Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it exists. (wiki)
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Agadez | vernacular mudbrick architecture (AB ev) | |
| Ancient Ksour | "The mosques .. are severe, without any form of decoration or flooring, and built entirely in local materials." (AB ev) | |
| Arequipa | dignified casonas, characteristic well-proportioned vernacular houses (AB ev) | |
| As-Salt | a mixture of vernacular regional and high-style architecture (AB ev) | |
| Asante Traditional Buildings | ||
| Asmara | vernacular styles from the highlands were adopted and assimilated by Italian architects, engineers and planners in the design of buildings and public space | |
| Bahla Fort | the fort and mud houses in the oasis | |
| Bam Cultural Landscape | the most representative example of a fortified medieval town built in vernacular technique using mud layers (AB ev) | |
| Bassari Country | traditional architecture (AB ev) | |
| Battir | The main manifestations of vernacular buildings within the property are the stone watchtowers, manatir. (AB ev) | |
| Berat and Gjirokastra | vernacular housing (AB ev) | |
| Bryggen | ||
| Champagne | "the historical chalk hillsides of Hautvillers, with the village at the top, and its landscape and vernacular heritage" (AB Ev) - The hillsides combine a landscape and vernacular heritage representative of the management of the Champagne vineyard, the grape supply system and the production of winegrowers and cooperatives. (Nomination file, p. 25) | |
| Churches of Chiloé | ||
| Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture | "The school utilized a limited set of decorative techniques and architectural elements, illustrating a synthesis of vernacular styles brought into urban and monumental contexts" (OUV) | |
| Cidade Velha | Rua da Banana | |
| Cliff of Bandiagara | ||
| Coffee Cultural Landscape | "The typical architecture in the urban settlements is a fusion between the Spanish cultural patterns and the indigenous culture of the region adapted as well to the coffee growing process, through for example their sliding roofs. Houses function as both dwelling units and centers of economic activity, with walls built in the traditional, more flexible and dynamic 'bahareque' constructive system, and covered by a layer of bamboo well known for its resistance and malleability. Over fifty percent of the walls are still built using this traditional method." (OUV) | |
| Costiera Amalfitana | ||
| Cultural Landscape of Kenozero Lake | "vernacular wooden architecture" (AB ev) | |
| Curonian Spit | ||
| Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland | ||
| Djenné | ||
| Fertö/Neusiedlersee | "The remarkable rural architecture of the villages surrounding the lake " | |
| Franciscan Missions in the Sierra Gorda | "The richly decorated church facades are of special interest as they represent an example of the joint creative efforts of the missionaries and the Indios. The rural settlements that grew around the missions have retained their vernacular character." (unesco website) | |
| Fujian Tulou | ||
| Ghadames | A remarkable domestic architectural style distinguishes Ghadames as a unique site among a series of pre-Saharan cities and settlements (AB ev) | |
| Goias | "vernacular techniques" | |
| Granada | The residential district of the Albaycín is a rich repository of Moorish vernacular architecture (AB ev) | |
| Göreme NP and Cappadocia | ||
| Haghpat and Sanahin | blending of elements of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture and the traditional vernacular architecture of the Caucasian region (AB ev) | |
| Hahoe and Yangdong | ||
| Hallstatt-Dachstein | ||
| Hani Rice Terraces | The traditional vernacular buildings have walls built of rammed earth, of adobe bricks or of earth and stone under a tall, hipped, roof thatched with straw that gives the houses a distinctive 'mushroom' shape. (whc) | |
| Harar Jugol | traditional townhouses | |
| Hawraman/Uramanat | "The cultural landscape made up of villages of steep-slope vernacular architecture" (AB Ev – ICOMOS) | |
| Historic Jeddah | ||
| Holasovice | ||
| Hollókö | ||
| Kaiping Diaolou | original, single-storey, vernacular village houses (AB ev) | |
| Kasbah of Algiers | The Algiers Kasbah preserves very interesting traditional Arab-Mediterranean houses in which the ancestral Arab lifestyle and Moslim customs have blended with other architectural traditions. (AB Ev) | |
| Konso | ||
| Koutammakou | ||
| Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou | ||
| Kuldiga | "traditional local log architecture" (OUV) | |
| Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces | Chexbres | |
| M'Zab Valley | ||
| Matera | ||
| Maymand | cave dwellings carved out of the soft rock (kamar) | |
| Mbanza Kongo | : Some dwellings conserve the characteristic traits of the typical 19th-20th century Kongo house (Nzo). Built on rubble foundations, with earthen or brick walls (the brick may be sun-dried or fired); they are long houses with two main rooms under a pitched roof (originally covered with straw). Colonial elements were added (verandas, pillars), and later industrial elements (corrugated metal sheet) replaced the local materials. (AB ev) | |
| Meteora | ||
| Mijikenda Kaya Forests | ||
| Mount Athos | a treasury of vernacular architecture (UNEP-WCMC) | |
| Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha | its temples are built in Sichuan vernacular architecture | |
| Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan | its Taoist shrines and temples are built in Sichuan vernacular architecture | |
| Ohrid Region | The region's culture reflects outstanding religious architecture from the 7th to 19th centuries, urban structures and vernacular architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries, all in Ohrid, and a concentration of archaeological remains some within Ohrid and others along the coast. (AB Ev) | |
| Old Rauma | ||
| Old Town of Lijiang | ||
| Petäjävesi Old Church | ||
| Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands | Manarola and Corniglia | |
| Quebrada de Humahuaca | The valley also displays several churches and chapels and a vibrant vernacular architectural tradition. (Icomos | |
| Quedlinburg | "The importance of the town rests on three main elements: the preservation of the medieval street pattern, the wealth of urban vernacular buildings, especially timber-framed houses of the 16th and 17th centuries, and the important Romanesque collegiate church of St Servatius." (AB Ev) | |
| Rabat | Vernacular architecture also provides a set of interesting elements, some of which have been inventorised, such as doors and their accessories. (AB ev) | |
| SGang Gwaay | large cedar long houses, together with a number of carved mortuary and memorial poles, illustrate the art and way of life of the Haida (AB ev) | |
| San Gimignano | ||
| Sana'a | ||
| Schokland | ||
| Shahr-i Sokhta | mud brick architecture (AB ev) | |
| Shibam | ||
| Shirakawa-go and Gokayama | ||
| Southern Öland | ||
| Stone Town of Zanzibar | "The Omani Arabics used coral for masonry, ..., and to make lime mortar through a process of heating coral to high temperatures until it becomes lime powder. Indians and Europeans introduced architectural forms to contend with the tropical climate, including rooftop terraces and sloped, corrugated metal roofs which perform better during the dual-monsoon seasons than the Arabic flat roofs" | |
| Sudanese style mosques | ||
| Taos Pueblo | ||
| The Prosecco Hills | "The rural cottage (...) is more commonly found in the core zone. It does not reflect established formal canons but is often a sum of various parts developed over time mirroring the fortunes of the owner family. (...) In terms of materials, local stone, due to its extreme variability, is the most distinctive identifying feature of these buildings. Clustered settlements and isolated houses are an important part of the local landscape: having been abandoned and underutilized, they are wholly preserved, and are still today used to fulfill agricultural functions, or are often converted into cellars." (Nomination file, p. 46) | |
| The Royal Court of Tiébélé | ||
| The trulli of Alberobello | ||
| Timbuktu | ||
| Tomb of Askia | ||
| Tombs of Buganda Kings | ||
| Tusi Sites | "The incorporation of local ethnic decorative patterns and motifs into the paving of streets and roads at Laosicheng, in the Tusi’s frieze on the memorial gateway at Tangya and in the fortified Feilong gateway at Hailongtun are specific examples of the influence of the local minorities on decorative treatment" (AB ev) | |
| Upper Svaneti | ||
| Urnes Stave Church | ||
| Valparaiso | "the city is characterized by a vernacular urban fabric" (unesco website) | |
| Verla Groundwood and Board Mill | The workers houses are in the traditional vernacular idiom(AB ev) | |
| Vigan | the houses follow the typical plan of the tradional Bahay Kubo, with the second floor being the only living space. Most of the houses employ wood as one of the major materials in the construction. Ventanillas (lower sliding ventilators) only happen to manifest in the Philippines being a unique house feature. | |
| Villages with Fortified Churches | ||
| Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont | ||
| Viñales Valley | "Most of the buildings scattered over the plain are simple; they are built using local and natural materials, and are used as homes or family farms." | |
| Vlkolinec | ||
| Wachau Cultural Landscape | The entire Wachau with its historic and vernacular buildings, with the picturesquely interrupted hill ranges on either side, with the river in its midst, is a big and lively Gesamtkunstwerk (nom file) | |
| Wooden Churches of Maramures | ||
| Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska | ||
| Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians | ||
| Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region | ||
| Xidi and Hongcun | ||
| Zabid | ||
| Zagori Cultural Landscape | "its vernacular architecture of traditional stone building" (AB ev) |
Suggestions?
Do you know of another WHS we could connect to Vernacular architecture?
A connection should:
- Not be "self evident"
- Link at least 3 different sites
- Not duplicate or merely subdivide the "Category" assignment already identified on this site.
- Add some knowledge or insight (whether significant or trivial!) about WHS for the users of this site
- Be explained, with reference to a source