1. INTRODUCTION

1. INTRODUCTION - THE DISCOVERY OF VERNACULAR-ISM IN THE

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE

‘NATIVE’, ‘MONUMENTAL’, ‘PRESTIGIOUS’, ‘PRIMITIVE’, ‘INDIGENOUS’, ‘TRADITIONAL’, ‘LOCAL’, ‘ARCHITECTURE WITHOUT ARCHITECTS’, ‘FOLK’, ‘RURAL’, ‘ETHNIC’, ‘INFORMAL’, ,…..

There are some common areas of interest, which are common to all these terms or vocabularies. These common areas are making difficulties for the clear distinctions between the terms. Among those, the term which has gained the widest acceptance is ‘vernacular architecture’ with its linguistic comparison to the common people.

Architecture is a unique component of a country's culture just as much as its language, music, art, literature or food. Architecture is also the most visual of those cultural components; the pyramids in Egypt, skyscrapers in New York, a temple in India, all convey a unique image. This is called “genius loci,” the “spirit of a place”. Every country has its own genius loci, its own uniqueness. Vernacular architecture is composed of local materials and derived from local customs, techniques that have been passed on from generation to generation.

Architecture is the physical manifestation of the needs and aspirations of a society and is determined by the environmental, socio-cultural, and political climate of a place or a region. Each period in history can be associated with a genre of architecture, which is reflective of beliefs and achievements of the society it represents. It includes the inter relationships of the built and open spaces within the larger landscape.

Each period in history can be associated with a genre of architecture, which is reflective of beliefs and achievements of the society it represents. Distinctive images representative of each period in history are etched in the collective memory.

For example, taking the case of India, the relics of the indus valley civilisation, the Buddhist stupa and cave temples, the intricately carved Hindu Temples, the Mughal monuments, buildings built by the colonial settlers, as well as the products of the industrial civilisation all form a collage in the urban built environment. They are all architectural masterpieces and provide a distinctive identity to the place.

Every region has therefore evolved an architecture that is a unique combination of the response to the climate, imaginative use of the local materials, resources, technology, traditional knowledge and skills, religious and social customs, and represents the way of life through collective experience of generations.

Hence, this architecture is the architecture of a particular place, a particular people, a particular community. It has two generative forces – culture and context. Vernacular architecture originated when mankind was forced to make use of the natural resources around him, and provide himself shelter and comfort which is responsive to the climate, a shield from the elements.

It is an architecture where the cultural constraints and attitudes pushed architecture inwards whereas climatic factors brought people in the open leading to various spatial options. Although dwellings constitute the majority of the world’s buildings,diverse environments, economies, technologies, inherited skills, social and family structures, belief systems and symbolism, together with many other factors, contribute to the wide variety of built forms of different cultures.

Greater senses of belonging and place have generated elements of social and symbolic values with a definite background a purpose. It is a spiritual entity representation of the cosmic or the divine mode. The ultimate aim is to understand in what relate it to the epoch that has seen its construction, what relate it to its surrounding environment, what relate it to the people who have built it and live in it. It is object-oriented, socially oriented, culturally-oriented and symbolically oriented.

‘Ever since the beginning of the Enlightenment, civilization has been primarily concerned with instrumental reason, while culture has addressed itself to the specifics of expression – to the realisation of the being and the evolution of its collective social reality. The dialectical interplay between civilisation and culture afforded the possibility of maintaining some general control over the shape and significance of the urban fabric’ – Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six points for an Architecture of Resistance, Kenneth Frampton.

‘Architecture touches all, partly because of its scale and public nature and partly because it holds up a very revealing mirror to the kind of society we live in. the built environment reflects our civic priorities, government policies, our attitudes about work and leisure as well as our social relationships. The word architecture implies permanent buildings suitable for a variety of human activities; it also suggests the communication of ideas, emotions and experiences through form’ –ThaparMantoBhalla.

‘The most important movement in architecture today is the revival of the vernacular and classical traditions and their reintegeration into the mainstream of modern architecture in its fundamental aspect: the structure of communities, the building of towns’ – Jan 1991, NY Times, Vincent Scully.

Tradition may be defined as a process of interpretation, adaptation and negotiation with the given conditions and is transmitted over generations to meets the needs and challenges of time. But as we are moving towards globalisation, as global becomes local, the international style of architecture dominates every skyline irrespective of the climate and culture of the place. This new genre of architecture is completely cut off from tradition and dismisses the traditional knowledge base developed over generations.

This rapid transformation of the urban environment is intrinsically linked with the drastic change in the lifestyles, values and beliefs. It can be argued here that as we leave behind our regionalism and become global citizens or follow our desire to embrace tradition and be grounded to our roots at one end or become a developed progressive nation at the other. Does progress signal the end of tradition? Is it possible to create an environment that satisfies contemporary needs and yet is integrated with tradition? Is it possible to bridge the gap between the past and the future?

The aim is to seek answers to these questions and understand that good architecture is always in synchronisation with the environment it is placed and takes care of the anthropological, social and psychological needs of man. It is to understand the lessons learnt from the past and showcase how technology can be used to produce good architecture which is sensitive as well as sustainable. It is essential to critically evaluate the past keeping the culture and traditions in mind and assess the significance and relevance of what is important to the future. It is to pass on to the future generations these cultural traditions of indigenous cultural communities including festivals, rituals, building traditions, values and lifestyle.

This dissertation focuses on how vernacular built heritage is now being seen as an economic, social, and environmental asset and can form the loci for sustainable urban development. Cities and towns are dynamic and continue to adapt themselves to the changing needs and aspirations of the society they house. It is to understand how vernacular buildings make good models for sustainable design lessons and often serve as laboratories for architects as these are comprehensive due to their often simple forms and resourceful use of materials and technology. The dynamic nature of the vernacular traditions allows it to constantly evolve and adapt to the changing sociocultural environment. It will further discuss about shifting definitions of the ‘contemporary’ and the ‘vernacular’, especially in the Indian context in order to shape an architecture that is responsive to contemporary condition, people and context which is a mélange, collage or an assemblage of the contemporary and the vernacular.