Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Modern vernacular architecture'

This thesis examines aspects of the work of American writer and social critic, Lewis Mumford, and the domestic buildings of architect William Wurster. It reveals parallels in their careers, particularly evident in an Arts and Crafts influence and the regional emphasis both men combined with an otherwise overtly Modernist outlook. Several chapters are devoted to the background of, and influences on, Mumford???s regionalism and Wurster???s architecture. Mumford, a spiritual descendent of John Ruskin, admired Wurster???s work for its reflection of his own regionalist ideas, which are traced to Arts and Crafts figures Patrick Geddes, William Morris, William Lethaby and Ruskin. These figures are important to this study, firstly because the influence of their philosophical perspective allowed Mumford, almost uniquely, to position himself as a spokesman for both Romanticism and Modernism with equal validity, and secondly because of their influence upon early Californian architects such as Bernard Maybeck, and subsequently upon Wurster and his colleagues. Throughout the thesis, an important architectural distinction is highlighted between regional Modernism and the International Style. This distinction polarised the American architectural community after Mumford published an article in 1947 suggesting that the ???Bay Region Style??? represented a regionally appropriate alternative to the abstract formulas of International Style architecture and nominated Wurster as its most significant representative. Wurster???s regional Modernism was distinct from the bulk of American Modernism because of its regional influences and its indebtedness to vernacular forms, apparent in buildings such as his Gregory Farmhouse. In 1948, Henry-Russel Hitchcock organised a symposium at New York???s Museum of Modern Art to refute Mumford???s article. Its participants acrimoniously rejected a regionalist alternative to the International Style, and architectural historians have suggested that authentic regional development in the Bay Region largely ceased because of such adverse theoretical and academic scrutiny. After examining the influences on Mumford and Wurster, the thesis concludes that twentieth century regional architectural development in the San Francisco Bay Region has influenced subsequent Western domestic architecture. Wurster suggested that architects should employ the regional and vernacular rather than emulate historical styles or follow theoretical models in their buildings and Mumford, upon whose work Critical Regionalism was later founded, is central to any understanding of the importance of the vernacular, regional and historical in modern architecture.

Peter Reyner Banham (1922-1988) foi um dos críticos e historiadores de arquitetura responsáveis pela revisão crítica do movimento moderno. Esta dissertação pretende abordar o olhar do autor em direção às expressões vernaculares modernas na arquitetura, design na paisagem dos Estados Unidos. Este olhar seria amparado pela relação entre arquitetura e tecnologia. O Primeiro Capítulo consiste em um estudo historiográfico dos deslocamentos intelectuais da Europa aos Estados Unidos da América. A formação das instituições de ensino de arquitetura americanas será investigada, bem como a trajetória de arquitetos, críticos e historiadores de arquitetura europeus, dando destaque a geração de intelectuais ingleses à qual Banham pertence. O Segundo Capítulo investigará a obra de Reyner Banham sobre as relações entre arquitetura moderna e tecnologia, focando em seu estudo crítico a respeito dos historiadores modernos e suas posturas em relação à arquitetura americana. O Terceiro Capítulo é um estudo teórico sobre o olhar de Banham sobre as paisagens culturais dos Estados Unidos, e dos objetos da arquitetura cotidiana, da cultura de consumo de massa, e das expressões anônimas no espaço urbano.
Peter Reyner Banham (1922-1988) was one of the architectural historians responsible for the critical revision of the modern movement. This dissertation aims on the approach on the author\'s view of the modern vernacular expressions in architecture, design in the United States landscape. This specific view have been supported by his experience in the relationship between architecture and technology. The first chapter consist in a historiographical survey on the intellectual displacements from Europe to the United States of America. The formation of the American architecture teaching institutions will be investigated, as the trajectory of the European architects, critics and architectural historians, outlining Reyner Banham\'s generation of British intellectuals. The second chapter visits Reyner Banham\'s works, regarding the relationships between modern architecture and technology, focusing his critical study on the modern historians and how they stand towards American architecture. The third chapter is a theoretical study on Banham\'s view on the cultural landscapes of the U.S., and the objects of everyday architecture, mass consumption culture, and the anonymous expressions in urban spaces.

Previous research has shown that there is a strong link between people, buildings and climate: the building sector contributes up to 30 per cent of global annual greenhouse gas emissions and consumes up to 40 per cent of all energy. Most 20th-century buildings in the world are currently reliant on electro-mechanical cooling systems. Researchers and scholars have studied and analysed the sustainability issues in architecture casting light from different perspectives. However, such studies have seldom paid significant attention to the principles of sustainable Iranian architecture. Environmental sustainability and sustainable architecture in Iran are still relatively new concepts. This research fills the gap on the application of vernacular architecture to modern building design, particularly in the context of Iran and its climate by creating an informed and tested understanding of how vernacular architecture can inform modern building design and techniques. There have been limited studies on vernacular design as a source of knowledge which can contribute to 21st century challenges. The scope of this study is not only limited to Iran as its finding are also applicable to other countries with hot climates. As one of the key contributions, this thesis demonstrates how energy use in buildings can be minimised using such principles that are adopted from Iranian vernacular architecture. The study firstly relies on the state of the art literature review on vernacular architecture in Iran using secondary analysis, and then offers comparisons, analysis and hypotheses testing in the following sections. The challenge of extracting Iranian vernacular architecture principles (IVAP) has been achieved by a multi-method approach. Site observations, sketches, drawings and measurements at the early stages were reinforced by further detailed analysis of the literature beyond IVAP, and supplemented by studies in sustainable design such as passive design. It was found that IVAP have many common elements which are shared today by passive design. The methodology for the above consists of simulation modelling and comparisons of the energy in use for building designed using IVAP versus designs using conventional building techniques in Iran. By using energy software packages (Integrated Environmental Solutions, Design Builder, CC5) it is found that the application of IVAP can significantly improve energy consumption in buildings. The research also explores a novel approach and tests the feasibility of using ‘adobe’ as an insulation material for construction of walls. The analysis involves construction of a wall using this new approach (inspired by IVAP) and testing it in the lab for its energy performance. The findings confirm that as a building material, ‘adobe’ could be potentially a feasible and environmentally friendly substitute to conventional insulation with additional sustainable benefits such as using local materials and preservation of traditional culture in the region. Another contribution of this study is to offer a deeper understanding of the drivers and barriers to the implementation of IVAP in today’s architecture in Tehran, Iran. To achieve this a survey was conducted which revealed that an integral part of the implementation and application of IVAP is education and design of the UG and PG curricula. Recommendations are made to highlight the necessary and critical adjustment to policies regarding promotion of IVAP to safeguard the environment and national and cultural identities.

L'utilisation de matériaux locaux, naturels et non transformés offre des solutions prometteuses de construction à faible impact environnemental. La grande variabilité spatiale de ces matériaux est cependant un obstacle à une utilisation à plus grande échelle. Les stratégies de construction développées par les anciens bâtisseurs ont été dictées par le climat local et la qualité ainsi que la quantité de matériaux de construction disponibles localement. Ces stratégies de construction peuvent être considérées comme une gestion optimisée des ressources locales, naturelles et variables et sont une source d'inspiration pour la construction durable moderne. Malheureusement, cette connaissance a été perdue dans les pays occidentaux au cours du 20ème siècle. La redécouverte des savoir-faire traditionnels requiert le développement de moyens rationnels d’analyse du patrimoine. Un autre problème concernant l'utilisation de matériaux de construction naturels et variables est leur conformité vis-à-vis de la réglementation du secteur du bâtiment. Le développement de procédures d’essais performantiels est proposé comme solution pour faciliter l'utilisation des techniques de construction en terre. Une approche multidisciplinaire est proposée, combinant micromorphologie, pédologie, géotechnique et étude du patrimoine pour analyser le bâti vernaculaire en terre. Cette approche fournit des outils complémentaires pour évaluer la source des matériaux de construction et identifier les caractéristiques géotechniques de la terre employées dans le patrimoine. Il fournit également une description détaillée des processus vernaculaires de construction. En utilisant ces résultats, il a été possible d'élaborer des cartes de ressources et d’estimer l’ordre de grandeur de la disponibilité des ressources à l'échelle d’une région. Deux procédures d’essais performantiels ont été proposées afin de tenir compte de la variabilité naturelle des terres dans le contexte réglementaire actuel. La construction en terre jouera un rôle important dans la construction durable du 21ème siècle si les acteurs du secteur adoptent des procédés de construction capables de répondre à la demande sociale, avec un faible impact environnemental et à un coût abordable. L'étude du patrimoine en terre a démontré la capacité des anciens bâtisseurs à innover afin de se conformer aux variations de la demande sociale et aux développements techniques. La construction en terre bénéficie d'un passé ancien et riche et il convient de tirer profit de ce retour d’expérience. L'analyse du patrimoine en terre et la redécouverte des techniques de construction vernaculaire est une source d'inspiration précieuse pour la construction contemporaine. La valorisation des connaissances vernaculaires permettra d’économiser du temps, de l'énergie et d'éviter de répéter les erreurs passées. L'avenir de la construction de la terre doit s’inscrire dans la continuité de la construction en terre vernaculaire
The use of local, natural and unprocessed materials offers promising low impact building solutions. The wide spatial variability of these materials is, however, an obstacle to a large-scale use. The construction strategies developed by past builders were dictated by the local climate and the quality and the amount of locally available construction materials. These construction strategies can be regarded as an optimized management of local, natural and variable resources and are a source of inspiration for modern sustainable building. Unfortunately, this knowledge was lost in Western countries during the 20th century. Vernacular earth construction know-how rediscovering requires the development of rational built heritage investigation means. Another issue regarding the use of natural and variable building material is their compliance with modern building regulation. The development of performance based testing procedures is proposed as a solution to facilitate the use of earth as a building material. A multidisciplinary approach is proposed, combining micromorphology, pedology, geotechnics and heritage disciplines to study vernacular earth heritage. It provides complementary tools to assess pedological sources of construction material and geotechnical characteristics of earth employed in vernacular earth heritage. It also provides a detailed description of the construction process of vernacular earth heritage. Using these results, it was possible to draw resource maps and provide a scale of magnitude of resource availability at regional scale. Two performance based testing procedures were proposed in order to take into account the natural variability of earth in a modern building context. Earth construction will play an important role in the modern sustainable building of the 21st century if the actors of the sector adopt earth construction processes able to meet social demand, with low environmental impact and at an affordable cost. The study of earth heritage demonstrated the ability of historical earth builders to innovate in order to comply with social demand variations and technical developments. Earth construction benefits of an old and rich past and it would be a non-sense to leave this past behind. The analysis of earth heritage and the rediscovering of vernacular construction techniques is a valuable source of inspiration for modern earth construction. The valorisation of vernacular knowledge will save time, energy and avoid repeating past mistakes. The future of earth construction should be a continuation of past vernacular earth construction

Beijing is the most important and dynamic city in China. A vital ingredient in that success has been its historic environment- its imperial palaces, its temples, its siheyuans, its hutongs- which provides the texture of the Old Beijing city. The historic environment is key to Beijing’s prosperity and a social asset of value. Nearly all the most prosperous and desirable areas in Beijing, the places where people most want to live, work and visit, are those where the historic environment is a dominant influence. The article, “World Heritage Areas: A Critical Analysis”, written by Peter Neville, Hadley in National Post Canada says: UNESCO's World Heritage List is intended to help preserve historic sites, but in China, inclusion on the list can be the kiss of death. The major "carrot" of heritage designation is the increased levels of tourism its prestige generates. Apparently, not only the designated heritage sites, but all the heritages are faced with the fate of being destroyed by tourism and development. Old buildings and lanes in Beijing never stop drawing visitors. The city, even the whole country is now proud of prosperous tourism which is always associated with ‘economic flourishing’. Virtually, every introduction tourism text contains at least one chapter discussing the social, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism. This topic has also been the subject of extensive investigation in the academic literature. However, in regions that are undergoing rapid development and where an ethos of conservation has not been established, often surprising ignorance of the negative consequences of tourism exists. In China, the attitude is still that the benefits of economic development outweigh any adverse costs such development may have. However, such an attitude is now seen as being shortsighted. As a result, a more balanced approach to tourism is advocated, acknowledging both its beneficial and detrimental effects on host communities and their cultures. Conservation is about ensuring that we make the best use of our historic environment. It is a tool for managing change. Some still believe that conservation is simple about preserving the fabric of old buildings unchanged and developing the economic potential of tourism. They failed to see that conservation is an overarching work, the opposite of a wasteful society. It is easy to destroy - and today we have the tools, the money and the technology - but difficult to create. Cultural heritage, areas, landscapes and communities are a finite resource. Once lost they are lost forever. The purpose of conservation is to ensure that destruction is kept to a minimum while allowing creativity and innovation to flourish. We should preserve the town of the past for the man of the future.
published_or_final_version
Conservation
Master
Master of Science in Conservation

Three houses are presented in this book. Each house has been designed with distinct site parameters with the expectation that obvious differences in form would occur. The focus of this investigation lies within the significant parallels that exist between the projects and how those parallels relate to the principles that constitute a framework of operation for a designer.
Master of Architecture

Le débat architectural du début du XXe siècle semble sous-tendu par les oppositions entre les tenants d'une tradition comme transmission historique ou régionale et ceux d'une modernité comme revendication de la tabula rasa. Mais si la modernité « intervient comme une coupure entre le passé et l'avenir […], elle assure aussi la jonction qui permet au passé de s'enrichir et à l'avenir de se souvenir » (Gasselin, 2007). Elle peut ainsi être observée dans les rapports qu'elle entretient avec la tradition, l'intérêt pour les cultures traditionnelles et vernaculaires s'amplifiant simultanément à l'émergence de la modernité architecturale. La thèse interroge les processus de fabrication qui permettent à l'architecte de construire une idée de la modernité architecturale qui se réclame de la tradition. Les enjeux de reconstruction après les guerres mondiales radicalisent les débats, conférant à la presse et aux grandes expositions internationales des rôles stratégiques de diffusion des idées. Les architectes en sont les acteurs principaux. En considérant l'architecture dans toutes ses dimensions de production (édifiée, représentée, écrite et publiée), nous formulons l'hypothèse qu'elle peut être analysée comme médium (c'est-à-dire comme support d'un message) et comme média (c'est-à-dire comme vecteur de communication). Par ailleurs, nous supposons que dans le processus de publication l'architecte fabrique simultanément un imaginaire du passé et une pensée du monde moderne. Nous identifions trois mouvements dans le processus de fabrication de cette pensée de la modernité. Dans un premier temps, nous nous intéresserons au passage de l'architecture édifiée à l'architecture représentée en interrogeant la capacité des architectes à construire des filiations historiques et/ou géographiques, notamment à partir de l'observation de l'existant. Dans un deuxième temps, nous analyserons les relations entre architecture édifiée et architecture publiée en considérant, comme Beatriz Colomina, que le média imprimé permet un « nouveau contexte de production, existant en parallèle au terrain de construction » (Colomina, 1988). Enfin, en étudiant le passage de l'architecture publiée à l'architecture racontée, nous interrogerons le rôle des espaces de publication dans les processus de mise en récit de l'architecture. Afin de conduire cette étude, nous nous appuyons sur la production de l'architecte Albert Laprade (1883-1978). Acteur sur la scène architecturale moderne, il va participer également à la reconnaissance de l'architecture traditionnelle. La diversité de sa production nous permet de constituer un corpus édifié, dessiné et écrit qui s'élabore à partir de la forme publiée de son travail : articles parus sur sa production bâtie (publiés par d'autres architectes),articles écrits par Albert Laprade (presse professionnelle ou non),ouvrages de l'architecte tels que les Albums de croquis
In the early XXth century, the architectural debate in France seems underpinned by the opposition between the proponents of a tradition, as historical or regional transmission, and those of modernity, as a claim of tabula rasa. But if modernity “comes as a cut between past and future […]”, it also ensures the junction that allows the past to enrich itself and the future to remember” (Gasselin, 2007). Thus, tradition can be observed through its relations with tradition, as the interest in traditional or vernacular cultures amplifies simultaneously with the emergence of architectural modernity. The PHD examines the manufacturing processes that allow the architect to build an idea of architectural modernity that claims of tradition.Reconstruction issues after the World Wars radicalized the debate, giving the press and international exhibitions a strategic role of dissemination of ideas, the architects being the main players. Considering architecture in all its production aspects (built, represented, written and published), we hypothesize that it can be analysed as a medium (that is to say, a carrier of a message) and as a media (that is to say, a communication vector). Furthermore, we assume that in the process of publishing, the architect simultaneously produces an imaginary past and a thinking of the modern world.We identify three movements in the manufacturing process of the thought of modernity. First, we will look at the transition from built architecture to represented architecture by querying the architects ability to build historical and / or geographic affiliations, especially from the observation of the existing. Secondly, we analyse the relationship between built architecture and published architecture, considering, as Beatriz Colomina, that the print media enables a “new context of production, existing in parallel to the construction site” (Colomina, 1988). Finally, studying the transition of published architecture to narrated architecture, we will question the role of publication spaces in the architecture storytelling process.To conduct this study, we rely on the production of the architect Albert Laprade (1883-1978). Player on the modern architectural scene, he participated in the recognition of traditional architecture. The diversity of its production allows us to establish a corpus, built, designed and written, that develops from the published form of his work:articles about his builts (published by other architects)articles written by Albert Laprade (trade press or not)books published by the architect as his Albums de croquis

Cette etude propose une analyse globale et detaillee (au niveau de l'architecture) de la facon dont les paysans iraniens ont traditionnellement construit leurs habitations dans leur environnement : essentiellement en fonction du cadre physique, mais aussi de leurs structures et de leurs activites. Apres une vue d'ensemble de l'iran et des grandes lignes et classifications de son habitat rural trois regions, retenues sur la base des conditions climatiques, sont etudiees l'une apres l'autre : - le guilan, representant les regions temperees et humides; - le yazd, representant les regions desertiques, chaudes et seches; - l'azerbaidjan oriental, representant les regions froides et montagneuses. L'accent est egalement mis sur les difficultes rencontrees en cours de recherche. Une comparaison schematique de l'architecture rurale dans les trois regions est ensuite etablie. Enfin, a partir des constatations qui se sont degagees, des propositions concretes pour le developpement des villages iraniens sont faites
This study is a detailed and global analysis of architectural trends and patterns in rural areas of iran. These trends and patterns vary essentially according to the physical environment, but also affected by socio-cultural, demographic and economic structures. After a general geographical overview of iran and of the main features of its rural settlements, three regions chosen on a climatic basis are successively analysed : - guilan, representative of the humid temperate zone; - yazd, representative of hot, arid or desert regions; - eastern azerbaidjan, representative of cold and mountainous regions. The study brings out the difficulties encountered during the field research phase of this work and then establishes a schematic comparison of rural architectural characteristics in the three selected regions. Finally, on the basis of the issues raised and remarks brought out in the work, concrete proposals for the development of rural settlements in iran are put forward

Abordé sous la forme d’une étude de cas, ce travail se situe à la croisée des trois domaines de recherche que sont l’architecturologie (l’étude du processus de création appliquée au domaine de l’architecture), l’histoire de l’architecture moderne et l’histoire du Japon moderne. Il se propose de cerner le processus de conception architecturale par lequel l’architecte tchèque naturalisé américain Antonin Raymond (1888-1976) a réalisé une synthèse entre un modernisme occidental emblématique des années 1920 et 1930 et l’habitat vernaculaire japonais, produit d’une tradition ancienne de la conception de l’espace et de la construction. Organisée en trois parties, la thèse s’ouvre sur une biographie présentant le parcours qui mène Raymond de sa Bohême natale jusqu’au Japon, en passant par les États-Unis. Elle se poursuit avec l’étude des circonstances dans lesquelles il s’établit en tant qu’architecte indépendant à Tokyo, en rendant compte de l’acquisition d’un certain nombre de moyens humains et techniques nécessaires à la pratique architecturale dans le contexte japonais. Enfin, une sélection de dix-sept villas réalisées à Tokyo et des destinations de villégiatures environnantes entre 1921 et 1938 est présentée. L’analyse architecturale détaillée de ces habitations réalisées pour une clientèle d’élite japonaise et occidentale permet d’observer les étapes du développement du processus de création architecturale qui ont permis à Antonin Raymond de proposer une architecture à dimension universelle ancrée dans un contexte local. Par le biais de l’architecture, ce travail illustre ainsi une partie des problématiques et des enjeux soulevés par le processus de modernisation qui caractérise l’histoire du Japon dans la première moitié du XXe siècle
In the form of a case study, this thesis is set at the crossroads of history of modern architecture, history of modern Japan and architecturologie (the study of the creative process applied to the field architecture). The purpose of this research is to define the design process through which Czech born American architect Antonin Raymond (1888-1976) carried out a synthesis between some of the most iconic forms of 1920s and 1930s Western modernism, and Japanese vernacular residential architecture inherited from a long tradition of space conception and construction. The thesis is structured in three parts. Starting with a biographical account of the architect’s first 32 years, the first part deals with the educational and professional journey that led Raymond from his native Bohemia to Japan, via the United States. The second part explores the circumstances of his establishment as an independent architect in Japan, and examines the human and technical means he implemented in order to set up his professional practice in the Japanese context of the 1920s. The third part gives a detailed analysis of a selection of seventeen houses designed and built between 1921 and 1938 for members of the Japanese and international elite community in Tokyo and its surrounding resort destinations. The detailed architectural analysis of these works illustrates the various stages and dimensions of Raymond’s design process, and provides insight into his own proposal for an architecture encompassing both universal and local dimensions. Through the subject of architecture, this study deals with a number of problematics and challenges brought by the process of modernisation in Japan during the first half of the 20th century

This study will undertake a critical analysis of the domestic architecture of Gawie Fagan so as to define its uniqueness in the South African architectural landscape, and the contribution the architect has made to the establishment of a place-specific architecture that is nationally and internationally recognized. It will attempt to increase the limited written knowledge of the work of South African architects and to add to the critical debate on South African architecture. The study will employ both descriptive and normative approaches as the built work and writings of Fagan are unpacked. This will be done through an analysis of the dichotomies, tensions and mediations that exist in his architecture. It will demonstrate that there are heterotrophic and typological tendencies present in his domestic oeuvre and that they represent a unique synthesis of the local Cape vernacular and aspects of the Modern Movement. It will attempt to provide a clear understanding of the man and his philosophies and through this process will add to the critical debate on South African architecture. Fagan's work will firstly be contextualized, after which an analysis will be undertaken to determine how external and internal influences have impacted on the design of his houses and how these have contributed to the development of a unique South African architecture.
Thesis (PhD)—University of Pretoria, 2012
Architecture
unrestricted

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Arquitetura apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
The aim of this study is to understand how and when apparently contradictory concepts such as modernism and vernacular come to appear as complementary elements in the relationship between architecture and location. In this sense, it seeks to analyse single-family housing as a case study, studying the architect and his influences, the place of the housing implantation, as well as its relationship with the surrounding environment. It also seeks to interpret the programmatic organization and the relationship it creates with the outside, as a conceptual contribution to the landscape. Besides, it also covers the issue of understanding the influence of the region of implantation in the choice of materials and construction techniques.As a way of understanding these concepts in the Portuguese paradigm, a prior study on the introduction of modern architecture in the country in the first half of the 20th century and its relationship with the Estado Novo is essential. We seek to show the proposals for revision and the bases that manifested this change, as well as some of the most remarkable events in the history of modern architecture, particularly in Portugal, milestones that contributed to foster the critical spirit of the younger architects in the second half of the 20th century.The analysis and interpretation of the book Arquitectura Popular em Portugal arises in an attempt to understand the concept of the “vernacular”, which is considered as the fidelity to the modern movement or the commitment to the tradition of each place.The aim of this study is to understand how and when apparently contradictory concepts such as modernism and vernacular come to appear as complementary elements in the relationship between architecture and location. In this sense, it seeks to analyse single-family housing as a case study, studying the architect and his influences, the place of the housing implantation, as well as its relationship with the surrounding environment. It also seeks to interpret the programmatic organization and the relationship it creates with the outside, as a conceptual contribution to the landscape. Besides, it also covers the issue of understanding the influence of the region of implantation in the choice of materials and construction techniques.As a way of understanding these concepts in the Portuguese paradigm, a prior study on the introduction of modern architecture in the country in the first half of the 20th century and its relationship with the Estado Novo is essential. We seek to show the proposals for revision and the bases that manifested this change, as well as some of the most remarkable events in the history of modern architecture, particularly in Portugal, milestones that contributed to foster the critical spirit of the younger architects in the second half of the 20th century.The analysis and interpretation of the book Arquitectura Popular em Portugal arises in an attempt to understand the concept of the “vernacular”, which is considered as the fidelity to the modern movement or the commitment to the tradition of each place.
A presente dissertação tem como objetivo perceber como e quando conceitos aparentemente contraditórios como modernidade e vernacular passam a surgir como complementares na relação da arquitetura ao lugar. Neste sentido, procura-se analisar a habitação unifamiliar como caso de estudo, estudando o arquiteto e as suas influências, o lugar da implantação da habitação assim como a sua relação com a envolvente. Procura-se ainda interpretar a organização programática e a relação que cria com o exterior, enquanto contributo concetual para a paisagem. Compreender a influência da região da implantação, na escolha dos materiais e técnicas construtivas é também uma questão abordada.Como forma de compreender estes conceitos no paradigma português é imprescindível o estudo prévio sobre a introdução da arquitetura moderna no país, na primeira metade do século XX e a sua relação com o Estado Novo. Procuram-se mostrar as propostas de revisão e as bases que manifestaram esta mudança, bem como alguns dos acontecimentos mais marcantes da história da arquitetura moderna, particularmente em Portugal, marcos que contribuíram para fomentar o espírito crítico dos arquitetos mais jovens da segunda metade do século XX. A análise e interpretação do livro Arquitectura Popular em Portugal surge numa tentativa de compreender o conceito “vernacular”, repensado entre a fidelidade ao movimento moderno e o compromisso com a tradição de cada lugar.A presente dissertação tem como objetivo perceber como e quando conceitos aparentemente contraditórios como modernidade e vernacular passam a surgir como complementares na relação da arquitetura ao lugar. Neste sentido, procura-se analisar a habitação unifamiliar como caso de estudo, estudando o arquiteto e as suas influências, o lugar da implantação da habitação assim como a sua relação com a envolvente. Procura-se ainda interpretar a organização programática e a relação que cria com o exterior, enquanto contributo concetual para a paisagem. Compreender a influência da região da implantação, na escolha dos materiais e técnicas construtivas é também uma questão abordada.Como forma de compreender estes conceitos no paradigma português é imprescindível o estudo prévio sobre a introdução da arquitetura moderna no país, na primeira metade do século XX e a sua relação com o Estado Novo. Procuram-se mostrar as propostas de revisão e as bases que manifestaram esta mudança, bem como alguns dos acontecimentos mais marcantes da história da arquitetura moderna, particularmente em Portugal, marcos que contribuíram para fomentar o espírito crítico dos arquitetos mais jovens da segunda metade do século XX. A análise e interpretação do livro Arquitectura Popular em Portugal surge numa tentativa de compreender o conceito “vernacular”, repensado entre a fidelidade ao movimento moderno e o compromisso com a tradição de cada lugar.

This research is a study of traditional and modern architecture and how the aforementioned systems can and should integrate into Afro-centric architecture. The emphasis was on the architecture one tends to enjoy as an African, explored and juxtaposed against the thoughts and theoretical frameworks of culture sensitive architects worldwide. In this dissertation, the aspects of integrative theory were explored. Primary theories dealing with sustainability, New African Architecture, Indigenous Knowledge and Semiology were assessed as well. The differences between traditional Africa and modern adaptations, both positive and negative, were the limit of the research. In the dissertation certain key questions are posed to drive the inquiry of the document. The hypothesis is the conjecture that a connection between modernized architecture and traditional semiotics exists and can be cultivated to flourish, developing African architecture at all levels. This conjecture acts as a base for primary and secondary research. There are accounts listed in this dissertation of richly meaningful and sensitive traditional architecture that show a connection between American, Asian, African and European primitive building styles. These accounts show practices that have lasted near as long as the society that invented them. The gathered information shows that these examples have undergone little change over the years. The dissertation argues that the value these instances of traditional architectural meaning lessened over the years due to a shift in cultural paradigms. Further chapters in the study address cosmology, African attitudes to space, the reinvention of old materials and the manifestation and celebration of new tectonic relationships. Lessons collected on the above listed issues were related against findings from verbal interviews, written questionnaires and observations at the site of case studies. It is the researcher’s desire to explore the potential for an integrative developmental institute. To this end, an assessment has been done both in the form of precedent embedded in the text and Case Studies of relevant buildings that relate to the subject matter of the dissertation. The analysis of these assessments shows a manifested potential for the integration of traditional designs with modern building.
Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise a pour but l'exploration de la notion d'architecture vernaculaire afin d'établir si une architecture vernaculaire moderne est concevable et quels sont les objets qu'elle qualifie. L'intérêt d'une telle recherche est issu de préoccupations liées à la documentation, et possiblement à la conservation, d'une architecture moderne actuellement négligée par les différentes instances à l'oeuvre pour la sauvegarde de l'architecture. L'exploration de la notion de vernaculaire en architecture passe en premier lieu par une recherche étymologique qui permet de dater les premières incursions du mot dans les discours sur l'architecture en Angleterre. L'évolution de la définition est ensuite suivie au travers les textes d'auteurs anglo-saxons reconnus pour leurs études sur l'architecture vernaculaire. L'examen des différentes méthodologies et des objets étudiés par ces auteurs majoritairement issu des sciences humaines démontre que l'architecture moderne est exclue de leurs recherches jusque dans les années 1980 environ. L'apport des architectes, des historiens de l'art et des critiques n'est pas non plus pris en compte par ceux qui s'intéressent au vernaculaire. Afin de comprendre le lien qui peut unir vernaculaire et modernité, ces textes de spécialistes liés à l'art et à l'architecture sont ensuite étudiés et nous dévoilent que l'architecture vernaculaire fut pour eux une source d'inspiration dans la conception et la compréhension d'une architecture moderne. Toutefois, leurs objets d'études sont différents de ceux qu'étudient les spécialistes du vernaculaire. De cette seconde exploration ressort que par leurs préoccupations, les critiques, historiens de l'art et architectes ont non seulement contribué à introduire de nouveaux objets dans le corpus de l'architecture vernaculaire, mais ils ont oeuvré à les insérer dans l'histoire de l'architecture qui les négligeait traditionnellement. La notion d'architecture vernaculaire apparait liée à la définition d'une architecture moderne. Ces deux idées ne sont donc pas antinomiques. La mise en relation des différentes démarches d'auteurs étudiés au sein de ce mémoire permet de constater que la définition du mot vernaculaire n'est pas établie en fonction d'un objet précis ou de caractéristiques immuables. Sa définition renvoie plutôt à une idée dynamique, liée à l'écriture de l'histoire de l'architecture. Ainsi, les objets appelés vernaculaires changent en fonction de la méthodologie de l'auteur dans sa recherche ou de son point de vue sur l'histoire de l'architecture. Ce constat renvoie d'ailleurs aux définitions des dictionnaires qui associent l'adjectif vernaculaire à des concepts tels que « monumental » et « style ». Depuis les années 1980, des auteurs d'horizons différents en appellent à un renouvellement de l'histoire de l'architecture, au moyen de l'exploration de thèmes socioéconomiques qui sont le plus souvent associés à l'architecture vernaculaire. En somme, la notion de vernaculaire ne peut être un outil à la conservation ou la documentation d'une architecture moderne qui ne soit pas monumentale. Toutefois, répondre aux questions que son étude soulève, permettrait de mieux cerner l'objet de l'histoire de l'architecture et l'objet de la sauvegarde. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Architecture, Vernaculaire, Moderne, Modernité, Histoire de l'architecture.