Energy and Buildings, 5 ( 1 9 8 2 ) 43 - 54 43

Vernacular Architecture: A Lesson of the Past for the Future

PLEMENKA SUPIC

Architecture Department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, Av. Eglise-Anglaise 12, 1006 Lausanne (Switzerland)

This paper presents part of the first year course given at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, Department of Architecture, which deals with climatology and the physics of building. For many years, the initiation into architecture has been started by analysing vernacular architecture all over the world. The didactic object o f these studies is to make the students aware of the complex reality o f architecture in general. A series of models taken among the vernacular architecture of various countries is presented.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Until now, historians have invested a lot in the research, the study and the conser- vation of impressive ancient monuments (palaces, castles, churches) belonging to dif- ferent cultures of the whole world. They have been classified, analysed, dissected and recorded in archives by specialists in archi- tectural history fascinated by beauty, refine- ment and technical exploits. They are described or represented in many tourist guides and in numerous publications.

However when travelling, it is a great pleasure to discover and visit the streets, the places and the popular dwellings adapted to specific social and cultural contexts. These built spaces are not arbitrary: they are the expression of a reality slowly elaborated during centuries, executed with local tech- niques and means, expressing precise functions and satisfying social, cultural and economic needs. By their character, their originality and the lack of pretention, they integrate themselves lithely and naturally in the surroundings. A human manageable scale permits people 'to pass one's life'.

By their invention, their limpidity, their expressiveness and unity in diversity, they surprise and stimulate the creative imagina- tion.

But more than that, these vernacular constructions express the physical form of values that the tribal, peasant and popular cultures have coded in the different types of dwellings. The choices have been elabor- ated towards a global convergence of human values, which today we are not able to assume, having lost the essential roots of an authentic growth.

What characterises the architecture called 'vernacular' which is more or less a synonym of traditional, primitive, rural, peasant, spontaneous, anonymous, indigenous or without architects, is the degree of urbanity. One attribute of it, is also the term of 'func- tionalistic architecture'. The simplicity in

wh ich the vernacular architecture expresses its contents, has led important architects of the 19th and 20th century to pay it hommage and consider it as the genesis of new architectural theories { e . g . F . L . Wright, R. Neutra, W. Gropius, H. Meyer, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Moholy Nagy). Today what is undeniable to the eyes of architects, builders, sociologists and ethnologists is that it stays a source of analysis, of reflexion, inspiration and aspiration and, as a reference for ethnic and aesthetic models and forms, particularly for didactic reasons.

In the first phase, based on bibliographic sources, the students analyse the relationships between the following themes:

culture: ethnology, sociology and econom- ics

nature: environment, site, climates

0 3 7 8 - 7 7 8 8 / 8 2 / 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 / $ 0 2 . 7 5 © Elsevier Sequo ia /P r in t ed in The Ne the r l ands

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mater ia l : resources , mater ia ls , t echn iques The resul ts o f these studies carr ied o u t in groups are wr i t t en repor t s , p lans and mode l s {scale 1/20) . These s tudies are a f t e rwards useful to deve lop typologica l , morpho log ica l , and technolog ica l researchs.

In the fo l lowing example s* , on ly the par t icu lar area o f c l imat ic adap t ib i l i ty is

*All these examples are extracted from works of our students carried out from 1967 to 1979. Only one has been published in French in 1972 by the Ecole Polytechnique Fdddrale de Lausanne, Ddparte- ment d'Architecture: "Relev4s, dessins et photo- graphies de constructions rurales du Canton de Vaud executes par les ~tudiants de l~re annie, sous la direction du professeur F. Aubry, architecte".

t aken in to cons idera t ion . We no te t h a t it is rare for all the c l imat ic da ta to have the same i m p o r t a n c e in a rch i tec tura l design, bu t ve rnacu la r a r ch i t ec tu re cer ta in ly does no t k n o w of any cons t ruc t i ons which have n o t been a d a p t e d to c l imat ic condi t ions . So the a l ternat ive des ignat ion as ' f unc t iona l a r ch i t ec tu re ' can be pe r f ec t ly just i f ied.

The f u n d a m e n t a l v i r tues o f these con- s t ruc t ions are:

- - Genu ine c o n t e n t s express ion , - - S impl ic i ty and subt le invent ions , - Un i ty in divers i ty , - - E c o n o m y and e f f ic iency o f the means

available, - - C o n s c i o u s n e s s and re spec t fo r h u m a n s

and things.

, ii.

(a)

~ . , ! . . : :: .... :.-~ .. ,:,,.:'" ~ ' ~ ...'.......~ .': :

(c) Fig. 1. Oraefi farm, Iceland. (a) Horizontal section, (b) south facade, (c) vertical section.

Unfortunately these constructions are fast disappearing nearly everywhere and we must take care to keep this legacy of former genera- tions. So it is important to recover what remains are left, to conserve them if possible, and to offer them to the public at large as the subject matter for future consideration. This is the reason why our final object is to create and organize an ' international study and research centre' on the vernacular archi- tecture disappearing all over the world, with the participation of schools, universities, governments and other involved institutions.

The few examples that we are presenting here have been chosen in ' temperate ' areas.

In Iceland, the minimum temperature is rarely less than --10 °C, whereas the summer seasonal maximum is between 15°C and 18 °C. Rainfall is average and snow is rare. In spite of this relatively mild climate, the Icelandic farm (Fig. 1) is compact and half buried due to the violent winds. The main frontage faces due south which is determined by the sun's course and winds' direction and it is the only face to have any openings.

The building envelope is triple: (1) inner wall of planks coming from

wreckage cast up by the sea on the shores, (2) stony wall supporting horizontal pres-

sures of the earth, (3) peat layer covering the whole, 20 cm

thick, lying on stone slabs which rest on the planks and on the structure. This roof is heavy, but it is a very good thermal insulator and has good resistance to the wind.

People and animals live under the same roof; animals below and peple on the top to benefit from the released heat {central building). The dark colour of the frontage facing the sun increases the energy gain. A central chimney maximises the use of the released heat {building facing west).

Now we are going to analyse two buildings in Pamir which meet a climate considerably

tougher , as they are situated in the interior of a continent and at a high altitude.

The village of Wark is located in a high valley, at 2600 m. In summer days are hot and nights cold; in winter it is cold and dry {minimum temperature --15 °C). Rain is rare and falls at the end of spring and the beginning of summer. A strong wind blows the whole year from the north-west.

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The dwelling (Fig. 2) must protect against both torrid summers and rigorous winters. The ground is broken and the house clings to a rock to be better shielded against winds. The volume is compact and the house partly buried. The living areas are grouped around a huge stove with benches made from stone and pisS. This stove gives out heat by radia- tion after the fire is out. The building envel- ope is in stone and pisS, typified by a good calorific capacity (heat storage). Openings are non-existent, except one in the roof which is used at the same time for ventilation, lighting and elimination of smoke.

(b)

(c)

Fig. 2. House in Wark, Wakhan, Afghanistan. (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical section A-A, (c) vertical section B-B.

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The village of Ptukh is located in the same valley, but at 3200 m. The climate is even harder -- daily temperature 25 °C, rain always rare (90 mm/year) , considerable direct radiation especially ultraviolet rays, relative humidity never beyond 60% and the sky generally clear.

An example of a house in Ptukh is given in Fig. 3. The natural earth has been reworked. The lowest level is used only for moving around. At the levels raised by a few tens of centimetres, people sleep, work and sit around. Cold air, being denser, stays on the ground and does not reach the higher levels. In the same way, every door has a

Fig. 3. House in Ptukh, Wark, Wakhan, Afghanistan, vertical and horizontal section.

(a)

B

B (b)

(e)

high threshold to prevent the circulation of cold air.

The flattened form of the houses has little wind resistance. The flat roof (4 layers: branches, pisd, sand, pisd) is a good insulator. The little rainfall avoids the need for fre- quent repairs. The inner space arrangement gives the possibility of creating buffer zones ( temporary living-room, stalls, stockhouses, etc.} on the side where the wind is coming from. As in the previous case, the sky-light is useful to ventilate, to light and to exhaust smoke; other than the front door, it is the only opening of the construction.

The fireplace, in the middle of the main space, is dug out in one of the raised levels. The fire burns night and day. Corn pancakes are stuck to the inner sides of the walls; a lower opening is used for feeding the fire, an upper one is used for heating pots as in our wood-stoves.

In cold climates, the importance of the fireplace is obvious; open, it is generally put in the middle of the dwelling space which is to be warmed (e.g. Norwegian farm, Fig. 4; Serbian house, Fig. 5; Mandan hut, Fig. 6). The chimney when placed against a wall represents another type of direct fireplace (Breton or Welsh house, Fig. 7).

(d) i I

(e)

k

: ¸. :

Fig. 4. Farm in Raulandstuen, Uvdal, Norway. (a) Horizontal section ground floor, (b) horizontal section, first floor, (c) vertical section A-A, (d) vertical section B-B, (e) south facade.

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(b)

Fig. 5. Serbian house, Yugoslavia, (a) Horizontal section ground floor, (b) vertical section A-A, (c) ver- tical section B-B.

(b)

/

(e)

(d)

Fig. 6. Mandan hut, USA. (a) Vertical section, (b) day and night light, (c) hot and cold temperature, (d) wind circulation, (e) skin screens.

A direct but movable fireplace is often used; in the past, the Eskimos warmed them- selves with oil-lamps -- the oil replacing the wood which is lacking in the subpolar regions - - the Mediterraneans used the brazier; but the fixed fires, really more comfortable, offered a whole range of solutions from the oven which warmed the nearby rooms to the huge stoves of Central Europe, e.g. Goemmersdorf, Upper Rhine, Alsace; Fig. 8.

In this house situated on the plain, it is necessary to use heating from November to May. The climate of the Upper Rhine is cold and wet; the living rooms ( 'Stube' and 'Kleinstube') face south, whereas the kitchen, facing north, is protected from the sun in summer. But it is particularly the method of heating which is the most important element for climatic adaptation. On a chim- ney pipe, built against the wall, two kinds of appliances are fitted: in the kitchen -- the range and the ovens, in the 'Stube' -- a pot tery or cast-iron stove fed from the kitchen. The same pipe warms the rooms upstairs. After the smoke spreads out into the attic. It was much later that a chimney

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z

, , 1

of --34 °C. The dwelling is characterized by its compact volume, by its double building envelope (logs and planks with an air space) and by its intermediate zones between outside and inside: the porch and the attic floor are covered with slats to guarantee a good insulation. Openings are small and protected by wooden shutters and each room has its own heating.

The Hungarian house of the plains (Fig. 10) is built of pis~ and covered with thatch. The building envelope is protected from rainfall by gutters and it is repaired every year. In the main room there is a splendid stove made with pisS. This stove is connected by a pipe to the chimney which is in the adjoining kitchen, where there are two other stoves. Embers can be pushed into the living- room stove or into one of the two kitchen stoves according to the housewife's needs.

In the Ottoman empire, especially in regions of large seasonal amplitude, people practise seasonal nomadism inside the house. Rooms inhabited in winter face south or are located on the ground floor built from heavy materials. Service rooms like storage rooms, lavatories and kitchens were arranged on the ground floor. They could be reached only from the garden. In the Balkan house all the furniture is fixed. Only the dining table is moved every time from the kitchen. But the outstanding comfort of this house is not

stack adorned the roof. The ovens, generally four in number, had various but definite functions:

-- cooking for the family, -- cooking for the cattle, - - h e a t i n g of the 'Stube' and sometimes

of the bordering alcove, - -heat ing of the bread oven, visible from

outside. The stove of the 'Stube' became more and

more perfected and decorative. The stove with earth-glazed wall-tiles was made with pottery during the 18th century thus making it possible to sit or even to lie on it.

Central Europe also gives a few examples of bioclimatic architecture.

The Lithuanian farm (Fig. 9) of the 19th century is also located in a cold and wet climate. During 10 months of the year the temperature falls below zero with an extreme

Fig. 8. Alsacian stove, France.

(d) (e) Fig. 7. Cottage Llain-Wen-Isaf, Wales, UK. (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical section A-A, (c) vertical section B-B, (d) vertical section C-C, (e) west facade.

4 9

. . . . . . : : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - ....... IINr'l'r . . . . . . . . . . . . [ . . . . . . . . . . - H I ] l

IIII : i

(~)' ' ~i ~B

(b)

Fig. 9. Lithuanian farm, URSS. (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical section A-A, (c) vertical section B-B, (d) fire place.

limited to this nomadism. Every room upstairs has its own heating, its own shower and a place to store bedding, all arranged in the walls {Fig. 11).

The Navahos in New Mexico build a shelter for each season. The hogan, the winter hut, is circular, half buried and covered with earth {high thermal capacity). The inner volume

is minimal. The circular shape allows a good distribution of heat.

The jebitcai (Fig. 12), the summer shelter, is protected from sun, wind and rain. The medicine-lodge is the place where people take steam-baths, a well-known physiological procedure for fighting against cold from Scandinavia to Turkey.

A

(a)

U _. ................ .! rrr~t~- :.b "

....... -'-----I' ; . - ;; .... • • liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiii::iii[iill

(b) (c) Fig. 10. House in Nagykun, Hungaria, (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical section, (c) fireplace.

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Fig. 11. Oriental house, Balkans, internal wall.

The out-buildings are also well built for climatic adaptation. Food reserves are often very carefully protected from storms. Let us now look at a few examples of granaries in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

The Nobs Granary (Fig. 13) and Porchet granary {Fig. 14) are located in Sottens,

a village near Lausanne. The two granaries, very carefully constructed out of beams, were probably built at the end of the 17th or at the beginning of the 18th century. They were used to store oat and wheat and are built in oak, a timber which is fire resis- tant (on the front of the Porchet granary, we can see traces of a fire which the granary withstood). Piles of big quarry-stones shield the grain from ground damp by a good ventilation: the eaves protect the walls from rain. The granaries were portable and could be moved according to needs.

The ice-house of the castle La Lance (Fig. 15), near the lake of Neuch~tel, was built in the beginning of the 19th century; it allows the storage of ice brought from the lake

(b)

Fig. 12. Navajo's jebitcai, tion, (c) shelter.

(c) ~/i

New Mexico, USA. (a) House in construction at various stages, (b) air and heat circula-

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t ' - [ . . . . . n

*

i . . . . . f 7 - -

i _

i i i

I i~ I IL I Li ; ; " -

(b) Fig. 13. Granary Nobs, Sottens, Switzerland. (a) Hori- zontal sections at three different levels, (b) vertical sections.

during winter. Hemispherical, compact and buried, it looked like an Eskimo's igloo with its porch and its shape. The stone building envelope is double and the very small empty space between the two walls serves as a

(a)

(b)

Fig. 15. Ice storage house, La Lance, Switzerland. (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical section.

passage. The hill which covers the ice-house is partly artificial. In the Jura they used natural ice caves in high cliffs and in Hungary people of ten stopped there for a drink in the shelter from the sun.

Many bui lders have taken into consider- ation the most important climatic constraint and done everything possible to overcome it.

The village of Ormonts-Dessus is located on the northern slope of the valley. This slope is exposed to avalanches, but many chalets are in place since the beginning of the 19th century thanks to an ingenious

(a)

(b) (c)

Fig. 14. Granary Porchet, Sottens, Switerland. (a) Horizontal sections at three levels, (b) vertical sections, (c) facade.

52

"~l I

L - ~ i ' ....

(a)

---I

protection system• Large stone walls in the shape of a prow, filled with earth, were built behind the chalets to deflect the avalanches over the roof and round them {Fig. 16).

A farm in the Jura, La Grande Sagne, in the Vall~e de Joux, built in 1616, is formed

b B

(b) Fig. 16. Chalet fi fort, Ormonts-Dessus, Switzerland. (a) Horizontal section, (b) facades.

of three continuous dwellings under the same roof (Fig. 17). The dwellings heat each other. The western frontages are systematically protected from rain-bearing winds, formerly by shingle boards, but are now covered with sheet-metal. This dwelling is the only

A

(a)

(c)

~B i (b)

IP' i~J ,;,

(d)

Fig. 17. Jurassian farm La Grande Sagne, Switzerland. (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical sections A-A and B-B, (c) central part section, (d) smoking room, (e) facades.

(a)

A-A

(b) B-B

Fig. 18. Farm in Semplain, Franches-Montagne, Jura, Switzerland. (a) Horizontal section, (b) vertical sections A-A and B-B, (c) interior, perspective.

m - m --2

(b), (c)t Fig. 19. Anzano house, mountains in Tessin, Switzerland. (a) Horizontal sections at two levels, (b) vertical sec- tion, (c) facade.

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authentic example remaining. It possesses an immense smoke-house.

In Semplain, Franches-Montagnes, a farm from the 18th century {Fig. 18) has two fireplaces in the kitchen. The kitchen has a stone vault. The meat to be smoked was hung on the two girders. Smoke was elim- inated through the barn by an orifice ' ronda die fue', behind which was a screen covered with a damp jute sack. Every year the vault was cleaned of its soot. It is obvious that the smoke spread out into the kitchen, but it also protected people and food from flies, and timber from mites. In the room close to the kitchen ('best room') was a stove with a bench. The same embers were used for the fireplace and the stove.

In the cold high altitude climates of the Tessin, the fire represents an element as important as the sun in arid climates. In Anzano, in the houses, a fire is continually burning. The houses, found in a hamlet in the 'Val Malvaglia' at 1300 m, are laid out as follows (Fig. 19). All the houses are grouped in blocks attached and across the slope of the ground. Each unit is constructed according to its purpose: stables, stalls and kitchens generally in masonry, living rooms in carefully tr immed beams and barns in in roughly squared beams which allow the air to penetrate.

There is a fireplace in the kitchen and the smoke is eliminated by a small window and

by the door. The embers are used to feed the stoves.

Another architectural and climatic charac- teristic is often used in this same hamlet: the 'loggia'. It is a communi ty space where people do every kind of work, dry the harvests, take a rest, meet and protect them- selves from sun and rain.

CONCLUSIONS

To sum up, we can say that, through our first year of architectural teaching at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne, we try to show the effects of the climate on constructions in two phases.

First, we analyse the examples provided by vernacular architecture during the first trimester, then, during the second part of the year the application of the findings takes place in a project designed by the students. This involves integrating a small building in a natural surrounding, putting together functional and constructive elements in a coherent spacial order and mastering the graphical representation.

In this way, we try to improve the consciousness of our students on these par- ticular problems as is the wish of the Inter- national Federation for Housing and Planning (IFHP).