Vernacular Architecture - Comprehensive Notes

Vernacular Architecture

Definition and Characteristics

John May (2010): Vernacular architecture is the architecture of the people, designed and built by communities, families, and self-builders.
Paul Oliver (1997, 2003): Vernacular architecture includes dwellings and all other buildings of the people, related to their environmental contexts and available resources, customarily owner- or community-built, utilizing traditional technologies.
It is built to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies, and ways of living of the cultures that produce them.
It may be adapted or developed over time as needs and circumstances change.

Prevalence and Location

Vernacular buildings constitute 90-98% of the world's total building stock.
Most are found in developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Traditional economies, social structures, and cultural values have persisted longer in these regions.
This persistence is due to a more recent advance of modernisation, urbanisation, and globalisation.

Contextual Factors

Nations: Political and administrative boundaries influence resource availability and building practices.
Topography: Landforms affect site selection, construction methods, and material choices (e.g., mountains, plains, coasts).
Water: Availability of water resources dictates settlement patterns and construction near rivers, lakes, or groundwater sources.
Climate: Temperature, rainfall, wind, and solar orientation impact building design for thermal comfort and weather protection.
Vegetation: Local flora provides building materials such as timber, bamboo, reeds, and fibers for construction and roofing.
Soils: Soil composition influences the suitability of earth-based building techniques like adobe, rammed earth, or wattle and daub.
Economy: Economic systems (agriculture, pastoralism, industry) shape building types, construction methods, and resource accessibility.
Population: Population density affects housing density, building scale, and the availability of resources per capita.
Language: Linguistic diversity reflects cultural variations influencing building practices and terminologies related to construction.
Culture: Cultural norms, traditions, beliefs, and social structures determine building functions, layouts, aesthetics, and symbolic meanings.

Materials & Resources

Earth: Utilised through sun-dried brick, cob, swish, wattle and daub, and rammed earth technologies.
Palm: Used for thatching, walling, and framing purposes.
Timber: Employed in various forms for frames, walls, roofs, furniture, doors, shutters, fences, and stairs.
Bamboo: Applied for posts, beams, roofs, walls, and floors.
Reed: Used for matting and thatching.
Used and Manufactured Resources: Fired brick and corrugated iron are common examples. By-products of war technology are also sometimes used.

Earth Technologies

Earth is an important and ubiquitous vernacular resource, despite associations with poverty.
Used throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, Europe, and Australia.
Soil suitability depends on chemical composition.
- Laterites and desertic soils are widely used.
- Podzolic soils are less suitable due to acidity.
Earth construction is vulnerable to erosion, water, and seismic activity.
Common forms include rammed earth, wet earth construction, and wattle and daub.
Rammed Earth: Earth is tamped within formwork, often mixed with straw or lime. Recorded use dates back to 1200 BC in China; used in the Middle East, North Africa, Southwest Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Wet Earth Construction: Wet mixture of earth, fiber, and water is laid on courses and dried. Variations include swish (West Africa) and cob (Europe/US).
Wattle and Daub: Earth is plastered onto a framework of interwoven wattles made of timber, bamboo, or branches. It's used in timber frame buildings to make the wattle infill weather resistant. Found in Africa, Latin America, and formerly in central/north-western Europe.
Academic and professional interest in earth construction has grown.
Earth is increasingly considered appropriate and sustainable, offering economic and ecological advantages over steel and concrete.
Problems remain, including soil suitability, vulnerability to erosion, and competition with agriculture.

Sun-Dried Brick (Adobe)

A common type of vernacular earth construction made of compacted earth and straw, shaped and dried in the sun.
Shaping is done by hand or with wooden molds.
Bricks are often used in combination with stone or rammed earth.
Employed in hot and dry areas of the Middle East, the Southwest US, and North Africa.
Use dates back to 8000 BC in Jericho and has been recorded globally.
Used in China since at least 2500 BC.
Diffused from North Africa into Spain following the Arab expansion in the 8th century AD, then to Latin America where it had been used since 2000 BC.
Integrated into modern building practices, especially in the Southwest US.
Its economic advantages and ecological sustainability are recognised.
Concerns remain about vulnerability to earthquakes and water.

Palm

Employed for a variety of vernacular building purposes throughout Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.
Palm timber is used in roof frames, supporting flat earth roofs in northern and western Africa.
Palm leaves are used for thatching and may also be used to clad walls.
Palm fibers are used to make ropes and cords for lashing.
The natural distribution of palms (coconut, cohune, date, doum, sago and nipa) is limited to an area between latitudes $40^\circ$ N and $40^\circ$ S, mostly flourishing at sea level.
Actual use is influenced by qualities of particular species and availability of other resources.
The hard surfaces of the stems are unsuitable for nails or conventional joints.
Palm thatch is vulnerable to decay, insect attack, and fire.

Timber

Timber is an important vernacular building material offering tensile and compression strength with elasticity.
Used for constructing and cladding frames, walls, and roofs.
A large variety of timbers is used; coniferous trees (gymnosperms) in cold and temperate climates. Deciduous timbers (oak, beech, birch, elm) are found in temperate and subtropical climates, as well as in the tropical parts of Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.
Branches, twigs, roots, bark, and leaves of trees may be used for vernacular building purposes.

Horizontal Log Construction

Found throughout the heavily forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America, as well as in isolated parts of Latin America and Australia.
Timbers are laid horizontally, using the mass and dead weight of the wood rather than its tensile properties.
A variety of joints have been developed to secure and interlock the logs, such as the double saddle notch, the double V notch and the double square notch.

Timber Framing

Timber framed buildings are constructed on the post and beam principle, in which the beam transfers vertical loads to its supporting posts.

Timber Cladding

Long, thin slats of wood, cleft or sawn from logs and called shingles or shakes, are used to clad roofs or walls in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Bark, the external sheath of trees, is extensively used to construct or insulate walls and roofs in the arctic regions, as well as in parts of Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and Australia.

Bamboo

A grass species native to five continents, the geographical distribution of woody bamboo is widespread between latitudes 46’N and $47^\circ$ S, from sea level to over 4000 meters.
Bamboo is characterised by the fact that its natural length is divided into several hollow segments, which are separated by nodes.
Bamboo posts and beams, roofs, walls, and floors are found in various regions of the world, including Polynesia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Reed

A grass species found in all continents, restricted to marshy and well-watered places.
Reeds generally have great flexibility and elasticity.
The application of reed in vernacular construction has therefore been mainly restricted to cladding purposes, though incidental examples of the structural use of reeds can be found.

Reed Use cases

Easy to cultivate, work and transport, reed has been employed as a thatching material throughout large parts of Europe, South Asia, China and Japan, as well as in those parts of Australia, Latin America and Africa that have been settled by European immigrants.
Reed may also be used to weave mats.
When the stems are bundled and tied together, reed may be used for structural purposes.

Corrugated Iron

Though vernacular architecture is seen as built of local and natural materials, many vernacular resources are manufactured and transported over long distances.
Commonly made of galvanised steel, sheet iron, aluminium or asbestos-cement, corrugated lamina are used throughout the world, especially in the tropical and humid upland areas of Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as in more temperate areas like North America, Europe and Central Asia.
First production started in Britain during the 1820s and was quickly introduced as an industrial building material in various parts of the world, being exported by a number of British firms during the 1840s-1860s, mainly used as a roof cladding material.
The fact that it is lightweight, strong, durable, easy to transport and fix in position, impermeable to water, invulnerable to termites and resistant to fire, in many parts of the world gives it an advantage over more traditional materials, especially thatch.
Apart from the fact that it corrodes and rusts quickly, it is not climatically satisfactory in very hot climates when a ceiling or insulation is not used.

Structural Systems & Technologies

Tents
Underground architecture
Horizontal log construction
Stone construction
Walling
Curtain walling
Finishes
Roof cladding
Roofing

Tents

There are two types of tents: membraneous (frameless) and armature (framed).
Membraneous (frameless) tents consist of materials like goat hair, sheep wool or camel hair. These are often found in African, Arabian, and Persian regions.
Armature (framed) tents use materials like timber, whalebone, caribou or seal skin. These are often found in Inuit, Tuareg, and Eurasian areas.
Varying greatly in terms of form, plan, size, materials, means of transportation and geographic distribution, tents may be characterised as structures that are designed to be easily erected, dismantled and transported.

Underground Architecture

Houses may be excavated into mountain slopes, rock faces or the earth.
Generically referred to as underground architecture, such excavated structures include horizontally dug caves, vertically sunken pit dwellings and semi-subterranean structures with a dugout floor, covered with logs, earth or stone.
Currently, there are about five million cave dwellings in the world, providing accommodation for some fifty million people.
Though essentially a cultural expression, the distribution of underground architecture is largely conditioned by geology.

Horizontal Log Construction

Characterised by the use of timbers that are laid horizontally and are connected by corner notching, log construction has been used to build houses, barns and fortifications in the heavily forested, mountainous regions of northern, central and eastern Europe since at least the tenth century AD.
The widespread distribution of horizontal log construction is inextricably linked to processes of migration and colonisation.
The diffusion of log construction technologies into Asia took off at the end of the sixteenth century when various Russian expeditions crossed the Ural Mountains to explore and settle the vast stretches of land to the east.
The introduction of log construction to North America took place somewhat later, in the first half of the seventeenth century, having been brought along by the Swedish and German immigrants who settled in the early colonies along the east coast.

Stone Construction

Stone is an important building resource in large parts of the world, and is a strong, durable, insulating and fire-resistant material.
Some stones may be used as they are found naturally (rubble), whilst others require quarrying and extensive working.
Stone walls can be built with or without mortar.
Mainly used to build stone fences, dry stone construction allows walls to expand and contract with changes in temperature.
One of the most distinctive dry stone traditions is the method of 'corbelling', in which stones are placed on top of each other without a bond, with each stone projecting inwards by a fraction of its depth beyond the layer below, creating a distinctive parabolic dome.

Walling: Timber-Framed

Walls are used to enclose space; they stake the boundaries of a building and provide privacy, whilst simultaneously offering protection from the elements.
There are mass walls, variously made of stone, timber or earth, and curtain walls, made of vegetal materials, animal skins or fabrics.
Timber-framed walls separate structural and space-enclosing functions, consisting of a timber frame made of a variety of jointed posts, beams, studs and braces, that can stand on its own and is enclosed with an infilling of wattle and daub, rubble or brick.

Curtain Walling: Woven Matting

Curtain walls are used for closure and separation rather than load carrying purposes.
Materials used for matting are bamboo, grass, palm, pandanus, reed and straw.
The use of woven mats is closely related to economy. Being light and flexible, they are used by many nomadic and transhumant peoples to cover transportable shelters or tents.
In hot and humid areas such as Amazonia, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, woven mats of bamboo and palm are extensively employed, providing ventilation to the inhabitants by allowing currents of air to circulate through the building.

Finishes: Mud Plaster and Limewash

Finishes are a thin final layer or treatment applied to underlying materials, applied externally to make a structure weatherproof, or internally for decorative purposes.
One of the most common vernacular finishes used throughout large parts of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the western United States, is mud plaster.
Another common finish, sometimes found alongside mud plaster, is limewash.

Forms, Plans, & Types

Primary forms
Roof forms
Plans
Multi-storey buildings
Pile dwellings
Community and multi-family houses
Bungalow

Primary Forms

Conical
Cylindrical
Cubic
Domical
Form involves aspects of mass, space and surface, and establishes the primary visual conditions of a building.
Though more can be identified, four primary forms appear most regularly in vernacular building.

Roof Forms

Pitched or gable roof
Hipped roof
Vaulted
Flat
Roofing represents one of the biggest challenges to vernacular builders.
The most widespread form of roofing is the pitched or gable roof, consisting of two sloping sides that meet at a ridge and terminate at the gable end.
The hipped roof is characterised by a plane that slopes down to an eave on all sides
Built of stone, earth or fired brick, vaults are used to create roofs as well as the ceilings of cellars and cave dwellings.

Plans

Circular
Courtyard

Circular Plans

Are often found in permanent dwellings and tents

Courtyard Plans

Has been a common building form in cultures and climates throughout the world, dating back to at least Roman times.
A courtyard can be characterised as an outdoor space that is clearly bounded and defined by surrounding buildings, rooms or walls.
In the hot and arid climates of the Middle East, the courtyard also acts as a passive cooling device.
The widespread diffusion and formal diversity of the Chinese courtyard is related to the migration patterns of the Han, who adapted their courtyard buildings to the climatic and geographic conditions they encountered.

Community and Multi-Family Houses

In some societies, an entire village community may live in one or several houses only.
Perhaps the most well-know example of a community house is the Southeast Asian longhouse.
Houses that provide shelter to various nuclear families, but that in contrast to community houses do not comprise a public space within them, also exist.

Bungalow

Houses identified as bungalows can be found in all continents of the world, often in great numbers.
Common defining features include a detached location, one or one-and-a-half storeys, occupation by a single family and sometimes a veranda.
The origin and diffusion of the bungalow is linked to the process of British colonisation, adapting from the local vernaculars.

Services & Functions

Hygiene (sweat baths)
Cooking and heating
Smoke vents
Ventilation and cooling
Outbuildings (granaries, barns, mills)

Hygiene: Sweat Baths

Consist of Finnish sauna; sweat lodge practiced by Native Americans and bania (practiced by Russians).
Prescriptions and regulations about personal cleanliness and hygiene exist in all cultures.
Often related to ideas about religion, health and fertility, as well as to climatic conditions and the availability of water, many distinct bathing traditions have developed throughout the world.

Cooking and Heating

Use open hearths, stoves and ovens.
The most common vernacular cooking and heating device is the hearth or open fireplace.
Employed by humans since prehistoric times, the contemporary use of the hearth is widespread.
In various parts of the world, a desire for better controlled, longer burning, safer and less smoky cooking and heating devices led to the development of enclosed stoves and ovens.

Smoke Vents: Chimneys and Smoke Holes

Regardless of whether cooking and heating takes place using an open hearth or an enclosed stove or oven, the outlet of smoke that is built up within a house is generally an important requirement.
The most basic form of smoke vent is a simple hole in the roof - smoke holes.
Up until medieval times, however, smoke holes were common throughout Europe. They co-existed with so-called 'hoods', conical structures made of wood or wattle and daub that fed smoke into a roof space, to escape through openings in the roof or gable.
During the thirteenth century, both devices were superseded by the chimney, which was structurally connected to the heating source and as such represented a significant improvement in terms of the outlet of smoke.

Ventilation and Cooling

Passive strategies are often used to address the interior environment.

Ventilation. the exchange of air between the inside of a building and the outside. plays an important part in this cooling process by increasing convection and evaporation, whilst simultaneously refreshing interior air by replacing used oxygen and removing carbon dioxide, vapours and odours.
Passive cooling responses in the Middle East include wind catchers and ventilation screens, where Badgir, Barasti, Malqaf or Mangh are the common names.

Veranda

The veranda, an open or partially walled, roofed and often slightly raised living area on the ground floor, is a feature of vernacular traditions in many parts of the world.
The use of the veranda clearly relates to climate, although its actual function in modifying climatic influences may differ per region.
In hot and humid areas it serves as a dry and shaded space where breezes can be obtained; cooling the house whilst at the same time protecting the walls, windows and inhabitants from the heat of the sun and torrential rains.

Outbuildings

In agricultural societies, dwellings are generally supported by other units; when such units are detached from the main dwelling, they are commonly referred to as 'outbuildings'.
Outbuildings may be used for a variety of purposes, including the storage of crops, the housing of livestock and the processing of farm products.
Examples of outbuildings discussed include granaries, barns and mills.

Granaries

Are buildings designed to store cereal grains and protect them from the elements, insects and rodents.

Barns

Frequently used to house farm equipment or animals as well, barns are mainly found in Europe and North America, as well as in some parts of the world settled by European immigrants.
Because they house surplus crops, farm machinery and livestock, barns have often been regarded as embodiments of economic wealth and as such they may have a symbolic significance that goes beyond their utilitarian value.

Mills

The harnessing of water and wind power to drive millstones, grinders and pumps was one of the most significant technological advances in history, resulting in significant increases in productivity.

Symbolism & Decoration

Motifs and colour are often included
Exterior Murals are common
Roof Finials can be decorated
Botanical metaphors