Commodification of vernacular architecture
Name: Manasi Chopdekar Student number: 935401 Subject code: ABPL30057 Tutor: Prof. Anoma Pieris Tutorial: Tuesday/ 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Overview Local traditions, building techniques and construction materials are key characteristics of vernacular architecture that most importantly reflects the customs and needs of local dwellers. Today, it is being appropriated, abstracted and used largely by corporate buildings and private dwellings and businesses to cater to the comfort of a more well-off section of society, while negating accessibility to local dwellers. This essay will focus on three key aspects of vernacular architecture that are being appropriated to suit elite comfort, and how that affects their perception of vernacular architecture.
Climate 1. Vernacular architecture - familiarity with its local climate, designed specifically around it. 2. Example - the traditional Malay Kampung house and village addresses its local climatic needs with a distinctive sense of openness and a sloping roof with gable ends on both sides (see fig.1).
3. CASE STUDY - Malaysian architect and planner Tay Kheng Soon’s Kampong Bugis master plan (1989) • aimed to contextualize his concept of a ‘Tropical City’ in Bugis, Singapore. • proposed mixed use high rise buildings to limit people movement within a few buildings to avoid tropical climate (see Fig. 2).
Fig. 1. Climatic design of the traditional Malay Kampung house (Kamal, Wahab, Ahmad 2004, pg. 177)
Fig. 2. Kampong Bugis section view (Roodt 2013, pg. 14)
Aesthetic 1. Vernacular architecture - Simplicity and practicality, with local materials and construction techniques relate built form with traditions of the local people 2. Example - traditional Malay vernacular Longhouse uses local building materials like timber and wood to create long verandahs with multipurpose function for interaction (see fig. 3).
Inversion of public to private 1. Vernacular architecture – publicly accessible nature 2. Example - traditional streetscapes of Goa and Lisbon contain ornamented gateways and arches that act as portals to other parts of the street and are easily accessible by the general public throughout the day.
3. CASE STUDY - Australian architect Kerry Hill’s Datai Langkawi (1993)
3. CASE STUDY - Indian architect and urban planner Charles Correa’s Cidade de Goa (1982)
• uses verandahs as an outdoor space to allow connection between suites (see Fig. 4).
• five-star luxury beach hotel that relates to the streets of Goa and Portugal in its built form.
• Use of local materials exaggerates the Malay vernacular for the elite while the local residents live in standard and simple modern housing typologies.
• The entrance arch partly derived from Viceroy’s Arch in Old Goa feels inviting to those who can afford the hotel’s luxury but acts as a barrier to those who cannot.
Fig. 3. Verandah in traditional Malay longhouse (Hooi 2015, pg. 15)
Fig. 4. Verandah of Datai suite (Roodt 2013, pg. 14)
Fig. 5. Viceroy’s arch, Old Goa (Kamulkar 2017)
Fig. 6. Cidade de Goa gateway (Silveira 2018)
References Fig. 1. Kamal, K.S., Wahab, L.A. and Ahmad, A.C. Climatic design of the traditional Malay house. 2004. Diagram. University Technology Mara, Perak, Malaysia, accessed Oct 21 2019, http://anzasca.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ANZAScA2004_Kamal.pdf Fig. 2. Roodt, Rutger. Kampong Bugis section plan. Diagram. 2013. University of Melbourne, Australia, accessed Oct 21 2019, https://www.academia.edu/22927891/Contextualizing_the_Tropics_Essay_on_Tay_Kheng_Soon Fig. 3. Hooi, Nicole. Verandah of the longhouse. Photograph. 2015. Asian Architecture Project 1 : Case Study, accessed Oct 21 2019, https://issuu.com/nicolehooi/docs/aa_research_paper_ Fig. 4. Hooi, Nicole. Verandah of The Datai Suite. Photograph. 2015. Asian Architecture Project 1 : Case Study, accessed Oct 21 2019, https://issuu.com/nicolehooi/docs/aa_research_paper_ Fig. 5. Kamulkar, Prajakt. Arch of Viceroy, Old Goa. Photograph. 2017. Accessed Oct 21 2019, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arch_of_Viceroy,_Old_Goa.jpg Fig. 6. Silveira, Lester. Cidade de Goa gateway. Photograph. 2018. Accessed Oct 21 2019, https://thebalcao.com/cidade-de-goa-entrance-gateway-demolished/