Considering the recent fixation in architecture on object-based buildings, the profession is on the brink on becoming irrelevant. It is because of this obsession that architects continue to ignore any significant engagement with communities and cultures. There is no longer any meaningful connection between individuals, communities and the built environment. More importantly, buildings that are not designed by star architects have simply become generic and anonymous places where we work and live. Relying on prefabricated and standardized building systems, this homogenization has resulted in the loss of any real connection to community that individuals have with the built environment? Today we take for granted the easily acquired resources to build and think little of the impact of building a five thousand square foot mansion all for the sole purpose of showing it off to others, it is a huge waste of space and resources. One possible stategy to this dilemma is to reconsider the importance of vernacular architecture. Considering the efficiency in the use of space and materials, designers and builders of vernacular architecture had to make the best use of limited materials and the harsh environments. Although the plans and layouts of these structures may seem simple there was an intimate connection with the daily lives of their inhabitants. Appropriating the spatial ideas of the vernacular while reconceptualizing them in terms of modern technologies and processes, we can create a more habitable and environmentally friendly design.
"What makes vernacular architecture is not an occupant who builds but a cultural congruity among design, construction, and use." Henry Glassie
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"What makes vernacular architecture is not an occupant who builds but a cultural congruity among design, construction, and use." Henry Glassie
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Vernacular architecture to me is the design of space not for the sole purpose of looks but for it's ability to function in the everyday lives of it's users. It is the multi-functionality of spaces, it is the designs ability to bring people and communities together because of the base commonalities that drive the very process of the design. It is the language that speaks to an idea of community while also being able to express it's own individuality.
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Vernacular architecture to me is the design of space not for the sole purpose of looks but for it's ability to function in the everyday lives of it's users. It is the multi-functionality of spaces, it is the designs ability to bring people and communities together because of the base commonalities that drive the very process of the design. It is the language that speaks to an idea of community while also being able to express it's own individuality.
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