Week 6
VERNACULAR RESPOSES TO ENVIRONMENTSWhat sort of issues were raised in the last two lectures by byron lamont and peter little that could colour the way you look at the built environment?
Cities are warmer due to surfaces (concrete etc) absorbing the heat...trees should be planted to reduce the overall temperature.
In suburbia, the avergae block size in decreaing, but the average house souze in increasing. The average house size has increased from 150m2 to todays average of 230m2, while the occupancy rate has decreased from 2.5 to 2.3 persons. This means that there are more buildings and less land-space for vegetation, causing problems like incresed temperatures and CO2 levels.
Aim:
To examine principles and the 'know-how' of vernacular architecture (builders of the past).
Definition of Vernacular Architecture:
- Anonymous, indigenous, naive, primitive, locally based.
- Maximises the use of local materials and skill through trial and error.
http://www.natcap.org is a publicaation about sustainability in all areas of architecture.
Principles of Vernacular Design:
- The structures are highly efficient
- They are only constructed to meet demand
- They are durable and versatile
- The structures were thermally comfortable with the minimum use of energy
- There was little differentiation between rich and poor dwellings.
In Perth city, the average office building life-span is 25 years, meaning buildings are not constructed to be adabtable or long-term...severly wasting resources and energy in the name of modernisation.
Polar Climates
Igloos:
- blocks of ice were a readily available resource used for insultion.
- the tunnels were created to enter through so the interior was protected from the elements, and it was low down so that no heat was lost.
- it was possible to invcrease the interior temperature by around 20 DegC.
Arctic Climates
Yurts:
- easily constructed and mobile.
- protected from wind with a 'chimney'-like structure so a fire could be built in the centre of the building and used for warmth.
- skins were used for insulation on the exterior.
Cold mountainous Climates
Northern Norway
- used readily available rocks as the building material.
- rooves were made steep enough to have fast water run-off but sloped shallowly enough so snow collected in the very cold months, and insulated the building.
Tibet
- the building material was small enough to cart up the side of the mountain
- were built into the side of the mountain that was exposed to the sun the most, to gain as much solar heat as possible.
- the ground was used as a termperature stabiliser.
Desert
Loyang, Northern China
- Built into the ground to stabilise indoor temperatures.
- They had to adapt to the lack of trees for shelter or heating (firewood).
Siwa, Egypt
- made use of the sand and soil for the building construction, not only temperature regulation.
North Africa & Pueblo, New Mexico
- the building material was the very reily available clay
- they were designed with flat rooves to absorb the sun's heat (whilst sheilding the interior), which could then be used to sleep on at night when the rooves were still warm.
Warm/Cold Temperature Climates
Cave Dwellers:
4th Century Majishan cave station
- easily securable, minimal entrances to the complex
- similar to the tibettan houses where they are located with the entrance facing the sun for maximum warmth in winter.
Goreme Cones, Southern Turkey & Pantialica, Sicily
- used ropes made from local flora as transportation from one dwelling to another.
- were up to 18 stories high
Truli Houses, Southern Italy & Santorini, Italy
- performed by the same principles as cave dwellings...
- faced the sun, built on mountain sides etc
Danish houses
- very steep roves for fast water run-off, reducing rotting.
- rooves were made from readily available straw hatching which also proved very useful for insulation.
Hyderabad, West pakistan
- Tilted rooves at the top of a tower to direct the regular afternoon breeze down the tower, past clloing waterbags and down into the dwellings below.
Hot and Humid
- the dwellings were airy and spacious
- lifted off the ground to increase circulation under the building
- completely shaded from the sun wherever possible.
Summary:
Different buildings formed from people understanding their clumate and the resources avilable to them.
If Sustainability was to become an integral part of design rpinciples, how would construction change?
http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/pdf/strawbale guide.pdf
posted by Mel Binks @ 1:25 PM
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