Vernacular’s Vocation within Contemporary Architecture

Vernacular’s Vocation within Contemporary Architecture

BARCELONA INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE 2011-2012beau Tyler Durham


Lessons from Vernacular Architecture

Transition to a Mechanically Controlled Climate

A Contemporary Architect’s Climatic Respopnse

Contemporary Comparisons of Relative Examples

Truth in Material

Layered Manipulation

A Shift To Materiality

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Vernacular’s Vocation within Contemporary Architecture02


The idea of a climatic responsive, or appropriate, architecture lies in the essence of why architecture was developed in the first place. Something created to protect early man from harsh environmental elements. Defined in the most simplistic of terms with Marc-Antoine Laugier’s ‘primitive hut’. At the time, this was a harsh criticism of the state of architecture in 1750. He was calling for architects to return to a time when building elements where functional not decorative. A trap we are still falling into today. The ‘primitive hut’ was meant to break architecture down to the most basic of elements, a shelter for which made life possible, or at least more comfortable. By protecting its inhabitants from the major climatic concerns of the location. Resulting in a unique vernacular architecture specific to each culture around the globe.

1. Frontispiece of Marc-Antoine Laugier: Essai sur l’architecture 2nd ed. 1755 by Charles Eisen (1720-1778). Allegorical engraving of the Vitru-vian primitive hut.

Over time, early cultures developed a climatic appropriate architecture through the resources at hand, independent of technology. Through time these societies steadily progress in refining their building techniques and materials. Although, especially in the last one hundred years, a series of advancements within technology/industry quickly replaced the local material palatte. Mechanical systems and material innovations forced our vernacular architectural vocabularies to be forgotten, or just relegated to an aesthetic/cultural decision. In a time when energy consumption is a major concern architects are beginning to question how they use/see the tools available to them to adjust interior climates they create. Philippe Rahm focuses in on one aspect of this movement and compares it previous architectural revolutions.

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“…reversal of the position of the thermal insulation entails a set of technical changes and architectural, structural and climatic conditions as was seen in the 1920’s with the emergence of concrete. Of course issues are not the same; it is not the public health and industrialization that has instigated change but globalization and ecology.” 1

Thus, sparking a movement away from the hermetically sealed building, or at least how we deal with it. All aspects of this movement are attempting to create an architecture which brings its inhabitants back in touch with the environment around them. Forming a new perspective of the tools we have available to us today. Calling back to vernacular architecture’s climatic focus on materials, but with a modern material palatte.

Lessons from Vernacular Architecture

“Vernacular architecture comprises the dwellings and all other buildings of the people. Related to their environmental contexts and available resources, they are customarily owner- or community-built, utilizing traditional technologies. All forms of vernacular architecture are built to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies and ways of living of the cultures that produce them.” 2

Vernacular architecture, or as a matter of fact any building, can be broken down to three basic design decisions; location, form, and material. A decision made in either category has climatic benefits and/or consequences3, especially when considering the realm of vernacular architecture. To our ancestors all three of these points were based around a solid understanding of the local climate, or location. Relating how the decision, in each point, can protect or benefit from particular climatic aspect. A building’s location determines the available materials, which could be used in construction. Following this decision the properties of the selected material inherently determines the architecture’s form. Location, form, and material all inform and play off each other, but within the culture of vernacular architecture material is the focal point.

Considering location, the builders of primitive architecture, had little to no choice. If the population was from ‘x’ location, a major movement to a new (or easier) climatic paradigm was not an option. The options they did have were more based on a micro level versus the macro. A decision to settle at a base of a cliff or near

1 Rahm, Philippe. “Is External Thermal Insulation Going to Revolutionize the Architecture of the 21st Century?” Conditions 2011: 46-55.Print.2 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. xxiii3 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 127

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4 McLennan, Jason F. The Philosophy of Sustainable Design: The Future of Architecture. Kansas City, MO: Ecotone, 2004. Print. 5 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 609

a body of water determined their microclimate within their region for more a comfortable environment. To the contemporary architect, this is something we know well through the trend of green washing “Sustainable design is built on the idea of regionalism. It honors the differences that exist between places, both on the macro level with climate regions, and on the micro level with topographical and biological differences”4. Early society understood the ideals of regionalism in principle, but the decision to settle near such geographic landmarks was probably based more on what could be harvested from a body of water or forest, than one of climatic points of view. Climate was just an added benefit.

The forms of primitive architecture tended to be simple. In most instances they are rectangular, conical, or spherical5, which is dependent on the selected material to be used. For example, ample amounts of animal hides and small trees available to the Plains people of North America dictated the shape of the tipi. Or in the extreme circumstances of the Inuit of the Sub-Arctic all they had to build with was snow, hence the creation of the igloo. This is not necessarily a different

=2. Potawatomi Wigwam Frame Drawing

Despite being separated by hundreds of years of technological advancements, these two structures are essentially the same. Both forms are broken down to a simple geometric pattern, to play on the on the strengths of the material. The flexibility of the saplings in the wigwam, allow the possibility to form crossing arches. While the rigidity of Lake Shore Drive’s steel makes it appropriate to break the building into blocks and stack them on top of each other.

3. Lake Shore Drive Apartments Under Construction, 1950

approach than we see today. Just as it was then architectural form takes the Occam’s Razor approach to geometry. The simplest geometry, which capitalizes on the materials properties, is how those materials should be assembled. Material was the basis of design, because it was all they had, they had no

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choice. Logical geometric assembly of that material created the form. Given the location the one or two materials possibly used would be assembled to respond to the environment, which meant in some cultures allowing the building to be manipulated seasonally. Form was based on what the available material could do. If the material could not be curved the building would not be curved; if the material was thin it was applied in multiple layers. This simplistic approach to ‘truth in material’ is quite the departure from what we saw from Sullivan and Wright during the 20th century. When compared to the igloo, this modernist tenant to design seems to be obscured by their building ideology.

This is not meant to be a criticism of modernist design decisions, but a criticism of how architects have disconnected themselves from materiality. A loss of how, in their most basic form, materials can assist in a building’s climatic performance. To the early societies, the choice of a material palate was not an option. The chosen material spoke of their culture/location in addition to performing climatically. From the 20th and 21st century’s these sort of meanings rarely coincided. In the case of Mies, the stone and glass of the Barcelona Pavilion does neither of these. The partitions are little more than a windscreen and the chosen materials speak nothing of its location, or Germany. It only speaks of the ideals of the architectural movement. A more current example of this disconnect, is Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The stainless steel 6 used to clad the curvilinear form was chosen because it is one of a small number of materials that could replicate the sketch. In both instances the materials selected had no influence on the form or location, it was a selection on how to achieve the form. In contrast to these two examples, the material selections of architects Herzog &

4. Disney Concert Hall Prilimnary Sketch

With sketches like these one begins to understand this approach to materials. The ambiguity of it can only result in the sculptural form reigning supreme over any design decisions. Materiality is an after thought.

5. Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles CA, 2003

6 Gehry, Frank O. Frank Gehry: 1996-2003. Madrid: El Croquis, 2003. Print. 52

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7 Rahm, Philippe. “Is External Thermal Insulation Going to Revolutionize the Architecture of the 21st Century?” Conditions 2011: 46-55. Print8 Fernández-Galiano, Luis. Herzog & De Meuron 1978-2007. Madrid: Arquitectura Viva SL, 2007. Print. 2129 Banham, Reyner. The Architecture of the Well-tempered Environment. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1969. Print. 18

de Meuron, though may not have climatic implications, do deal with the story of the buildings location. Their “aesthetic choices focused on the identity of the skin of the building, referencing either industrial, rustic, urban or historic features, depending on the context of the new building.”7 No better example of this is seen at their Schaulager Art Warehouse in Basel, Switzerland. Here the exterior walls “reveal the pebbles from the building work excavations.” 8 tell a story of place. If the same ‘technique’ was used elsewhere, the result would be completely different and this building would not make sense if moved to another location. A story told all through the history of vernacular architecture.

6. Mesa Verde_Colorado, USA

Just as Herzog and de Meuron visually extruded their building from their site, the ruins of Mesa Verde tell the same story. Every stone stacked upon each other was made from the grounds sur-rounding the building. Visually rotating the ground plane ninety degrees. This approach was not uncommon throughout primitive architecture, but to see this approach today is unprecedented.

7. Schaulager Art Warehouse_Basel, Switzerland

Transition to a Mechanically Controlled Climate

…”in order (for man) to flourish, rather than merely survive mankind needs more ease and leisure than a barefisted, and barebacked, single-handed struggle to exist could permit.” 9

This loss of knowledge, or at the least misinterpretation, is a shame. In a time where energy usage and building cost is of highest concern a renewal of the understanding of how vernacular architecture used materials is of the highest priority. Though how did we forget this vocabulary? Ultimately it was human nature’s need to control the environment around us. From a climatic stand point,

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Fanger’s predicted mean vote established a series of ways human’s determine climatic comfort: air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air motion, relative humidity, the body’s metabolism, and the thermal quality of clothing 10. The first four of the list can and are often dealt with through architecture. Though the last two are dependent on the user, but these are only partial solutions to the climatic problem to architects. You can be bundled up in a parka, scarf and boots, but you would still feel uncomfortable falling asleep outside in the middle of a snowstorm.

Reyner Banham created a modified version of this list; how we as architects design to control our immediate climate: dryness during rainstorms, heat in the winter, chill in the summer and acoustic and visual privacy 11. Depending on the location this either means a capturing/containing of energy (heat) or the expulsion of it. Forming a ‘conservative mode’ and a ‘selective mode’ 12. Through history as architecture developed from the primitive form to its contemporary definition, materiality always had a place. In low humidity, hot and cold climates walls began to be built out of materials of low conductivity. In addition to becoming increasingly thick, to be able to trap the energy, or in the case of hot climates trap the cool of the night, to be used through the night. While high humidity climates moved toward an architecture which attempted to expose as many surfaces as possible to prevailing breezes. These concepts in conjunction with tall spaces and lightweight materials, defines the base architectural solutions in these climatic conditions.

In both cases these ‘new’ ideas are just a further development on primitive vernacular architecture’s precedents, thus creating a new vernacular architecture. With the continuous development of building technologies and how they control the interior climate, materiality became less and less of a concern, especially when society moved toward a new industrial model. Architecture at the turn of the century tried to respond to these changes by systematically closing up and sealing their buildings from exterior conditions. This became possible with the development of both mechanical heating and cooling air exchange systems.

This is not saying that the architect’s of the time, or now, lost an interest in materials. They have just replaced how they can improve the architecture’s interior climate through materials with an interest in what modern industry can do with the materials. The Crystal Palace of Paris’ Great Exhibition would never have been built without this shift of materiality focus. If it was not for this fascination

10 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 12911 Banham, Reyner. The Architecture of the Well-tempered Environment. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1969. Print. 1812 Banham, Reyner. The Architecture of the Well-tempered Environment. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1969. Print. 24

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with the industrial machine architecture would never have been able design the towering structures we see all over the world. The perfecting of steel and glass manufacturing lead to the ability to create the architecture we know today, but none of this would be possible with out the development of HVAC systems. It allowed the architect to pass off climatic concerns to an engineer and focus in on the building’s aesthetics and effectively leaving an architectural tradition of ignoring climatic concerns.

8. The front entrance of the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London that housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first World’s Fair.

A Contemporary Architect’s Climatic Respopnse

“Despite (or perhaps because of) the steady progress in building technology, in new materials, in legislation and subsidies, and a rapidly growing demand on a international market, most ecological architecture naively imitates either high-tech machinery or grass toot bricolage. It has no formal vocabulary of its own and hovers somewhere between space age and Stone Age.” 13

During the energy crisis for the 1970’s the hippy movement moved to an extreme looking for of an energy free architecture. An architectural rejection of technology and replaced it with something, which looked like a modernized form of vernacular architecture. Relying on the principles of thermodynamics to control their buildings, instead of machines. Up until this point architecture/architects had become so codependent on mechanical assisted climitization that they where inseparable. Though the two, out side of the Pompidou Center in Paris, rarely ever addressed each other. Architects dealt with form, function and circulation and the engineers dealt with the environment. The energy crisis reopened they eyes of architects to climatic concerns. Many of the movement tried to retake control over the climate they created through architecture. As the crisis began to subside, postmodern architect’s ideals became the prevalent

13 Ursprung, Philip. “Against Naturalism: Abalos+Sentkiewicz and the Beauty of Sustainability.” 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 4-12. Print. 6

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9. Stephan Behling Two-Triangle Diagram dipict-ing the past and future of architectural design, in regards to climate.

train of thought; moving concerns of climate to something of less importance once again. Though despite the architect decline of interest the engineering community continued to push forward in the fields of interior/exterior climate controls. Exaggerating the gaps of knowledge between the two fields.

Accelerating to today, thermodynamic architecture has morphed into a style of its own. It has moved far from its roots of louvered windows and trombe walls, to a vocabulary based on computer-generated parameters and calculations. Forms never possible before, based on studies of local climates, have become the standard. Giving the illusion of a climate appropriate design. Though in many of these circumstances the architects are just replacing the ideology of industry

from modernism to an ideology of climate. The Stephan Behling two-triangle diagram, illustrates this philosophy. In the diagram he calls for a change of perspective of how the architect considers climate control 14. Instead of just leaving active systems to do the majority of work, he calls for architectural form to carry the burden. Harking back on the modernist idiom ‘form follows function’ or as Philippe Rahm argues “form and function, follow climate” 15. This is a movement in the right direction for a climate appropriate architecture, by putting less of a demand on nonrenewable energy sources. In addition to making the community inhabiting them more aware of their climate. Though the problem with these buildings is as a whole they do not capture the idea of their form.

Architecture is once again returning to constructing buildings, which respond to location. There is a call for architects to use the plethora of tools available to them to once again truly understand their building’s climate. Ábalos+Sentkiewicz’s Porte de la Chapelle Tower proposal for Paris, encapsulates this movements ideals. Its rounded form decreases wind speeds around the building, to allow a practical cross ventilation strategy throughout the building. Holding a beauty in its thermodynamic qualities, by only making sense through being intrinsically tied to the localized climate parameters of Paris. Just like the Schaulager Art

14 Ábalos, Iñaki. “Thermodynamic Beauty.” 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 127-36. Print. 12815 Rahm, Philippe. “Form and Function Follow Climate.”

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10. Ábalos+Sentkiewicz’s Porte de la Chapelle Tower proposal for Paris.

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Warehouse mentioned previously, this building precise form would not make sense anywhere else. Though in contrast Herzog and de Meuron’s building made sense locally because of materials and this project makes sense climatically.

Contemporary Comparisons of Relative Examples

“We are more likely to notice the function of something if there are times when it is not in operation, to notice the significance of something’s presence if there are times when it is not there.“ 15

With all the technological advancements in the world of architecture why should we take a step back and look to our past? Primitive vernacular architecture inhabitants had a physical connection to their architecture, which we do not have today. The problems with the current thermodynamic trends is that only the architect is in touch with a buildings climatic needs. End users do not understand how thermal comfort is created, resulting many times in excessive energy use. By looking back we are able to understand how to manipulate architectural materials on the most basic levels to assist in our interior climate needs. This is not a call to move back to the cave 17, but one for us to become more in tune with the architectural experience. With the opportunity to study a primitive architecture from around the globe, we are able to piece together these principles of materiality to form a new architectural paradigm.

To begin to understand how this can be applied, an in depth look at some of the most extreme solutions, for both hot and cold climates, of vernacular architecture’s thermal comfort solutions would prove to be helpful. In the case of cold climates the igloos of the Inuit tribes of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions will be studied. For the hot climates the khaïma of the Maures peoples from the Western Sahara will be considered.

The igloo is an architectural creation of necessity. Through the long harsh winters temperatures consistently stay well below freezing for months at a time. On top of the extreme temperature conditions, the availability of materials is extremely limited. Snow is the only option. Despite there being a few different iterations, whether it be size, multiple rooms, or windows made of ice 18, a few items they all have in common. Curved shaped bricks of snow, stacked in a parabolic dome, using the properties of the material as a structural device. As an insulator, snow is an effective choice. At .00026 cm2C/cm, its rate of thermal conductivity falls

16 Heschong, Lisa. Thermal Delight in Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1979. Print. 3717 Ábalos, Iñaki. “Thermodynamic Beauty.” 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 127-36. Print. 12918 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 179519 “Thermal Conductivity.” Thermal Conductivity. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/thrcn.

html>.

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11. Inuit IglooVisually the form of the two buildings is similar, but structural they are complete opposites. The snow bricks of the igloo work in compression, while Fuller’s domes work in tension. Though functionally different, when considering the structural principles of the material they are once again similar. The ideal structural performance properties of the bricks are the most efficient under com-pression and the same can be said for the use of tension with the steel within the geodesic dome. Both buildings capture the ideal geometry of their chosen building material.

12. Buckminster Fuller Geodesic Dome

near the range of masonry 19. Revealing that the snow acts as a thermal mass, to delay the energy transfer. Once constructed a small fire would be placed in the center of the created space. Not only does this produce heat within the space, but it also melts the inside of the snow bricks creating a continuous ice membrane, stopping an energy loss through the porous building material. The architectural form is so effective that the interior climate of the igloo can be as much as 36oC more than the exterior conditions 20. The basic design of the igloo is a continuous homogeneous shell designed to contain energy, with a minimal entrance on the leeward side and a small smoke hole at the apex of the dome to expel the smoke from the fire.

According to Buckminster Fuller, when talking about his geodesic domes said they are “the strongest, lightest, and most efficient means of enclosing space yet known to man” 21. Despite the igloo not being designed to be airlifted to its site, in both cases all the elements work harmoniously together to isolate the user from the climate outside of the structure. Just as the igloo used snow, his domes used the inherent properties of the building materials, “a transparent plastic hemisphere fitted closely over the surface of the globe, and a spring-steel triangle punched with holes” 22 to create an inhabitable space, which captures/contains energy for use by the inhabitants.

The opposite of the igloo would be a building typology, which is meant to expel

20 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 13021 Gorman, Michael John. Buckminster Fuller: Designing for Mobility. Milan: Skira, 2005. Print. 11522 Gorman, Michael John. Buckminster Fuller: Designing for Mobility. Milan: Skira, 2005. Print. 115

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energy. Found in dessert climates, the basic buildings of this region are light and airy. A design, which blocks the intense solar gains of the day and allows the building to be opened up and cooled at night. In the Western Sahara the Maures people’s khaïma tents fits the description perfectly. The khaïma is a rectangular tent structure comprising of small saplings as structure. Covered with a black woven fabric made of sheep’s wool and young camel hair 23. The thinness of the fabric allows the building to breath and the color of the fabric ceased any transference of energy from the sun to the living space. Assisting in this is that wool is an excellent insulator, at .0001 cm2C/cm making it comparable to polystyrene 24. In addition to its thermal properties the fabric would swell at first contact with water, essentially making the entire structure waterproof 25. Here the building uses its material to block the main contributor of thermal discomfort, the sun. While at the same time utilizing the form of the building to tackle another, ventilation.

SANAA’s proposal for the extension of the Instituto Valenciano of Modern Art, captures the material mentality of the khaïma. Here a lacquered perforated steel skin replaces the woolen fabric. Located along the warm Mediterranean coast of Spain, the necessity to control sun and wind exposure is crucial. The nature

13. Khaïma Tent_ Western Sahara

Here exemplifies the diversity of ways a material can be used. Especially, how materials with vastly different properties can perform in nearly identical ways, solely depending on how they are applied within the architecture.

14. Instituto Valenciano of Modern Art Proposal_SANAA

of the selected material turns harsh direct sunlight into subtle indirect daylight 26, removing the main climatic concerns of the area. In addition the nature of the material allows for natural ventilation to expel unwanted energy, just as the form of the khaïma. Both are single materials draped over a space, making it inhabitable/comfortable by controlling the sun and allowing ventilation.

23 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 210624 “Thermal Conductivity.” Thermal Conductivity. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/thrcn.html>.25 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 210626 Obiol, Cecília. Boma. [S.l.]: [s.n.], 2010. Print.

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27 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print. 187828 Nabokov, Peter, and Robert Easton. Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print. 15329 Nabokov, Peter, and Robert Easton. Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print. 156

Looking at the extremes is only useful to an extent. Given that most of the worlds population does not live in such an environment, but one that lays a little bit in both. In environments where our ancestors had to deal with both ends of the spectrum this demanded an architecture of material flexibility. Two examples known around the world, at least visually, which exemplifies this is the yurt of the nomadic tribes of Mongolia and the tipi of the North American Plains people groups.

Starting with the Tipi, many groups of the American Midwest used this typology due to its ease of mobility, but Blackfeet and Crow groups where know for having the finest craftsmanship of the building type 27. It was developed to be easily manipulated based on varying climate conditions, and lightweight for easy transport by dogs and later horses. The three or four structural post cone shape designs consist of a steeper side facing the prevailing western winds, with the entrance facing the leeward. The posts were finally covered with a cover created from bison hides 28. The most intriguing aspect to the tipi design is based on how they manipulated the coverin response to climatic needs. By hanging additional hides, or a dew cloth, along the inside, assisted in creating an updraft from the fire pit. Though it also created a pocket where grasses could be stuffed for added insulation during the cold winter months. Finally, in the summer the base of the tipi was lifted up for additional cross ventilation 29.

The Yurt of Mongolia is extremely similar to the tipi. A wooden frame arranged in a circular pattern and draped with a fabric made of local materials. In form it goes for a more cylindrical shape instead of a conical one. The second difference lies

15. CrowTipi Camp

Though on total opposite ends of the globe, both the Plains groups and Mongolian peoples, cre-ated a similar architectural response to their similar climates.

16 . Mongolian Yurt Camp

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in the available material for covering. The Mongolian people where/are known primarily as herdsmen. So instead of tanned hides of buffalos, here they made felt sheets and rugs from the hair of the animals they herded. The uniformity of their material selection made it easy for them to add and remove sheets as needed to the façade. During the summer, facades would consist of three layers of felt but during the winter the number could increase to as many as twelve.

In the cases of the yurt and tipi, an architecture was developed to adapt their mobile lifestyle, consisting of lightweight structural components and adaptable layered façades 30. It is by no mistake that all the examples of vernacular architecture given above are from nomadic tribes. Their architecture of mobility forced a simplification of form with a foundation of material functionality not nearly as developed in the non-nomadic people groups. Something which some architects are starting to return to, but not to the extent as done by our ancestors.

Today there are a few projects, which use this vernacular approach to materiality. Here they will be laid out into two categories. One following the ‘truth in materials’ approach, as seen in the igloo and Khaïma. The second following the layered manipulation approach seen in the tipi and yurt.

Truth in Material

“...design and performance cannot be disassociated from the network of systems and agencies that underwrite and determine a building” 31

In approach Lacaton & Vassal treat materials like those of our ancestors, they disassociate any ‘meaning’ from the material selected and only consider how the material functions 32. With this approach any material can be used and

17. Lacaton & Vassal’s Latapie House, 1993

will be used based on the materials properties. This philosophy is apparent in their Latapie House project. The polycarbonate addition may have the appearance, to our contemporary eyes, as cheap. Though for this situation it is the material to be used. A material was needed to allow as much light back into the 30 Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print.31 Moe, Kiel. Thermally Active Surfaces in Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010. Print. 32 Ruby, Ilka, and Andreas Ruby. “Naïve Architecture: Notes on the Work of Lacaton & Vassal.” 2G N.21 Lacaton & Vassal 2002. Print.

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33 Chipperfield, David. David Chipperfield: 1991-2001. [El Escorial]: El Croquis Editorial, 2001. Print. 45634 Ábalos, Iñaki. “Thermodynamic Beauty.” 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 127-36. Print. 128

original portion of the house and have the ability to capture/contain energy during the winter. The material is lightweight, which allows any potential lighting gains not to be encumbered by oversized structural elements. Finally the material dictated the form. It covers the entire back of the house to form a thermal barrier to the rest during the winter and the tall ceiling over inhabitable space allows for excessive energy gained during the summer to move away from this space.

The Des Moines Public Library by David Chipperfield is another example of this approach, but with a more technical material palate. Here “laminated between two glass surfaces, a layer of expanded copper mesh reduces glare and solar gain, the copper is the only shading device, creating a continuous view.” 33 The material selection is not just aesthetic; it serves a specific climatic function. Though the copper could very well be replaced with most another other metals, it is how it is manufactured which dictates its thermal benefits to the building. Reminiscent of the stone and wood mashrabiyas solar screens from the Middle East. Where in both instances suc is controlled with a grill made of a material with a low rate of conductivity Chipperfield was able to incorporate vernacular principles within a contemporary material context.

18. Traditional Mashrabiya

The copper screen wall seen in the Chipperfield project is the high-tech material version of the mashrabiya. Both offer protection from the sun, while allowing some filtered day light into the inhabitable space. The improvement of materials within the library’s façade allowed for greater amounts of light to enter the space, than could have been achieved with a traditional mashrabi-ya, while offering the same amount of protection.

19. Des Moines Public Library, David Chipperfield. 2006

Layered Manipulation

“This approach combines sensors and new materials for composing increasingly complex and sophisticated outer walls, often-all too often- applied to badly conceived, old and ugly buildings” 34

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The tipi/yurt sort of user-manipulated façade is not seen often, or at all, today. This is probably for the better given the complexity of today’s architecture. Though the idea, or approach of layering brings to mind a hand full of projects, which tackle this idea from a few different angles. Philippe Rahm’s Tadeusz Kantor Museum proposal for Krakow Poland, approaches the concept of

20. Philippe Rahm Architectes, Tadeusz Kantor Mu-seum proposal. Interior

layered manipulation in a truly inspirational way. Instead of a layering within the façade, they treat the whole building as a façade. Through the layering of rooms of glass he creates completely different atmospheric conditions as you move further into the building. Stated in his words, “architecture finds here, in its own language and in the energy needs related to sustainable development, the means to create interpretable spaces, extraordinary, freely opened to the future behaviors and functions.” 35 Though the façade itself is not manipulatable, the user manipulates their location within the façade based on their needs.

Sauerbruch Hutton’s KfW Bankengruppe office building in Frankfurt is probably the closest to an adaptable-layered façade typology. Here the double façade system offers natural ventilation independent of external conditions 36. Though instead of adding layers of materials, they use air as a material for thermal comfort and manipulate that accordingly with the façade. From a environmental perspective this building is probably one of the most technically advanced. Automatic sensors manipulate the outer façade’s needs, but the inner façade is still operable by giving the user complete flexibility.

These are only two of the contemporary architects, though possibly inadvertently, which capitalize on the theories of our past. By developing a climatically effective architecture, not based around technology or form, but around what materials can do. Creating a culture of architecture, which not only shows a truth of material but a truth, which reveals itself to its inhabitants through a material climatic manipulation.

35 “Museum Kantor - Philippe Rahm Architectes.” Museum Kantor - Philippe Rahm Architectes. Web. 20 May 2012. <http://www.philipperahm.com/data/projects/museumkantor/index.html>.36 2G N.52 Sauerbruch Hutton 2010. Print. 108

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21. An Oglala Lakota tipi, 1891

23. Typical tipi plan

Not only do these two buildings work similarly through a process of layering materials and manipulating them as required, but also both forms are designed with wind being a major con-sideration. With the technology available to them Sauerbruch Hutton where able to calculate precisely the implications of their form had on air movement. Allowing them to control the in-terior climate more accurately. While the tipi’s oblong form is designed to shed the high winds of the Plains more efficiently. Creating the minimal amount of turbulence for cross ventilation strategies.

22. KfW Bankengruppe Office, Frankfurt, 2010

25. KfW Bankengruppe Office 24. KfW Bankengruppe Plan

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A Shift To Materiality

Unlike the energy movement of the 1970’s, this focus of energy efficient architecture will not fade. From this point forward climatic efficient buildings will be a necessity not an option. The architecture community needs to rally around this concept, without waving the flag of current buzzwords such as ‘green’, ‘eco’, or ‘sustainability’. By releasing these popular ideologies from our community’s lexicon, it frees us to be proactive and investigate the potential within the palate of tools we have available. Architects need to be aware of the influx in technology out there with the ability to be integrated into architecture, which has the potential to forever change the landscape of the built environment.

Currently there are a handful of architects actually attempting to use the tools available to them. Some of the previously mentioned are among a growing number of innovative architects, who want to change the face of architecture. Though because they are on the fore front of this technology each group tends to focus on one aspect to improve their architecture: Philippe Rahm focuses on active systems, Sauerbruch Hutton focuses on innovative technology, Ábalos+Sentkiewicz push the limits of a building’s potential within its form. Though many of them miss the potential of materials our ancestors knew so well. The future of architecture lies in the interconnectivity of location, form, and materiality to perform in the most efficient way possible. A shift of focus of materials, especially how they climatically perform, will only change architecture for the better. Though this cannot be achieved with our current perspective of merely choosing/applying materials like we do “wallpaper” . We need ot research and adopt our ancestors view of materials. A view whch due to necessity understood the thermal properties of any material they used. This is not a claim for architects to radicalize their material choices and decided to build with snow. It is a call for us to know the thermal implications of how and when we should use wood, steel, and concrete. Additionally we need to be open to the potential of free manipulation of our façades after occupancy by the inhabitants. Thus once again allowing the user to master their climatic needs naturally, through the materials we chose to offer them. We as a community of builders and designers need to reevaluate our view of materials and align our choices with the point of view of our ancestors.

35 Rahm, Philippe. “Is External Thermal Insulation Going to Revolutionize the Architecture of the 21st Century?” Conditions 2011:

46-55. Print.

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Vernacular’s Vocation within Contemporary Architecture 20


Works Cited

2G N.52 Sauerbruch Hutton 2010. Print.

Ábalos, Iñaki. “Thermodynamic Beauty.” 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 127-36. Print.

Banham, Reyner. The Architecture of the Well-tempered Environment. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1969. Print

Chipperfield, David. David Chipperfield: 1991-2001. [El Escorial]: El Croquis Editorial, 2001. Print.

Fernández-Galiano, Luis. Herzog & De Meuron 1978-2007. Madrid: Arquitectura Viva SL, 2007. Print. 212

Gehry, Frank O. Frank Gehry: 1996-2003. Madrid: El Croquis, 2003. Print.

Gorman, Michael John. Buckminster Fuller: Designing for Mobility. Milan: Skira, 2005. Print.

Heschong, Lisa. Thermal Delight in Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1979. Print.

McLennan, Jason F. The Philosophy of Sustainable Design: The Future of Architecture. Kansas City, MO: Ecotone, 2004. Print.

Moe, Kiel. Thermally Active Surfaces in Architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010. Print.

“Museum Kantor - Philippe Rahm Architectes.” Museum Kantor - Philippe Rahm Architectes. Web. 20 May 2012. <http://www.philipperahm.com/data/projects/museumkantor/index.html>.

Obiol, Cecília. Boma. [S.l.]: [s.n.], 2010. Print.

Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print

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Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print.

Oliver, Paul. Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1997. Print.

McLennan, Jason F. The Philosophy of Sustainable Design: The Future of Architecture. Kansas City, MO: Ecotone, 2004. Print.

Nabokov, Peter, and Robert Easton. Native American Architecture. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print. 153

Rahm, Philippe. “Form and Function Follow Climate.”

Rahm, Philippe. “Is External Thermal Insulation Going to Revolutionize the Architecture of the 21st Century?” Conditions 2011: 46-55. Print.

Ruby, Ilka, and Andreas Ruby. “Naïve Architecture: Notes on the Work of Lacaton & Vassal.” 2G N.21 Lacaton & Vassal 2002. Print.

“Thermal Conductivity.” Thermal Conductivity. Web. 18 May 2012. <http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/thrcn.html>.

Ursprung, Philip. “Against Naturalism: Abalos+Sentkiewicz and the Beauty of Sustainability.” 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 4-12. Print.

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Extended Bibilography

Cachola, Schmal Peter. Workflow: Struktur-Architektur = Architecture-engi-neering : Klaus Bollinger + Manfred Grohmann. Basel: Birkhäuser--Verlag Für Architektur, 2004. Print.

Gawne, Eleanor, and Michael Snodin. Exploring Architecture: Buildings, Meaning and Making. London: V & A, 2004. Print.

Krinsky, Carol Herselle. Contemporary Native American Architecture: Cultural Regeneration and Creativity. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. Print.

Lovell, Jenny. Building Envelopes: An Integrated Approach. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2010. Print.

Mazria, Edward. The Passive Solar Energy Book. Emmaus, PA: Rodale, 1979. Print.

Oliver, Paul. Built to Meet Needs: Cultural Issues in Vernacular Architecture. Amsterdam: Architectural, 2006. Print.

Steen, Athena Swentzell, Bill Steen, and Eiko Komatsu. Built by Hand: Vernacular Buildings around the World. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2003. Print.

Rudofsky, Bernard. The Prodigious Builders: Notes toward a Natural History of Architecture with Special Regard to Those Species That Are Traditionally Neglected or Downright Ignored. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977. Print.

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Vernacular’s Vocation within Contemporary Architecture 24


Image Refrences

1. http://galatea.univ-tlse2.fr/pictura/UtpicturaServeur/GenerateurNotice.php?numnotice=A5361

2. http://www.cowasuck.org/facts/wigwam.cfm

3. http://randosukeipu.tumblr.com

4. http://archidialog.com/2011/10/24/learning-from-frank-gehry-chapter-1-his-design-tools/

5. http://pdphoto.org/PictureDetail.php?mat=pdef&pg=8088

6. Fernández-Galiano, Luis. Herzog & De Meuron 1978-2007. Madrid: Arquitec-tura Viva SL, 2007. Print. 212

7. http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:Cliff_Palace_Mesa_Verde_National_Park_Col-orado_USA.JPG

8. http://www.uh.edu/engines/greatex.gif

9. Ábalos, Iñaki. “Thermodynamic Beauty.” 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 127-36. Print. 128

10. 2G N.56 Ábalos+Sentkiewicz 2011: 127-36. Print. 61

11. http://www.sfu.ca/archaeology-old/museum/danielle_longhouse/keepers/housing.html

12. http://designmuseum.org/__entry/4826?style=design_image_popup

13. http://cyberberbere.com/images/Antiatlas/khaima.jpg

14. Obiol, Cecília. Boma. [S.l.]: [s.n.], 2010. Print.

15. http://prints.encore-editions.com/500/0/the-great-hostile-camp.jpg

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16. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_i6VpxUQF2hk/TRt0_qiNW5I/AAAAAAAABxw/owMxrsBcYs4/s1600/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-3.JPG

17. http://www.thehousevote.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/latapie-house-by-lacaton-vassal.jpg

18. http://www.archdaily.com/17517/san-pablo-urbana/172419123_6-islamic-mashrabiya/

19. http://www.archinnovations.com/images/stories/Projects_03/DC_Des_moines/Des_moines_07.jpg

20. http://www.philipperahm.com/data/projects/museumkantor/index.html

21. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oglala_girl_in_front_of_a_tipi2.jpg

22. 2G N.52 Sauerbruch Hutton 2010. Print. 109

23. http://www.worldwisdom.com/uploads/gallery/25.jpg



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Vernacular’s Vocation within Contemporary Architecture

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