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Architecture Is Visual Art and The Buildings Speak For Themselves
Architecture Is Visual Art and The Buildings Speak For Themselves
Usage of natural and local materials is the main identification sign of vernacular
architecture. These materials are used in their natural raw form or treated by
natural techniques or technological process (Borut Juvanec) 7. What is important
to keep in the mind is that even more complicated technological processes were
still using another natural materials and just wisdom of our forebears and their
hand what led to sustainable materials without any significant footprints.
Vernacular building materials were typical for their region. In the view on world-
wide architecture the most common materials are stone, clay wood, straw and
earth itself.
Stone, the oldest material best known for its strength and durability served as
construction basis since the first civilization occupied caves. The material, usually
found on-site was used world-wide, but was not treated in the same way, because
of its resistance. In mountainous and rough countries such Iceland, stones were
usually not treated at all, because of their hard workability. Compared to hot-arid
regions full of sandstone, which is easy to cut, the stone had to be used
considerably to its strength. In both cases stone served as the thermal mass,
accumulating the heat or coolness. Later crashed stone became an important
aggregate for another materials. The material gives not just durability to a
construction, but also a lifespan of thousands of years.
We can name wood as the most popular building material in vernacular
architecture, because of the easy treatment and relatively long lifespan. In the
forested regions wood was used to make a fire and temporary shelter, later on by
colonization the more accurate structures were developed in combination with
other materials, such as log-construction or in combination with masonry cruck-
framed houses. Even in regions with dry air and lack of wood, this material was
used to strengthen stone construction. Wood serves as a perfect thermal insulation
and if maintained correctly creates comfortable indoor climate.
In the countries where there was luck of wood, people were directed to use a
material, which was available literally everywhere, the clay. Usually used with
straw as a reinforcement could obtain very good strength and one of the biggest
advantage is the formability. Depending on region, various kinds of treatment were
used, for example rammed, kneaded or baked clay bricks. The daub, what is the
mixture of clay, aggregate and water was used as the exterior or interior finishing
and structural filling in all the different kinds of constructions, stone or wooden.
Straw as a kind of alternative material has quite big importance in vernacular
architecture. In most of cases it was used as the reinforcement for clay materials.
Because of great insulation properties, straw was applied as the covering or
insulating material for walls and roofs as well, mainly in Scandinavian countries.
Early elementary constructions.
At the beginning, there were shelters.
At the very beginning of any society, there were very primitive constructions
serving mainly just as temporary housing for primarily nomadic communities.
Surprisingly, these provisional shelters, or cave dwellings often bewitch us with
different primitive, but ingenious techniques and can be taken as examples for
different construction solutions. They were made by improvisation just from
primitive natural and assembled materials and when once abandoned, they became
part of the nature. However they served just as temporary fulfilment of human
needs, they often demonstrate the wisdom and years of empiricism.
Cave dwellings.
For the first sight cave dwellings evoke to us just prehistorically primitive
civilization. However in deeper researches quite complicated developed dwellings
are discovered in rough terrain, which demonstrate the depth of wisdom of
thousands years of civilization and its development. These cave dwellings are
typical for a lot of different regions worldwide from China, America to
Mediterranean Europe. Some of them were just shallow excavation serving as
temporary accommodation or protection from danger.
There are two different architectural kinds of these dwellings. The dwellings
formed by cave, excavated, or just incorporated into the rock mountains and
maintained, or even 7-storey dwellings in depth of 70-85m referring to horizontal
plane excavation with ramp entrance, as found in Derinkuyu in Cappadocia.
The key issue, why these types of housing give us advantages is the principle of
thermal accumulation and inertia. Energy performance analysis made by Givoni,
focused on the Spanish cave dwellings, which are nowadays rediscovered and in
some cases inhabited, concludes the data about comfort living in these houses. The
most critical temperatures are reached in the nights in the coldest months
(December, January and February) when conventional heating using the chimneys
is required. Even this can be reduced if the temperatures are increasing just to
January. The other months per year are procured by passive solar heating and
cooling, based on thermal accumulation. Natural ventilation is ensured by the
openings in the structure, namely in faade chimney and sometimes in different
rooms considering the levelling and slopes. The terrace layout of these dwellings
and closeness of rivers in valleys causes natural evaporation, which helps to cool
the spaces in June and September. 8
The weak point of this housing is the illumination and that caused main rejections.
This can be solved by fitting bigger sized windows, which would secure the
control of the gains and loss, but will not endanger the stability. By combining the
necessary modern techniques, cave dwellings can be retrofit and reused.
Earthen constructions.
The dugouts.
The Carpathian and Transalpine region is typical for the climate with changing
seasons, so the architecture was still dealing with extreme temperature differences.
Usual temperatures in winter can be lower than -25C in contrast with summer
temperatures in extremely hot days crossing +35C. That was the main factor our
forefathers were dealing with. From primitive shelters they moved slowly to more
civilized accommodation types very similar to the Icelandic turf houses.
The name of these houses, which are half-excavated into the earth is dugout. The
ground was excavated to 0,6-1m depth and depends on the region, with the wooden
log construction placed from inside. Rarely the wall construction was appeared
above ground level, just the roof construction. The roof was made from rafters
filled with rods or thatch.
The hearth was centrally positioned in square or rectangular plan. This opened
hearth has been later developed in the stone kiln and after wooden and loam kiln,
where wood and rods were used like armature for loam construction. By the
cosiness the interior walls were covered with daub as well.
This primitive but very economic solution of the half-earth houses perfectly
demonstrate wisdom of our forefathers, when they use natural local materials and
in the same time insulator to build durable accommodation as the response for
primary human needs to have a shelter and in same time protection from danger.
The earth around served as thermal mass, which was warmed in winter with the
hearth and in summer months create a pleasant cool space inside the hut.
Stone constructions.
The Blackhouses.
We can take blackhouses as a big leap from prehistory to modern age, which make
this kind of houses extremely cultured piece of traditional architecture in Scotland.
Even described in this report as the stone construction, it is the combination of
stone-work filled with earth. Longitudinal, at the ends rounded ground plan with an
approximate length of 15-20m and width 3,5-4m, a bit excavated floor ground and
dry-stone walls made from two separated layers with the cavity from 1,5-1,8m are
typical for this architectural concept. The construction of the roof made from
thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed was kept by wooden rafters. The roofs were
structured into the low rounded shapes, which resisted the strong northern wind
and the thick stone walls had static, as well as insulating feature.
Typical about the plan of the blackhouses was the central position of the hearth,
based on the floor from flagstones. The dwelling was shared by people as well as
animals, divided from thin and low partition wall made from stone. They used to
share same entrance. You can notice how human needs about the comfort have
been changing during years on different interior variations and extensions.
Sometimes the two extensions by both sides, with the separated roof construction
were added, to extent the storage space. Even if the late blackhouses were
equipped by electricity or cupboards and low racks, the women have been cooking
still on the hearth.
Even if the oldest blackouses on Lewis island (part of Hebridean islands, GB) are
over 1000 years old, there are some dwellings which were abandoned just about
150 years ago. The positive about these kind of dwellings is the fact that despite
they were inhabited for over 1000 years (and some of them still serve as the
tourists accommodation) they barely left any environmental footprints. Made just
from natural local materials and the thatch they do turn into the earth after it is not
kept and abandoned.
Very similar dwelling have been spread in Scotland, Great Britain and Denmark
and similar principles have been developed in the rest of England, with the
difference by using the pointed arch. The structure was changed into the wooden
and first primitive kind of cruck-frame houses were developed.
To vindicate sustainable potential of blackhouses I will use the conclusion by
Bruce Walker and Christopher McGregor, that this building, with its low, narrow
bodied, well insulated, aerodynamic form and in-built fungicidal, medical and
food-preserving properties - created and maintained by community co-operation
using biodegradable materials and worked without the need for specialist tools - is
an ideal model of the "green" home of future.
Classifications of Indian Vernacular Architecture:
Indian vernacular architecture can be classified into three broad categories despite
its rich diversity. The classification is based on the building materials used for
construction and the stability of the structure.
Kachcha
Pukka
Semi-pukka
In Kachcha houses, the natural materials such as mud, grass, bamboo, thatch or
sticks are used for construction. As the name suggests, Kachcha means non-
permanent. Because of the use of these natural materials, it requires constant
maintenance and replacement. The only advantage of Kachcha houses is that the
construction materials are cheap and available in abundance as well as it does not
require skilled labor.
Pukka houses are constructed from materials that are resistant to wear and tear
because of the natural conditions of the environment. The materials used for
construction are stone or brick, clay tiles, metal or other durable materials. Mortar
is used as the binding material. A pukka may be elaborated in contrast to a
kachcha. These structures are expensive to construct and also require skilled labor.
The third category of the classification is the semi-pukka house which is the
combination of the kachcha and pukka style. It evolved when the villagers started
acquiring the resources to add elements constructed of the durable materials giving
it a characteristic feature of a pukka house. In short, addition of pukka materials
elements to a kachcha house can be termed as semi-pukka house.
Conclusion: