutchin is the

most northern tribe of all subs arctic Indians.

They moved in groups from east of the lower

Mackenzie river to below the junction of the

Yukon and Porcupine rivers in the west. Each

Kutchin band varied its dwelling from group to

group. They built their lodges according to the 4

seasons. Their winter lodge structure which they

lived in from January to April was made out of

"10-12 bent spruce poles, in the form of a 2 meter high ellipse ranging 2-5 m on its axis."First they remove the snow and then they plant the curved poles in the snow bank. Then they


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tight them to each other with "two central vertical supporting poles and horizontal

crosspieces." Following the construction they cover it with caribou skin. They leave its hair

so that they sew it with another caribou skin to form two large rolls. In order to form the

cover of the lodge they need 12 caribou skins so that they will sew them together to form the

single cover. They sewed them together in such a way that the hair covers both the outsideand inside of the house. Three holes were made, one for the smoke to exit the dwelling, one

for the entrance and one opposite the entrance to help improve the draft of the heated area

inside the lodge. The entrance was then covered again and the ground was also covered with

spruce boughs and skins. This was a typically type of vernacular house of this particular tribe.

From May until October, they lived in domed lodges but the vertical "poles were likely to be

alder or willow" and also the cover

of the house was skinless. All these

made the lodge lighter for

transportation and made the inside

cooler which also provides

protection against mosquitoes

(Oliver, 1997, pp. 1794-1795).

Comparing the Vernacular Architecture

In the subarctic region, the Canadian indigenous people used skins or furs in the construction

to serve as radiant protection and as an insulating cover against heat environment within the

house. The first priority when building a house was to control the wind entering the house so

that the warm inside won't escape (Oliver, 1997, pp. 130-131) On the other hand in the desert

climate region, vernacular structures had incorporated shuttered openings, courtyards and

narrow corridors to increase wind flow. They used heavy materials such as stone to delay the

extensive thermal fluctuation. They built domed roofs since their larger exposed surface,

reradiated heat much better than horizontal roofs (Oliver, 1997, pp. 132-133). In the

Subtropical climate region, due to the short period of winter, their vernacular architecture

allowed full enclosed space so that the heating of the burned fuels won't escape. They

designed their huts to allow the draft inside during the warm periods of the year. Buildings

were well spaced from one another with fields around them. A reason for this was for privacy

so that they were able to leave doors open to increase ventilation. They also used light

materials to reduce thermal flux (Oliver, 1997, p. 138).

All the three countries described show different methods of building which satisfy their

survival needs as their structures are environmental sustainable. One may also note that their

knowledge and culture together with religion varies between one another. Another point that

one should note is that although the countries spoken about from the African continent are

primitive in their technique and materials than the Canadian, they still have managed to

create a safe environment within their houses without the need to use modern technologies.

On the other hand, with evolution, the Canadian people have improved their building

techniques to control more efficiently their environmentby incorporating technological

elements to improve their standard of living.


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References:

Heath, K. HM., (2009). Vernacular Architecture and Regional Design. Cultural Process and

Environmental Response (p. 6).

Hess, J. B. and Oliver, P. (2011). African Architecture. Retrieved fromhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/756980/African-architecture

Oliver, P. (Ed.). (1997).Encyclopedia of vernacular Architecture of the world.(Vols. 1-4). United

Kingdom: University Press, Cambridge

Zimbabwe. (2012). InEncyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657149/Zimbabwe
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/756980/African-architecturehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/756980/African-architecturehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657149/Zimbabwehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657149/Zimbabwehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/657149/Zimbabwehttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/756980/African-architecture

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