Building Simply 02: Learning from the vernacular
Building Simply 02:
Learning from the vernacular
As a studio, we strive to create places which are beautiful, ethical and contextual. With this in mind, our work is informed by the principles of ‘Building Simply’ - architecture of simple forms, thoughtfully composed and constructed in a logical, legible and resourceful way from local materials to create a sense of timeless beauty and authenticity. Places are designed and constructed in a direct but refined way, with quiet appropriateness and genuine functionality in mind, rather than the louder formal manifestation of iconic architecture. A responsible, ethical and economical approach to resource use and a critical approach to site are adopted, resulting in buildings which are cost-effective, intrinsically sustainable and express an empathy with the landscapes in which they sit.
This series of articles explores the idea of building simply - what it means in terms of design, construction and sustainability; what we can learn from vernacular building; why we advocate this approach; and what the challenges are in the contemporary context.
On our travels and when exploring the local context for new projects, we are often drawn to vernacular architecture and traditional building patterns. This article considers the value of learning from vernacular architecture for building today.
The Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland have been made habitable over thousands of years by constructing terraces and simple building with the local stone – the only building material available on the islands.
The Vernacular and Building Simply
Vernacular buildings embody many of the principles of Building Simply, so it is useful to look to traditional ways of building for inspiration and to discover some benefits of Building Simply.
The Oxford English Dictionary definition of ‘vernacular’ in relation to the arts is; Native or peculiar to a particular country or locality. spec. in vernacular architecture, architecture concerned with ordinary domestic and functional buildings rather than the essentially monumental.
In contrast to mainstream contemporary architectural culture, the study of traditional and vernacular architecture reveals simple ways of building that closely relate architecture to site. They are constructed in a direct and straightforward way from materials that can be found nearby. Materials are used in their natural state and construction is expressed and readable. Rational geometries and the consideration given to orientation and form demonstrate a resourceful manner of building. Although built in this way by necessity, this architecture gives meaning to the landscape it inhabits, expressing its origins and providing people with a sense of home. However, these older buildings do not meet the high standards of performance and comfort expected by today’s users. Building Regulations, concerns for occupant health and the impact of energy use on the environment make it inappropriate to directly copy these traditional building techniques, but lessons may be learnt from their direct and resourceful approach to construction.
Why study the past?
Whilst studies of the traditional are insightful, building traditions cannot be copied directly today as construction would not meet the demands of modern-day Building Regulations or expected occupancy comfort. However, despite this problem, there are still useful lessons to be learned from vernacular buildings if the principles they embody are studied abstractly. A common response to local traditional building is to copy certain visual qualities, such as the shape, material finishes, colour and details and apply them to a typical modern building shell. This approach, which is often favoured by planning authorities, leads to pastiche architecture, but adds no real value in terms of building rationally and ethically or creating beautiful, comfortable and delightful places for people to live. Instead, we advocate learning from the vernacular by studying its underlying rationale, concepts and qualities, and interpreting these into principles which can inform design processes and are relevant for contemporary architecture. Using this method, we can learn useful lessons about responding to site and climate; form and orientation; organisation of spaces and activities; economical construction; and sustainability.
This abstracted approach to learning from the vernacular avoids the stylistic copying of the traditional. The dangers of this are identified by architect, David Lea in ‘Fake or Real’, a paper about traditional and contemporary Welsh Architecture. He says that;
"The idea that there is a local, or even national style which offers some continuity with the past, after the social conditions and old ways of building have been swept away, leads directly to the transformation of our settlements into a continuum of fakery where the boundary lines between authentic construction at St Fagans, the theatricality of Portmeirion, and the emptiness of Disneyland are hard to distinguish 1."
Lea suggests that, in response to the closing of local quarries and other barriers to traditional ways of building, that the construction industry has ‘developed a “vernacular” costume to hide modern construction; its colours and textures can easily be adjusted to give a regional flavour’ 2.
This concern is echoed by Florian Musso in ‘Simply Good’, who says that;
Stone quarries are being closed, timber is cheaper from abroad. So it is usually senseless to take on the forms of historically developed building types without questioning their rationale. A poorly understood copy of old buildings, without clarification as to the living styles and construction forms of the present, destroys the spirit of this architecture 3.
He goes on to suggest that, ‘a well understood interpretation of the values and of the method that forms the foundation of these architectural styles allows for a procedure that is related to the context and has direct reference to the cultural basis’ 4. Through the abstract method of studying the vernacular, our aim is not to try to recreate the past or the primitive, but to discover the underlying principles on which the vernacular was built and to learn from them.
The basic pitched roof form of these shepherd huts in northern Spain is the simplest way to provide shelter using the materials available. The similarity of form, orientation and materials of the buildings within the cluster creates simplicity through repetition.
What can be learnt from the vernacular?
Exploring vernacular architecture in the way described above has taught us a number of valuable lessons for Building Simply:
Using the landscape
Before the development of motorised transportation, it was harder for people to travel and transport goods from place to place. This meant that, in the majority of cases, buildings were constructed from local materials using local labour. This was especially true of ‘ordinary’, everyday buildings whose inhabitants could not have afforded to build any other way. Through vernacular building, people developed a deep knowledge of the landscape in which they lived, worked and built; and this was reflected in the architecture. A good understanding of the properties of local materials and knowledge of the climate and topography led to efficient, economical buildings which were in close relationship with the landscape in which they stood. This localised way of building developed traditions which closely related to the resources available in a particular landscape. The building traditions of each area, repeated over time, produced local character and established a strong sense of place which is so often absent contemporary development.
Minimised and ordered
Out of necessity and for reasons of economy, vernacular buildings tend to be minimised to the bare essentials. They are functionally efficient; providing for basic human needs of shelter and comfort using basic elements such as floor, walls, roof and hearth. Forms and spatial relationships are dictated by lifestyle and the needs of the occupants rather than style or the wilful composition of a designer. This is evident in appearance too, as vernacular buildings are not usually highly decorative or fanciful in form. Geometry is dictated by the materials available for construction and the topography of the landscape. To build in the most efficient way, materials have to be put together according to their inherent properties which include the size and shape of the materials and components. This gives an order to the architecture which is not based on conceptual ideas, but logic and rationale. Construction methods are kept simple and minimal because skills are not technologically advanced. On a larger scale, where there are many buildings together, type is minimised as forms are repeated across the site. Each individual building deviates little from the rational arrangement and construction which results from the local climate, materials, skills and knowledge.
Legible
Vernacular buildings are usually very easy to interpret. The basic elements of the building can be easily read as wall, roof and floor and the building’s function is often evident from its form and arrangement. The construction methods and materials are also legible. Because construction is not usually layered, all the materials are visible and the ways in which they are joined is apparent. Materials are not highly processed, making them easy to distinguish.
Materials and construction
The aesthetic values of vernacular architecture come from the materials that are used and the way they are constructed. This is why it does not make sense to copy the aesthetic ‘style’ of the traditional; because it was never intended to be a style, but resulted as a natural outcome of the construction. While it may not be appropriate to directly copy the aesthetic material palette of the traditional and apply it to modern construction, there are aspects in the use of materials that go below the surface and influence our thinking about Building Simply today. Traditionally, materials tended to be used in their most natural, raw state where possible. In comparison to the highly processed materials found in much contemporary construction, such as plastics and synthetic insulations, raw materials have to be used in a way which exploits their natural qualities. With modern construction it is possible to ‘hang’ a thin veneer of stone cladding over the surface of a tall building to give the appearance (from a distance) of mass and solidity. However, in vernacular construction the laws of nature and material properties are obeyed. Heavy stone construction obeys the law of gravity as the weight of the material is expressed in the massiveness of the load bearing construction.
Sustainability
Although sustainability is a relatively new term in relation to architecture, and the widespread concern for climate change and diminishing energy resources has only developed in the last few decades, vernacular architecture embodies many of the principles which are sought after by sustainability conscious designers and developers today. The builders of the vernacular were not necessarily concerned with the global impact of their buildings, but they did have to consider how comfortable and practical conditions could be achieved with the limited local resources available to them. Where gas, electricity and water could not be piped in, basic resources became precious, to be used as economically and efficiently as possible.
Passive Design
High-tech solutions for heating, cooling and lighting buildings were not available in the past, so buildings were constructed to make use of natural resources such as sunlight, daylight, wind and the thermal mass of materials. These are the principles which we now refer to as passive design. As discussed above, vernacular buildings are constructed with a good, developed understanding of the local landscape and climate. People used this knowledge to site and orientate their buildings in a way which benefited from the sun to heat in winter, shelter from cold prevailing winds and naturally light workspaces during the day. In terms of form, vernacular buildings are usually compact in shape to reduce the surface area of the walls and minimise heat loss in colder climates. Overhanging roofs are used to create cool, shady spaces in hot climates. The arrangement of spaces within each building follows similar principles. For example, a kitchen or larder might be on the north side of a dwelling so that food is kept cool and lasts longer. The entrance might be turned away from prevailing winter winds to reduce cold draughts inside. Traditional dwellings were usually heated by a single fireplace which was also used for cooking. This meant that the hearth became the focus of the home and living spaces were orientated around it to benefit from the heat generated. In buildings where stone or brick was available, thermal mass around the hearth soaked up heat from the fire during the day and released it during the night. These basic rules of siting, orientation and form are often ignored in contemporary developments but have the potential to improve modern building performance in an economical way.
Summary
This article shows that many lessons that relate to Building Simply today can be learned from vernacular architecture. Although it may not be appropriate to copy directly from traditional buildings, there are many useful ideas that can be abstracted from them and applied to contemporary architecture.
These include using the local landscape and resources responsibly, constructing in a rational and direct manner and employing passive design methods to reduce energy demand – resulting in clear, simple, unaffected architecture.
Footnotes
1 David Lea, ‘Fake or Real?’, in Planet 138 (December 1999/January 2000), 77-83 (p. 80)
2 Ibid. p. 80
3 Florian Musso, ‘Simply Good’, in Building Simply, ed. by Christian Schittich (Switzerland: Birkhäuser, 2005), pp. 11-25 (p. 16)
4 Ibid. p. 16
Image references
01 Aran Islands, Ireland. Image: ALT-Architecture
02 Stone Shepherd huts, Spain. Image: ALT-Architecture
03 Y Garreg Fawr and Abernodwydd at St Fagans Museum. Images: ALT-Architecture
04 Vernacular buildings in Iceland and Indonesia. Images: ALT-Architecture