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Posted by Edgar on July 2, 2007, 6:20 pm
>I have a small library on folk vernacular architecture. A quickie
>definition of vernacular architecture is that it's the kind of architecture
>that people in a locale with approximately the same cultural heritage have
>developed. They can have been influenced by other peoples. Architecture is
>never static, in my opinion, but draws on itself, group philosophies,
>trends, and ideals. Good vernacular architecture, in my opinion, solves
>local climatic and energy issues and expresses the culture visually in some
>uniform but evolving way. It sometimes presents a unique use of local
>materials. Vernacular pertains to a level of do it yourself that still
>utilizes local expertise in craftsmanship, but does not necessarily presume
>the kind of formal architectural or engineering training that is generally
>presumptive of what we term architecture or engineering today. Vernacular
>speech is what local pepople use with one another to communicate in a
>society that still has fornal speech.
>
> That said, there are examples where traditional and vernacular
> architecture come together, ex. hiring a mimar (Islamic design builder) to
> design one of the coral mosques of Suakin. Local materials were used
> (coral blocks, similar to the prehistoric shell material in St. Augustine,
> Florida 16th c. building), mosques and public buildings were designed but
> local people as home builders used the same material for residential
> housing. In this type fo traditional building, the building material
> itself is beautiful in color and unique, the material used caused the
> local building to become attractions, the materials used were traditional
> building materials from the area that promoted cool, clean, low
> maintenance living and worshiping. Just a tiny example. It is always
> wonderful to discover some native/tribal/aboriginal/modern ordinary guy
> and gal/ way of solving a common problem. Shelter itself is a kind of
> local problem. It is wonderful when people express philosophical thought
> through decoration in some kind of local way and solve some kind of
> climatic issue at the same time, like the Russian or Scandinavian stove to
> heat an entire dwelling efficiently (and to use whole or large pieces of
> logs that burn slowly to ash in the process so less energy is used even
> preparing fuel).
> I don't see discussing making one's own hummus (note that the guy who
> started the thread on tomato basil hummus didn't dare to post the actual
> ingredients of the stuff he bought...) is contrary to the discussion of
> good design. We choose to design what we do with our time and how we fuel
> everything from buildings to our own bodies. We can accept a developer
> McMansion, eat out and buy processed food, or we can design, collaborate
> in the designer or at least have impute into the needs that cause us to
> live live in what works and what we need while making sure that quality
> goes into our bodies. It's all related.
>
> The Coral Buildings of Suakin: Islamic Architecture, Planning, Design and
> Domestic Arrangements in a Red Sea Port (Hardcover), the classic text:
>
http://www.amazon.com/Coral-Buildings-Suakin-Architecture-Arrangements/dp/0710304897
> (I guess the book is rare? THe price is....):
>
> Couple images: http://www.sudanembassy.co.uk/graphics/suakin.jpg ,
> www.haberlah.com/.../redsea/images/rs_02.jpg ,
> http://www.sudan-embassy.co.uk/images/pics/suakin.jpg
>
> Exterior coral carving, Maldives:
> http://www.maldivesculture.com/images/thareekh/mosque_carving_exterior.jpg
>
> Context:
> http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/sartorius/soudan/soudan.html
>
>
>
>
We're starting to sound like Buddhists in here :)
Nice post, thanks.
--
Edgar
--
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