Vernacular TraditionsContemporary Architecture

A i s h w a r y a T i p n i s

The Energy and Resources Institute

Vernacular TraditionsContemporary Architecture

FOREWORD BY

A S H O K L A L L

© The Energy and Resources Institute, 2012

ISBN 978-81-7993-457-9

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

All export rights for this book vest exclusively with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Unauthorized export is a violation of terms of sale and is subject to legal action.

Photograph Courtesy:Seema Krishnakumar, Anupama Kundoo, Shirish Beri, Revathi Kamath,

Vasant Kamath, Anil Laul, Sanjay Prakash, Sunil Patil, Jose Mathew, Satprem Maini, Vinod Gupta, Chitra Vishwanath, Shailendra Arbole, Rajiv D’Silva, Tallulah D’Silva, Asim Waqif,

Gurjit Singh Matharoo, and Benny Kuriakose

Published byThe Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), TERI Press

Darbari Seth Block, IHC Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110 003, India Tel. : 2468 2100 or 4150 4900 Fax : 2468 2144 or 2468 2145 India +91 • Delhi (0)11

E-mail : teripress@teri.res.in • Website: www.teriin.org

Printed in India

Contents

The discussion and debate about the value of vernacular traditions in architecture and formation in the settlements in today’s world is no longer polarized. Th e opposition

of attitudes around “modernity” and “tradition” when alluding to cultural ideologies, or around “technology” and “craft” when talking of the means of production, is no longer tenable. Th e imperatives of change – of growing population in the world, global shift towards urbanization, combined with increased material demand – call for a synthesizing approach, where each situation or context would seek a dynamic response to the opportunities of continuity and the necessities of change. Th ere are perhaps three theoretical dimensions that encompass this discussion: cultural, technical and environmental. Th e most important is the cultural dimension. Th e agency of the designer and of the maker in what is made – the involvement of many creative imaginations and the joy of crafting utility with beauty – cannot be lost sight of under the pressure of effi ciency and speed. Industrialization and industrial production has a tendency to restrict initiative of creation to a few, while relegating more and more people engaged in building trades to the status of machines. Th e dispossession of the cultural imagination would necessarily weaken the shared culture of architecture. “Crafting” industrial production and engaging many imaginative minds to produce a spontaneous richness and variety may be the way forward. Th e vernacular traditions of building where the culture of design and the crafts of the building are shared within local communities, still persists in villages and towns where the industrial juggernaut has not arrived. Similarly, the displacement of humane urban fabrics by the multi-storey block surrounding by the parking lot constitutes a loss of urban cultures. Innovation is necessary to overcome such dichotomies. Th ere are many experiments in every

Foreword

Vernacular Traditions Contemporary Architecture

viii Foreword

part of the world – low rise, high density, mixed-use, for car-independent communities – that point toward solutions. Town planning and urban design are recognizing the necessity of leap – forging over the tyranny of the motor vehicle. Learning from vernacular forms, our growing cities and towns would retrieve urban space for the enjoyment of citizens. Th e technological dimension recognizes the value of modern science and engineering. Traditional, vernacular materials and construction are being evaluated with scientifi c and engineering tools. Th is enables their adaptations and development to better performance and higher effi ciencies in the utilization of natural resource. In the West the tradition of timber evolved seemlessly into high engineering. It is now the time for bamboo and earth as construction materials to fi nd their potential. Th e same goes for construction techniques – hybrid solutions abound fi nding appropriate combinations of using steel, glass and plastics in combination with “natural” materials. In the context of growing ecological imbalance and the threat of globing warming, the environmental dimension of the discussion is pressing and urgent. Th e salient lesson of vernacular tradition has been the ability of human creativity to construct a life of reasonable comfort, of grace and beauty in concert with local climate and natural resources available locally. Like the cultural dimension of the discussion, the environmental dimension has deep implications on our ideals for the “good life” and our notions of development. Vernacular traditions embody the economic principle of effi ciency in ordering life according to the cycles of the seasons and day and night and in having a measure of “want” that does not exceed available resource. Th is is the challenge for innovation; innovation of a way of life – for the majority of our citizens – as we now move into a novel modernity.

The seed of this compilation was sown with a simple thought –‘what is the relevance of vernacular traditions in contemporary life? Can they be merged with needs of today

to make a sustainable living environment?’ In a rapidly developing economy faced with environmental crisis, climate change, globalization, mass migration, confl icts, and tourism, one always wonders as to what will be the future of the built environment? As the world shrinks to become a global village, what would be the role of the local? Achieving sustainability is at the core of every development; environmental, social, and cultural as per the Agenda 21 ratifi ed at the Earth Summit in 1992. In the last 20 years, the concept of sustainable architecture has also evolved considerably from its original image of “energy effi cient architecture” to encompass the socio-cultural traditions and ways of life. Vernacular traditions are a creative process developed by the interpretation of past knowledge and experience, negotiated, and adapted by generations to meet the needs and challenges of time. Vernacular architecture is a physical manifestation of environmental, social, and economic constraints, and forms an important part in the evolution of mankind. Until recently, the vernacular has largely been stigmatized as an image of poverty and backwardness, and has been shunned in favour of more progressive modern buildings made of steel and concrete. Th e value and signifi cance of the vernacular has only been recognized in the last 25 years, and extensive research has been undertaken for its documentation in the West. Simultaneously, there has been a shift in understanding of architecture as part of a larger cultural landscape rather than a form of individualistic expression. Vernacular built form, which has been developed by the community in response to the environment and culture, has been brought under the gamut of “built heritage”, and some exceptional cases of vernacular architecture; such as Asante Traditional Buildings in

Preface

Vernacular Traditions: contemporaryarchitecture

Publisher : TERI Press ISBN : 9788179934579 Author : Aishwarya Tipnis

Type the URL : http://www.kopykitab.com/product/6117

Get this eBook