Vernacular Heritage and Earthen Architecture: Contributions for Sustainable Development –

Correia, Carlos & Rocha (Eds)

© 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-1-138-00083-4

VerSus: Vernacular heritage contribution to sustainable architecture

M. Correia, G. Carlos, J. Merten, D. Viana & S. Rocha

Escola Superior Gallaecia, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal

ABSTRACT: At present, there is little research focus on the relation of vernacular heritage with con-
temporary sustainable architecture. The methods and strategies of vernacular heritage are generally
undervalued and excluded from contemporary constructive processes and concepts. The research problem
addresses the contribution of vernacular heritage to the built sustainable environment and its intercon-
nection with other disciplinary areas. This paper intends to enhance VerSus project’s preliminary findings
to fulfil the identified gap in knowledge. The research method was based on the identification of strategies
and principles within vernacular heritage, to develop a conceptual approach that generates sustainable
architecture results. Based on the analysis and reinterpretation of selected vernacular examples, the col-
lection of data and the application of the research method developed provided operative knowledge that
could be integrated on design studio processes, in order to improve the sustainability of contemporary
architecture, at environmental, social and economical levels.

1 introduction The project’s main aim is to gain knowledge

from the fundamental lessons and principles of the
The present paper was developed in the scope of vernacular architecture, and to explore new ways
the European Research Project ‘VerSus: Lessons to integrate those principles into modern sustain-
from Vernacular Heritage for Sustainable Archi- able building.
tecture (2012–2792/001–001 CU7 COOP7)’, offi- This paper addresses the preliminary phase, pre-
cially supported by the Cultura 2000 programme senting the conceptual framework, throughout the
and articulated with the FCT Project ‘Seismic-V: identification of the key theoretical references and
Vernacular Seismic Culture in Portugal’ (PTDC/ the explanation of the established criteria for the
ATP-AQI/3934/2012). study development.
VerSus is developed with ESG/ Escola Superior
Gallaecia, Portugal, as Project Leader. CI-ESG,
Research Centre at ESG developed the candidacy 2 Project PARTNERS
under the research field of Architecture and Herit-
age. The project combines two fields of study of Versus is developed under a strong European part-
the research line: Vernacular Heritage and Sustain- nership, between ESG, UPV, UNICA, UNIFI and
able Architecture (CI-ESG 2012). CRAterre. The Research Partners are UPV/ Uni-
VerSus project is based on the principle that versitat Politècnica de València, Spain; UNICA/
architectural research should combine pedagogi- Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy; UNIFI/
cal, scientific and technical dimensions. Accord- Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy; and CRA-
ing to Frey & Bouchain (2010) this follows an terre-ENSAG/ International Centre for Earthen
ethic responsibility to search for more balanced Architecture at Grenoble School of Architecture,
solutions between the available technology and France. The research project received the collabo-
the natural environment. Vernacular architecture ration of six other institutions from five countries:
represents a great resource that has consider- Sweden, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Slov-
able potential to define principles for sustainable enia and Cyprus.
design and contemporary architecture. Traditional Three international entities gave their institu-
architecture and its methods and strategies are tional support to the project: ICOMOS-CIAV
undervalued and unemployed in new construc- (International Council on Monuments and Sites—
tion. Nevertheless, very important principles and International Scientific Committee of Vernacular
components can be learned from this heritage, to Architecture), ICOMOS-ISCEAH (International
be nowadays applied, in sustainable architecture Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural
(Sánchez-Montañés 2007). Heritage) and the Chaire UNESCO-Earthen

833
Architecture, Construction cultures & Sustainable mostly to cultural values and ethnographic aspects.
Development. Only in a most recent trend of publications, mainly
Involving such a high number of institutions, after the year 2000 on which there was a raise of
the project also intends to contribute to the articles from conferences proceedings, there was
encouragement of EU-wide intercultural dialogue a significant corpus of literature addressing the
by integrating collaborators and entities interested relation between the Vernacular Heritage and its
to participate through the application of the devel- sustainable potential. It was clear that after this
oped research methodology. period, relevant knowledge based on the biocli-
matic/ passive solutions, started to be established
capturing the attention of the Vernacular Archi-
3 Project Methodology tecture specialists. An initial incursion to the most
renowned international journals and conferences
The Cultura 2000 European Program guidelines rec- lectures, helped to circumscribe the themes, where
ommends that the research projects should be struc- the research should be initially addressed; Biocli-
tured under two main areas: the scientific activities matic areas had their best application on a sim-
and the communication and dissemination activi- ple trinomial: Environment—Energy—Economy.
ties. This fact dictated an interesting compromise The reference crossing of the project, amongst the
between the research process and the dissemination project partners, confirmed this tendency, as this
of the results, which determined the rethinking of constituted the field, where the contribution of the
the conventional methodological approaches, usu- vernacular heritage could be more accurate, gener-
ally oriented for more procedural outcomes. ally based on quantitative aspects.
The first phase of the project consisted on the Despite the direct observation of this approach,
identification of specific bibliography, on the revi- the evident references had a significant counterpart,
sion of the literature, on preliminary data collec- as these tree components are difficult to be addressed
tion, and on the interpretation and comparative in isolated studies. This was largely corroborated by
analysis of the collected data; which provide the the repetition of the partner’s autonomous bibli-
definition of the state of the art and the establish- ographies. Even with the existing possibility of an
ment of an operative research approach. isolated analysis, and the tendency to an increase of
The second phase (under development) com- scientific autonomy between them, it was imperative
prised the designation of criteria for the case stud- to considerate each one of these areas separately. It
ies selection, and the definition of procedures to was also noted that some authors developed their
implement. Survey missions are also planned, in studies regarding specific typologies (or elements)
order to evaluate ‘in situ’ the conditions of selected and its human comfort outputs, even if this was not
vernacular case studies and contemporary exam- integrated in a wider scope. Therefore, it was devel-
ples with integrated vernacular heritage principles. oped one more bibliographic area, addressing pas-
This will also promote exchange with local experts. sive systems, gathering a total of 103 references.
In parallel with these activities, five scientific The high number of bibliography referring to
workshops were programmed, aiming to evaluate construction cultures confirms the preliminary
the implementation of the research methods, and survey. Although this could reveal the most devel-
to raise awareness of the project’s contribution oped area on the sustainable contribution of the
amongst academics and professionals. Two inter- Vernacular Heritage, a deepest examination dem-
national Conferences, publications, and several onstrates a very descriptive approach to case stud-
scientific papers were predetermined as scientific ies. This was possible by not neglecting its value,
dissemination indicators. and as most of the information emerged from
paradigmatic publications (Rudofsky 1964) (SNA
1961). The implicit sustainable perspective was
4 literature review and STATE OF very arbitrary. Nevertheless, some of the colleted
THE ART CONCEPTUAL APPROACH references exposed widely the social aspect, and
more than architectural issues, the ethnographic
The first selected bibliography reached almost and anthropologic studies. In the first examples, it
1000 references. A preliminary literature identifica- confirmed the contribution of vernacular elements
tion survey had focused on Portuguese Vernacular to the social cohesion and community wellbeing of
Architecture literature, which gave a guideline on their regions (Rapoport 1972).
how to redirect the collection of literature, in order Finally, it was the literature published since
to be more accurate on the initial research process. 2005, which revealed a recent tendency indicating
Closely to 70% of the earliest national vernacular a special interest in a direct connection between
architecture literature was considered as descrip- traditional architecture and sustainable archi-
tive inventories. Their sustainable features relates tecture. This evolved from the confrontation of

834
building performances, to studies on how to apply Having this into consideration, it was impera-
traditional solutions in contemporary architecture tive, among the research team considerations, that
(Sánchez-Montañés 2007). the research project clearly adressed the concept of
The entry of bibliography regarding Vernacular sustainability from an holistic prespective, avoid-
& Design Strategies, constituted, in theory, a parallel ing narrow and isolated quantitative parameters.
to the VerSus project objectives. It was not surpris- It was also relevant to avoid blur and vague gen-
ing to observe that it was amongst this item that the eralisations, without any perceptible advantage
fundamental references, to launch the conceptual of aplication. Therefore, It was establish that all
draft for the methodological proposal, were found. the determined sustainable scopes had to give the
Nevertheless, it should be noted that this constituted interpretion of the results through the study of an
the most recent and experimental feature of the data architectonic indicator. This could not depend on
collected. Apart from a few authors, most of the a scale, enabling the case study to be selected from
investigations concerned untried methods that did the territorial to the constructive detail aproach.
not have enough time to be consubstantiated (for On the other hand, the interpreted results could
example to monotorize buildings, there is a need of not be restrictive by nature, allowing to consider
aproximately 30 years to evaluated a considerable tangible or intangible advantages reflected on
operational span in all the concerns dimensions). objective or subjective criteria of evaluation.
Even if an impressive part of the references out- This simple, but rather ambitious permise deter-
stand the multi-criteria of approach, the fact is that mined the development of a conceptual structure
very little combine different sustainable areas on that should constitute the main guideline for the
the studies of the vernacular examples. The biggest data collection and perhaps a preliminary orienta-
fracture is between tangible and intangible scopes. tion to identify contributions within a structured
The balanced division of the table upholds this and reliable system of analysis (Fig. 1).
interpretation. Most of the references, which com- After a long and complex process of selection,
bined vernacular elements to sustainable possibili- it was first decided to draw the research methods
ties, related their studies to hygrometric parameters. following the identified bibliography structure. To
The biggest number of examples concerned the anal- apply the structure to specific examples from dis-
ysis of the shading performance solutions, natural tinctive typologies, scales and geographic locations,
ventilation and materials’ thermal inertia. Two types it was created a draft inventory form, intended to
of example selections were identified: 1 - Focus on a synthesize and isolate each depicted case study.
specific unitary region with a determined typology, Although the results were interesting, when inter-
without comparative elements in order to compre- preted from an autonomous perspective, the com-
hend its potential according to actual parameters. parative approach between them was too broad to
2 - A wide selected example based on climatologic produce operative outcomes. This process limitation
maps (usually based on Koppen-Geiger or Straler was specially confirmed by the scientific workshops
classification), where different typologies from simi- accomplished during the second plenary meeting,
lar conditions regions are compared. Although this addressed to PhD students that are presently devel-
kind of studies determines most usefully conclu- oping studies in the scientific area (Fig. 2).
sions, the range of the description restricts the stud- The flexibility of the proposed inventory
ies to more superficial approaches (Neila 2004). system presented two main difficulties to the
researchers. Especially in what concerned the open

5 research methoDs proposal

As aforementioned, the literature review was par-

ticularly clarifying regarding the state of the art
limitations. The lack of articulation of different
scientific areas on the subject, and the evolution of
the Sustainable concept itself (Correia 2009: 70),
constituted the critical hindrance in the ground-
work of the operative methodological proposal.
The recent displicent use of the term, in the
architectonic and urban circle, shows the lack of
scientific accuracy that is concerned to the theme.
This largely contributes to the descredit of the
concept, and most of all to the unawareness of its
potential and outreach, specially when considered Figure 1. Research methods conceptual diagram.
as an architecture requirement. (Credits: CI-ESG).

835
 ing to the vernacular solutions elected as examples.
At the present state, according to the found paral-
lelism between the case studies selected, they are
stated only as transitory gauge, trying to be repre-
sentative of the observable concordances between
the analysed case studies.
The established structure, highlighted in the
Figure 2. Second Scientific Workshop, which took next sections, should be understood as a concep-
place in Cagliari, Italy, during the 2nd partners meeting. tual framework, to be adapted and tested accord-
(Credits: CI-ESG). ing to different geographical/cultural contexts.
More than a formal definitive result, it should
multi-disciplinary approach of the analysis and the be regarded as a scientific contribution. It does
transversal nature of different needs that each ver- not intend to be understood as a mature evalua-
nacular solution could address. It was noted that, tion system, but more as a conceptual guideline of
without a specific introductive lecture explaining approach to be developed and completed, accord-
to the researcher the focus of the work, the forms ing to the selected vernacular element.
could sometimes be confused to operate. They The most constant objectives were identified,
could easily oscillate depending on the approach after testing the scope extensions with vernacular
criteria, or on the production of copious quantity examples on different scales, and applying them
of apparently redundant information. on the scientific workshop of Cagliari, followed
Nevertheless, this first experience allowed the by discussion of the results amongst the partners.
identification of the direct relation between the col- Responding to these premises, and using the avail-
lected sampling of vernacular solutions, and the able collected vernacular examples, the extrapo-
sustainable objectives addressed by them. This proc- lated strategies/ principles were the following:
ess also allowed an introduction of the sampling
organisation, and the definition of the criteria for
the election of the most representative case studies. 5.1 Environment
Crossing the information with the partner’s The sustainable scope should be regarded as the
experiences, and with the common theoretical bib- capacity of the human intervention on decreas-
liographic references, it was decided to merge the ing and avoiding building’s adverse environmental
sustainable scopes. From the original system of nine impacts, reacting to every change in the environ-
independent scopes, a three-component structure ment understood as the set of conditions, in which
was preliminary adopted regarding Environment, life is possible, and regarding the whole biological
Society and Economy. This selection was based on quality (Neila 2004). It is widely interconnected
the overview of the main existing evaluation systems with the economy scope specially attaining the
for building sustainability (Hegger et al. 2007). aspects regarding energy consumption and build-
In spite of the risk of turning into a more ing life cycles.
general perspective, it produced two interesting According to the established premises, the envi-
advantages, of great relevance for the last phases ronmental layout is the following:
of the project: a) A delimitation of the focus of
the researcher (reaching for more accurate results); To equate with the place dynamics:
and b) A comparison of the sustainable vernacu- Evaluating the intervention area alternatives;
lar solution with any other type of architecture, Ensuring conditions for the site regeneration;
under the same parameters. Nevertheless, it could Minimizing the change of the surroundings;
be deducted from the following sections, the idi- Compensating hazard impacts in the site
osyncrasies of the Vernacular architecture nature surroundings;
that have to be always attained (Oliver 2005). To reduce pollution production:
The next step consisted in the definition of the Using recycled and recyclable building compo-
central Objectives/ Needs to address to each scope, nents and materials;
having into consideration that some of them have Using accessible materials;
inherent repetition of items, as this is one the Ver- Improving the durability of the buildings;
nacular architecture’s most rich aspects. Planning the maintenance of the building;
The following level of the research method pro- To integrate simple and eco-friendly perform-
posal is to understand the main strategies/ princi- ance cycles;
ples used to act in response to the stated Objectives.
As it may be noted the conceptual structure is To reduce the energy spent of the building lifecycle:
progressing in flexibility as it is reaching to more Considering bioclimatic design;
concrete information. This level will evolve accord- Using accessible materials;

836
 Reducing and simplifying execution cycles; To build and consolidate a local identity:
Planning the maintenance of the building; Ensuring the consolidation of processes as a sys-
Considering energetic sharing and common tem of cultural values;
management; Incorporating social rituals;
Predicting building flexibility of use; Guaranteeing the preservation, transmission
Applying the available energy resources; and evolution of the cultural heritage of the
Using recycled building components and community;
materials; Ensuring the integration of individual contribu-
Assuring permanent supply of renewable energy; tions to the collective construction.
Predicting building protective features;
To assure psychological comfort:
Promoting building components and materials
Adapting to climate conditions;
recycling.
Adopting the local community symbolical
To ensure physical comfort and health measures: expressions;
Promoting indoor temperatures within bearable Responding to social/cultural demands.
values;
Allowing adequate natural light, humidity levels
and sun radiation; 5.3 Economy
Adjusting building processes to time cycles;
Avoiding the incorporation of toxic materials. Economy constitutes the most quantitative scope
of the sustainable sphere, conventionally adopt-
ing financial monetary values as basic indicators.
5.2 Society
Due to the Vernacular conceptual implications,
The society scope was considered as a milestone of the idea of cost was trade by the concept of effort,
relations, sense of belonging, identity, personal and which can be more suitable, when applied on cir-
communitarian development. It tries to gather all the cumstances with no capital system implemented
Social and Cultural positive impacts observable on (Zupančič 2009).
the Vernacular solutions (Oliver 2006). The emerged The adopted sustainable scope of Economy
findings are more related to the processes than to is understood as the capacity of reducing the
the physic reality itself. Considering this scope, the invested effort regarding the construction process,
selected structure to develop was the following: the building performance, the building mainte-
Social construction of the territory: nance, the building impact, and also to contribute
Considering the vocation of the place; on the improvement of local living conditions. As
Articulating the types of spatial organization for it can be inferred, the first and last requirement is
productive needs; particularly interconnected with the Society scope,
as the observable results are extremely articulated.
Acknowledge the dynamics of the place:
Promoting dynamics of inner occupancy; To reduce implementation, construction and opera-
Defining flexible systems operation; tional efforts:
Assuring a maintenance culture; Assuring a non-conflictive site choice;
Assuring the interaction with local ecosystems. Providing flexible or/and collective systems of use;
Promoting the use of local materials and endog-
To assure social integration and cohesion: enous workmanship;
Providing basic needs according to the collective Assuring minimum transportation efforts and
needs; reducing the execution cycles;
Promoting the equity of the group assuring Optimizing the human comfort conditions
inter-generational relation and promoting the to the functional program and to the built
development of collective; morphology.
Assuring individual participation through space
and opportunity in decision-making processes. To assure the building maintenance:
Predicting the regular substitution of
To ensure the creation and transmission of tradi- components;
tional construction process: Preventing the action of erosion elements;
Considering seasonal restrains; Using “low maintenance” construction
Relating the main subsistence activities techniques;
(technology); Minimizing adaptation needs.
Learning from practice and involving younger
generations in the construction process; To reduce resources consumption:
Disseminating through commonsense and Using recycled and recyclable elements;
empirical logics. Promoting building densification;

837
 Conceiving the formal result according to the the reader from any specific vernacular solution to
specific need. the factors that have originate and influence them.
This paper addresses the preliminary phase of
To reduce the energy levels of the building cycles: the research, presenting the fundaments of the
Using accessible materials; conceptual framework of the project.
Reducing and simplifying execution cycles; The subsequent segments of the R&D activities,
Planning the maintenance of the building; presently undergoing, will focus on the election of
Considering energetic sharing and common strategies and methodologies that can be system-
management; ised in operative and sustainable solutions. There-
Assuring permanent supply of renewable fore, a selection of contemporary built projects that
energy; considers vernacular architecture, as reference will
Predicting building protective measures. also be attained, as case studies to analyse and con-
To enhance the local economy: firm the effectiveness of the followed strategies.
Sharing resources; This paper addressed the preliminary research
Preserving endogenous materials and resources; method and its operative approach. The project
Assuring the need of endogenous is still undergoing its first methodology phase.
workmanship. Integration of contributions from extended col-
laborations will be addressed in the following
phase. Preliminary findings reveal relevant future
6 Conclusions outcomes.

These research intends to contribute to the aware-

ness of the value of the vernacular heritage in a references­­
wider perspective, beyond conventional quantita-
tive parameters, specially enhancing the solutions Asquith, L. & Velinga, M., 2006. Vernacular Architecture
of transversal sustainable appliance. in the Twenty-First century. Oxon: Taylor & Francis.
CI-ESG, 2012. Research Centre of Escola Superior Gal-
In order to attain an intuitive and flexible data
laecia: Research and Technology Development Cur-
management, and to avoid terminology conflicts, riculum 2008–2012. Vila Nova de Cerveira: ESG/
the contents are classified preliminarily, under three Escola Superior Gallaecia
main sustainable scopes: Environment; Society; Correia, M., 2009. Sustentabilidade: Conceito e Desen-
Economy. This apparently reductive structure is not volvimento. Energias Renováveis: 68–76. Porto: Atel-
a simplification, but rather a common basis that will ier Pã.
allow the interconnection of different scientific areas. Frey, P. & Bouchain, M., 2010. Learning from vernacular:
The distinctive extensions of the vernacular exam- towards a new vernacular architecture. Tours: Actes
ples found determined the definition of a specific Sud.
Hegger, M., Fuchs, M., Stark, T. & Zeumer, M., 2007.
conceptual framework to survey, compare and inter-
Energy Manual—Energie Atlas. Sustainable Architec-
pret the collected data. The generated conceptual ture, Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel/Berlin: Edition Detail
structure should be understood, not as a rigid for- Oliver, P., 2006. Built to meet needs: cultural issues in ver-
mat classification, but rather as a hierarchic connec- nacular architecture, Oxford: Elsevier.
tion nod, with the possibility to extend and detail all Neila Gonzalez, F. J. 2004. Arquitectura Bioclimática—
the information fields, according to the nature of the en un entorno sostenible, Madrid: Editorial Munilla-
input, or the perspective of the author. The objective Lería
is to allow a more heterogenic extrapolation of the Rapoport, A. 1972. Vivienda y cultura. Barcelona: Edito-
knowledge and a wider application possibility. rial Gustavo Gili.
Rudofsky, B. 1964. Architecture without Architects. New
After several endeavours, the project adopted a
York: Doubleday
four level conceptual structure (with one variable Sánchez-Montañés Macías, B.A. 2007. Estrategias
responding to the specific geographical location), medioambientales de la arquitectura vernácula como
in which the vernacular case studies could be con- fundamento de sostenibilidad futura. Necesidad de la
textualized: Sustainable scope; General objective/ aplicación de los principios científicos de la arquitec-
Basic needs; Strategies/Principles; Specific needs tura. Arquitectura vernácula en el mundo ibérico: actas
determined by the geographic context; Vernacular del congreso internacional sobre arquitectura vernacu-
solution/ Contemporary adaptation. lar: 406–414. Sevilla: Universidad Pablo Olavide
The conceptual structure constitutes the SNA.1961. Arquitectura Popular em Portugal. Lisboa:
Sindicato Nacional dos Arquitectos
inventory layout of the project database. It was
Zupančič, D. 2009. Economy and common sense. Ver-
designed, not only as methodological tool, but also nacular architecture simple solutions from past for
as a communication instrument. It allows a reverse today and Beyond. Mediterra 2009, 1st Mediterranean
interpretation, allowing to go from the essential Conference on Earth Architecture, Conference pro-
fundamentals to a selection of representative ver- ceedings: 537–549; Monfalcone: Edicom Edizioni.
nacular examples, or the other way around, guiding

838