What is “Vernacular” housing today? Which is the “dweller” today?

“The architecture of the people, and by the people, but not for the people”. P a u l o l i v e r Folk building growing in response to actual needs, fitted into environment by people who knew no better than to fit them with native feeling. Frank Lloyd Wright

Vernacular is relevant to our own time. The principles often prescribed to historic vernacular architecture are those which are generally applied, today, to the meaning of sustainability. Buildings of simple quality, reusable and adaptable, produced from materials that are freely available and economic to produce and use in construction. Vernacular Architecture as derived from the Latin word “Vernacular” which means ‘native’. Therefore, this term refers to belonging of people to the regions, where they are from and the places, where they refer their original nationality or hometown. The words nationality and hometown associate some meanings and concepts such as identity, belonging and the heritages from the previous generations.

Sun, light and ventilation would require special consideration. The creation of wind shelter and the collection and recycling of water using ponds would form our landscapes. The provision of energy efficient services and interior finishes from recycled clays, glass, metals, timbers and plastics, paints and staining materials using natural dyes would form the basis of our interior design. if you add to this a structural design which could allow adaptation over time, and materials and details which can be easily repaired, you may well achieve an aesthetic which is born of a practice of the utmost relevance to our day. (parsons, 1998) The new vernacular housing may well be very different. The houses would certainly contain plenty of locally sourced timber products. Some metals would be used, of course recycled. Concrete, some in the form of block work, utilizing reclaimed materials could provide foundations and ground floor structure.

Dweller today has a different relation to everyday life than suffered “unwillingly” by the suburban householder. The city dweller reaps the benefits of chance encounters and various distractions forming part of his everyday experience. (El-Khoury, 2004) There are several factors which may cause to change the dweller to identified characteristic. Today, in urban situations a certain category of urban dwellers are unsatisfied with the economic conditions of their lives. The high land values and strategic locations in urban tight places provide a good potential to be exploited economically. With the acceleration of the development, economic situations need to be strengthened more so in the future than today, to survive in an urban context. Hence most people conduct many economic activities in their living environment HBW (home based work) in order to improve their economy. This gives a commercial facade to living and home environment. (Sirisena, 2005)

reference parsons, m. (1998). Towards a new vernacular housing. the approach in the East Midlands. midland: local distinctiveness. Oliver, P. (1997). Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. United Kingdom: cambridg university press. El-Khoury, R. (2004). Shaping the city: studies in history, theory and urban design. New York: Routledge. El-Khoury, R. (2004). Shaping the city: studies in history, theory and urban design. New York: Routledge. Sirisena, M. (2005). HOUSE AS A PLACE OF DWELLING VERSUS BASE FOR LIVELIHOOD' THE IMPACT OF HOME BASED WORK ON THE SOCIO-SPATIAL VALUE OF URBAN DWELLINGS,AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS ON HOUSE DESIGNING IN FUTURE. Retrieved 10 20, 2011, from