vernacular transformations
Architecture, Place and Tradition
Edited by
:
Gusti Ayu Made Suartika
Publisher: Pustaka Larasan in conjunction with Udayana University's Masters Program in: ● Planning and Development for Urban & Rural Areas ●
contents
Contents Figures
Preface Page
Introduction
Page
Chapters
1 Vernacular Transformations: Context, Issues, Debates
Alexander Cuthbert
2 The Modern Indian Bungalow: Vernacular Antecedents
Jon Lang
3 Vernacular Architecture of the Philippines and its Transformations
Corazon Alejo Hila
4 Chinese Vernacular Architectural Forms and Principles
Liu Yu, Liu Jinghua, Chen Xin, Huang Jie
5 The Way Back to Identity in Traditional Vietnamese Architecture
Nguyen Truc Anh, Ta Hoang
6 Mosque Architecture in Malaysia: From Vernacular to Ornamental
Nila Keumala, Rosniza Othman, Ahmad Yahaya
7 Bosnian Islamic Architectural Heritage, Modernism and Socialism
Dijana Alić
8 Rumah Asuh, Jokowi and Vernacular Architecture in Indonesia
Gunawan Tjahjono
9 Lost in Translation: Balinese Vernacular Open Space
Gusti Ayu Made Suartika
10 Principles and Concepts of Balinese Traditional Architecture and Cultural Values
Anastasia Sulistywati
11 Filtering System in Japanese Vernacular Architecture and its Applications Today
Yumi Kori, Kayo Kinase
12 Native American Architecture
figures
CHAPTER 1
1. l’Abbé Laugier’s example of the primitive hut 2. A contemporary example of the genre from Bali
3. Mopti Africa – Do vernacular buildings add up to Vernacular Urbanism? Can a city be vernacular?
4. The New Classicism. Richmond Riverside, London. Quinlan Terry 1988. Can vernacular ‘copies’ be made and still be vernacular? 5. Bali 2012. This is not a home. Does vernacular also include
non-domestic structures? If so which typologies are to be included? 6. The Ruhr Valley in Germany, where the distinction between urban
and rural has all but collapsed
7. Charles Moore. Piazza D’Italia, New Orleans, to celebrate the local Italian community
8. Sienna Cathedral with its striated stonework - one of the referents used in the design
9. Roman capitals
10. Charles Moore’s translation of capitals 11. Daly City San Francisco
12. Workers housing at Londonderry, Ireland
13. Workers housing at Kahun for the pyramid of El Lahun for Senusret 2nd. Circa 1895 BC
14. Classic Hellenic planning in Asia Minor by Hippodamus of Miletus 15. Print of vernacular housing during the industrial revolution, around
1850
16. Housing at Port Sunlight, a model village for workers
17. Workers housing at the experimental village of Saltaire in Yorkshire, England
18. Workers housing at the Gorbals in Glasgow, Scotland, 1964 by Sir Basil Spence
19. Frank Lloyd Wright - Usonian House
21. Le Corbusier- Unité d’Habitation - Worker’s Housing at Marseilles, France. (1947-1952)
22. Paraportiani church on Mykonos. Greek vernacular architecture of the Cycladic Islands
23. Thira, a small town on the volcano of Santorini facing the Caldera 24. Le Corbusier’s Chapel at Ronchamp, France, showing the influence of
Cycladic vernacular architecture
31. Rob Krier. Belvedere House at Seaside Florida 32. A Gazebo by Quinlan Terry
33. Figure vernacular housing Egypt
34. Hassan Fathy’s transformation of the vernacular. Egypt
35. Gentrification in New York. Greenwich Village stables and carriage houses
36. Colony houses in Edinburgh built in 1860 for artisans and skilled working class
37. Parthenon ‘copy’ Nashville 38. Tudor House 16th Century 39. Tudor housing Shanghai 40. Bungalow USA
41. Bungalow: Malaysia 42. Bungalow Cochin, India 43. Cubic Houses. Holland
49. Balinese Courtyard House 50. Family Shrine
51. Scale and measurement 52. Traditional Balinese House 53. Appeal to Aboriginal animism 54. Batak Boat Houses, Sumatra 55. Fali cosmology
56. Frank Gehry
CHAPTER 2
1. Antecedents of the bungalow a. The English Cottage b. The indigenous Bengali hut 2. Nineteenth century bungalows
a. An early bungalow, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh b. A late nineteenth century, Bengaluru 3. Twentieth century bungalows
a. A utilitarian modern bungalow, Kolkata ca 1920 b. A late twentieth century bungalow
4. A typical homestead of the Lower Gangetic Delta, West Bengal 5. An ainemane in Kodagu, Coorg, Karnataka
6. The havelis of Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi) a. HaveliKhazanchi in 1910
b. A nautch in the bahirmahal of a house with the women watching from a balcony connected to the andarmahal
7. George Atkinson’s bungalow at Waterloo Airport in Sierra Leone, 1941
8. Details of an aquatint by H. Merkle published by George Orme in 1805
9. Typical rustic Anglo-Indian Bungalows a.Mesra, Ranchi
b. Jaipur in the late nineteenth century
10. Architecture as understood by the Public Works Departments according to John Lockwood Kipling
11. Two generic site layouts
12. Two Anglo-Indian bungalows in their setting, Bengaluru 13. Plans of typical middle-class Anglo-Indian bungalows
a. A simple bungalow plan Bengaluru
b. 23/24 Waterloo Street (now NawabSiraj-ud-DaulahSarani) 14. Verandahs of Indian inhabited bungalows today
a. The verandah of a bungalow in Allahabad b. The verandah of a bungalow in Bengaluru
15. Buildings and porches as an indicator of socio-economic status a. A bungalow, Varanasi Cantonment,c.1880s
b. A house in Bengaluru built in 1933
16. Images of nineteenth century colonial life in India a. The central room of an Anglo-Indian bungalow b. Punka and punkawalla with a ayah in thebackground
17. An example of Iyer’s proposals for what Indian bungalows should be like
18. Khar, Mumbai
c.Lalit Kunj, ground floor plan and elevation 19. Suburban bungalows in Mumbai, Maharashtra
a. Bishop House, Bandra (1880 b. VittalBhavan, Bandra, 1926 20. Architect designed bungalows
a. Sen House, Kolkata b. Gawara House, Nasik
21. Three examples of the Modern Indian Vernacular bungalows a. Ahmedabad
b. Kochi (formerly Cochin) c. Salt Lake City, Kolkata
22. Emerald Hills, Aluva, Kochi, Kerala a. Site layout
b. Entrance gate with houses beyond
23. Two early twenty-first century houses marketed as bungalows 24. The Pathak Farms, near Delhi
a. A general view Courtesy of Ram Rahman
b. Plans, Shraddha House (Courtesy of RomiKhosla) 25. The bungalow today?
a. A surviving bungalow and Mittal Tower, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bengaluru, in 1996
b. ‘Bungalows in the sky’. Naimesh Park, Ahmedabad, 1984; Yashwant Singh, architect
CHAPTER 3
1. The Philiphines
2. Early shelter, the portable lean-to 3. Bahaykubo and its ventilation 4. The precipitous mountain terrain 5. The Ifugaofale
6. Ifugao house section 7. The rat guard or halipan 8. The Bontocfay-u 9. The Sagada innagamang 10. Kalinga Binayon or Finaryon 11. Maranao Tarogan
12. Panolong
13. The okir motif in the panolong 14. Samal houses on stilts
15. The bahaynabato, or ancestral houses of the mestizo class and wealthy principles. Bahaynabato, Vigan, Ilocos Sur
16. Calaguas house
18. National Arts Center, Philippine High School for the Arts, Makiling, Laguna Designed by Leandro Locsin
19. Tahanang Filipino (Coconut Palace) Designed by Francisco Mañosa
CHAPTER 4
1. The layout of a typical courtyard house with 9 bays and 4 depth 2 . The Tailiang structure
2. The Chuandou Structure 4. The Jinggan structure
5. Earth-wood structure dwelling of Naxi Nationality 6. Brick-wood structure Siheyuan of Han Nationality 7. Bamboo-wood structure Diaojaolou - Li Nationality 8. Bamboo-wood structure Zhulou of Dai Nationality 9. Stone-earth-wood structure - Tibet
10. Tulou in Fujian Province 11. Yaodong in Shaanxi Province 12. The yurt of Mongolian Nationality 13. The black tent of Zang Nationality
14. The white & colorful tents- Zang Nationality 15. Distribution map of Chinese vernacular buildings 16. Dwellings of the Korean Nationality
17. Dwellings of the Man Nationality 18. Mongolian yurt
19. Wang Manor in Hebei Province 20. Beijing Siheyuan 1
21. Beijing Siheyuan 2
22. The dwellings in Shanxi Province 23. The dwellings in Shandong Province 1 24. The dwellings in Shandong Province 2 25 Huizhou style dwellings
26. The dwellings in Jiangsu Province 27 The dwellings in Zhejiang Province 28. The dwellings in Hubei Province 29. The dwellings in Hunan Province 30. The Tianjing (patio) style
31. The dwellings in Guizhou Province 32. Tu Lou
33. The dwellings in Guangdong Province 34. The Zhuang vernacular dwellings 35. The dwellings in Hong Kong 36. The dwellings in Macao 37. The dwellings in Taiwan
39. Shanghai “Li Nong”
40. Guanzhong narrow courtyard 41. The section of Yaodong
42. Qinmuchuan traditional dwellings 43. The dwellings of the Hui Nationality 44. Aayiwang dwellings
45. An indoor view of Aayiwang dwelling 46. The dwellings in Qinghai Province 47. The dwellings in Gansu Province 48. The watchtower dwellings 49. The dwellings in Linzi
50. The dwellings in Sichuan Province 51. Diaojiaolou dwellings
52. “One square seal” dwelling 53. “Si he wu tianjin” type 54. “San fang yi zhaobi” type 55. Zhulou dwellings
56. A perspective view of Siheyuan 57. A perspective view of JuEr Hutong
63. Exterior appearance of the Tu Lou Community 64. Perspective of the Tu Lou Community
65. Plan and sections of the Zunrang Hall, a typical Tianjing style dwelling
66. A cliffside Yaodong 67. A free-standing Yaodong 68. A sunken Yaodong 69. Interior view of Yaodong
70. The cuniculus as the natural air-conditioner system
71. The picture of the new style cave dwelling in Zaoyuan Village, Yan’an City
7. One pillar pagoda (Hà Nội)
8. Tay Dung communal house (Ha Noi) 9. Chu Quyen communal house (Ha Noi) 10. Keo pagoda (Nam Dinh)
11. Prototypical architecture of the communal house 12. Kim Lien Pagoda (Hà Nội)
13. Bell tower in Keo pagoda (Thai Binh)
14. “Chong ruong gia chieng” wooden structure (in the Northern Region) 15. Chong ruong gia thu” wooden structure (in the Central Region) 16. “Co diem”roof in Minh Mang tomb (Hue)
17. Decoration carved with terracotta on the façade and “co diem” 18. Gothic style: Hanoi Cathedral
19. French classical style: The Hanoi Opera House
20. French vernacular style: Villa on Phan Dinh Phung Street – Ha Noi 21. French modern style: State Bank of Vietnam – Ha Noi
21. Long Bien bridge (1902)
22. Crossroad No 6 at August Revolution Square
23. Hai Phong in 1930. aerial view (ảnh tư liệu BelleIndochine)
29. Villa 28 Chuoi, Digital's first novel Ta My Duat, 1939 30. Villa 65 Ly Thuong Kiet (Ha Noi) 2. The Prophet’s mosque after Creswel 3. The Prophet’s mosque diagram 4. Three tiered roof form construction
5. Traditional and vernacular mosques: analysis of floor plans 6. Traditional and vernacular mosques: Mihrab ornamentations 7. Jamek Mosque design by A.B. Hubback built in Kuala Lumpur
in1909
8. Kapitan Keling Mosque design H.A. Neubronner by built in 1916 in Penang
9. Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar in Johor: Qibla Wall 10. National Mosque of Malaysia, 1965
12. National Mosque of Malaysia: Qibla Wall
13. National Mosque of Malaysia: ornamentations on Mihrab 14. The transformation of Mosque Architecture in Malaysia 15. Direct axis lay out floor plan
16. Non direct axis floor plan 17. Type C model floor plan
CHAPTER 7
1. Contemporary view of the exterior of the covered marketplace of Brusa Bezistan
2. Čaršija with its surroundings at the end of 19th century 3. Contemporary view of Vijećnica
4. Contemporary view of Baščaršija Square with sebilj 3. Division of precinct based on crafts
4. Division of precinct based on crafts
5. ‘Store beside store, handicraft beside handicraft’ 6. Baščaršija as a production line
7. Monuments and significant structures of the old precinct 8. Beg’s Mosque, cross-section and axonometric
9. Lighting in Beg’s mosque
10. ‘Mihrab, pulpit, carpet’, abstracting the space 11. Neidhardt’s proposal for temporary shelters, 1945 12. Embryonic development of an old house in Sarajevo 13. Furnishings and utensils of a traditional house
14. Neidhardt’s drawing of Svrzo’s house; layout and cross section
15. Inner courtyard and a room in Svrzo’s house (Svrzina kuća), opened to the public in 1953
16. Abdesthana and banjica space in Svrzo’s house
17. ‘Modernity of the traditional house’s interior’, Đerzelez house
18. Modernity of the traditional home: cross-ventilation and an interior of a mutvak (women’s kitchen) of the Djerdjeles family house
19. The city, Čaršija, mahala, house, 24 sketches
20. Neidhardt’s ‘Up-to-date architectonic dictionary alphabet of the carpet-town
21. Neidhardt’s illustration of a traditional interior
CHAPTER 8
1. The original sketch of Rumah Tenun Tirta Dharma 2. The built Rumah Tenun Tirta Dharma
3. The cone shaped house of Wae Rebo before the roof/wall cover 4. The sugar palm fiber rope
5. North Nias house
7. General appearance of a Sumbanese house. 8. The fire place inside a Sumbanese house 9. The fire place inside a Sumbanese house 10. The bamboo roof frame
11. The final rite; climbing up the ridge
CHAPTER 9
1. Merdeka Square, Jakarta
2. Tianemen Square, Beijing (People Republic of China) 3. Puputan Badung Park
4. Puputan Margarana Park, located right in front of Bali's Provincial Office
5. Puputan Margarana Park
6. Paddy Fields in Bali governed by Subak associations 7. Catus Patha formation
8. Catur Muka Statue of Puputan Denpasar Catus Patha, next to Lapangan Puputan Denpasar
9. Activities accommodated in a park
10. Alun-alun situated next to the Great Palace of the Karangasem Monarchy
11. Banyan Tree at the Alun-Alun in Gianyar
12. Bencingah that has been developed into housing complex at Bedulu Village of Gianyar Regency
13. Bencingah of Pejeng Village that has been developed into a commercial area
14. Alun-Alun Pekambingan, which has now been converted into a shopping complex.
15. Cultural elements: practices and values 16. Alun-Alun as an egalitarian space
17. A cleansing ceremony held at the centre of a Catus Patha, next to an Alun-Alun
18. Alun-Alun and Its ecological functions
19. Alun-Alun as a place for food hawkers and place to launch commercial goods.
20. Development control mechanism
CHAPTER 10
1. Unity and harmony in life
2. The macrocosmic-microcosmic conception 3. Manik Ring Cacupu Concept
4. Catur Purusha Artha Concept 5. Tat Twam Asi Concept 6. Tri Loka Concept
8. Dewata Nawa Sanga Concept 9. Rwa Bhineda Concept 10. Ulu Teben Concept 11. Tri Mandala Concept 12. Sanga Mandala Concept 13. Swastikasana Concept
1. Typical filtering devices in nokishita zone 2. Facade of typical Nouka (Kanagawa) 3. Typical Nouka plan
4. Typical Nouka section
5. Typical filterin devices in Engawa zone
6. SOTOEN veranda and UNCHIEN (inner veranda) 7. UCHIEN (1+2)
8. SATOEN IV (1+3) 9. SATOEN V (1+5) 10. UCHIEN ii (1+5)
11. Typical filtering devices in NOKISHITA zone 12. Machiya townscape
14. Typical Machiya in Kyoto
15. ENGAWA zone of Machiya in Kyoto 16. Shieto before renovation
17. Transformation of NOKISHITA zone in Swara (shopfront) 18. NOKISHITA zone type
19. Shieto after the renovation
20. View from cafe to the street through recreated NOKISHITA zone 21. Shieto after the renovation
22. NOKISHITA zone was dissappeared before restoration 23. Inside of NOKISHITA zone
1. Red Panther, Cheyenne Indian warrior (Grinnell) 2. Apache Wikiup (Curtis)
3. Algonquian Indian Wigwam (Curtis) 4. Oglala Indian Teepee (Grabhill) 5. Inuit Tupik (Library and Archives Canada) 6. Pima Indian Ki (Firstpeople.us)
7. Navajo Indian Hogan (Crow Canyon Archaeological Center) 8. Mandan Indian Pit House (About Native Americans)
9. Aleut Barabara. (Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve) 10. Interior of a Barabara. (Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve) 11. Inuit Village of Igloos (Frobisher)
12. Iroquois Longhouse (Gadacz)
13. Traditional Pueblo Indian Architecture (National Geographic) 14. Mesa Verde (Benson)
15. Chaco Canyon Ruins of a Great House Complex (Haeffner) 16. Interior of a Pueblo Indian Kiva (Oachs)
17. Native American Burial Mound in Missouri (Graham) 18. Serpent Mound (Fazio, Moffett, and Wodehouse) 19. Poverty Point (Gibson)
tables
CHAPTER 6
contributors
CHAPTER 1
Alexander Cuthbert is Emeritus Professor of Planning and Urban Development at at the
University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He was educated in Scotland with degrees in Architecture, Planning and Urban Design, and a Doctorate from London School of Economics and Political Science. His main interest has been in urban design, with teaching and practice in Greece, Britain, the United States, Hong Kong and Australia. Professor Cuthbert has over 100 published works. He was winner of the prestigious Australia Award for Urban Design in 2006. He has recently spent nine years developing a Unified Field Theory of Urban Design, published in three volumes: Designing Cities, (Blackwells 2003); The Form of Cities (Blackwells 2006), Understanding Cities (Routledge 2011), and one complete issue of Urban Design International (2007(12):177-223).
CHAPTER 2
Jon Lang is Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of New South Wales in
Sydney, Australia. He taught urban design at the University of Pennsylvania from 1970 to 1990. He has been a visiting professor at universities in India, Korea, Puerto Rico, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela as well as the United States. Jon is the author of a number of books on urban design, the relationship between people and the built environment, and on modern architecture in India. His latest book is Urban Design: a Typology of Procedures and Products. He has been a juror on a number of international urban design competitions. He is also Director for Urban Design of ERG (Environmental Research Group), Inc. in Philadelphia.
CHAPTER 3
Ma.Corazon Alejo-Hila is currently Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines’
CHAPTER 4
Liu Yu, is Professor of Architecture at the School of Mechanics, Civil Engineering and
Architecture, director of the Sustainable Building and Environmental Research Institute (SBERI), Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), China. She completed undergraduate and postgraduate degree studies in architecture program at Tianjin University and Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology respectively, and obtained her PhD degree at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia. In the last 10 years, she has published over 80 research papers in academic journals and conferences, one research book in English, three edited books (including two textbooks) in Chinese.
Liu Jinghua, associate professor of architecture at the School of Mechanics, Civil Engineering
and Architecture, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), China. She completed undergraduate and postgraduate degree studies in the architecture program at NPU and Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology (XAUAT) respectively, and is now a PhD Candidate of XAUAT. Her research field is ecological architectural design and Chinese vernacular architecture.
Chen Xin, lecturer of architecture at the School of Mechanics, Civil Engineering and
Architecture, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), China. She graduated from Nagoya Institute of Technology (Japan) and obtained PhD degree. She has published more than 10 research papers in important academic journals of China and Japan. In 2006, she received the Third Prize of Excellent Natural Science Paper Award by Shaanxi Province. In 2010 she received the Tokai Prize for research thesis from the Architectural Institute of Japan.
Huang Jie, master student in the Architecture Design and Principle program at the School of
Mechanics, Civil Engineering and Architecture, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU). His research is focuses on the green building design and theory. During his undergraduate and postgraduate study period, he won a number of scholarships in NPU and prizes in different architectural competitions.
CHAPTER 5
Nguyen Truc Anh was educated in Vietnam, Australia and Tokyo with degrees in Architecture
( B.arch, HAU, Vietnam, 1998), Urban Development and Design ( MUDD, UNSW, Australia, 2001), Urban Engineering ( ME, UT, Japan 2004) and a doctorate from University of Tokyo (2007). He has recently published Urban Design (Construction Publisher 2007); and Design & Planning for Urban Underground Space (Construction Publisher 2011). He is working in Standing Office – Steering Committee Construction Planning and Investment of Hanoi Capital Region as Deputy Director and the Chief Planner for Hanoi Construction Master Planing Vision from 2030 vision to 2050. He teaches at Hanoi Architectural University.
Ta Hoang Van received her doctorate degree in Hanoi National University in the field of
CHAPTER 6
Puan Sri Datin Sri Nila Inangda Manyam Keumala is a Research Consultant in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of the Built Environment in University of Malaya. She leads the Research Center for Urban Study, Conservation and Tropical Architecture. Her research projects and programs cover architecture of the Muslim world, building performance, POE, sustainable design, vernacular architecture, passive design, energy conservation, and conservation of timber buildings.
Yahaya Bin Ahmad is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of the
Built Environment University of Malaya. He obtained his Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture and Master in Construction Management from Washington University, St Louis USA. He was appointed as the Head, Department of Architecture and the deputy Dean of the Faculty of the Built Environment, University Malaya. His research encompasses the area of Vernacular Architecture and Conservation.
Rosniza Othman is a Lecturer at the Department of Architecture and Environmental Design,
Centre for Foundation Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). She obtained her B.A Architecture and Post Graduate Diploma (Hons) from Greenwich University, London in 1994 and 1996. She then completed her Masters degree in Environmental Science from University Putra of Malaysia (UPM). In 2011, she received her Doctorate from the Faculty of the Built Environment, University of Malaya. Her research looks at Vernacular Islamic Architecture in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
CHAPTER 7
Dijana Alić holds a Senior Lecturer position in the Faculty of the Built Environment,
University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Her research interest focuses on the relationship between modernity and national expression in architecture, particularly in the context of (post-World War 2) 'Eastern' Europe. Dijana has published in significant international journals such as the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH), Open House International and Centropa.
CHAPTER 8
Gunawan Tjahjono is a reappointed Professor of Architecture at Universitas Indonesia. He is
the Rector at Universitas Pembangunan Jaya. He holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley. He designed the Main Administration Building of Universitas Indonesia at the Depok Campus, Jakarta (Indonesia). He served as Volume editor of Indonesian Heritage Architecture, and Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia, Jilid Arsitektur. His research interest is on social and cultural factors in architecture and urban design.
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
Anastasia Sulistyawati is professor of architecture in the Engineering Faculty of Udayana University. Her works which resulted from research in architecture which have been published are, among others: Sekala-Niskala Kulkul and the Architecture of Bale Kulkul (2010), The Vocabulary of Balinese Traditional Architecture (2001). She has received the following presentations and awards and from the President of the Republic of Indonesia, including the Tanda Kehormatan: Satyalencana Karya Satya 30 Tahun (recognition of honour for academic pursuits over the last 30 years).
CHAPTER 11
Yumi Kori is the Principal Architect of Studio MYU Architects. She graduated with M.S.
Arch. from Columbia University in 1995, then worked as an adjunct professor at Barnard and Columbia College, 1996 to 2005. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the ar+d award by the Architectural Review, London; the Modern Living Award; the Osaka Cityscape award; Chiba Architectural Cultural Award; and the Tokyo Architectural Award.
Kayo Kinase is the project architect of Studio MYU Architects. She graduated with M. Arch.,
from Kyoto Prefectural University in 2000. Her research is on the modifications to Japanese local houses during the modern period, and has been active in the field of architectural conservation.
CHAPTER 12
Lyle Culver is an Associate Professor Senior at Miami Dade College, School of Architecture
PREFACE
1
INTRODUCTION
Gusti Ayu Made Suartika
This book had its origins in a seminar on vernacular architecture held under the auspices of the Masters Program in Ethnic Architecture, Department of Architecture at Udayana University in Bali. Since the topic had aroused much debate, I decided to edit a book about vernacular architecture to include some of the seminar papers, but to extend the compass of the seminar to include as many contributions from the Asian region as possible. So the twelve chapters in the book now offer an intriguing account of the sheer variety of cultures, conceptual systems, building forms, construction techniques and materials used across the entire region. Reflecting the origins of this text in Bali, we have two papers that provide a comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the complexity of Balinese vernacular, its roots, traditions, techniques and practices, as well as a critique of the problems currently faced by traditional Balinese architecture and urbanism.
Vernacular architecture seems at first sight to be an easy topic to debate. But once the term is shredded for meaning, many questions arise that have no easy answers. For example we have the perennial problem of the vexed relationship between architecture and building. What is the difference between these two processes? When does a building become a piece of architecture? At the outset we are already involved in defining what architecture is or is not. The same idea applies to the term vernacular. Should we talk of vernacular architecture or vernacular building? What qualities are necessary to define a structure as vernacular? This type of questioning can also be extended into typologies, in other words are their specific typologies of space and form that qualify the vernacular, in opposition to other building structures.
2
is not addressed here, and we also have the thorny problem of whether vernacular architecture implies a fixed historical typology (the trulli of Southern Italy for example), or a similarly
While we clearly cannot answer all these questions in a single book, I have tried to retain the dual concepts of evolution and transformation as a guide, viewing the vernacular not as static, but ephemeral and transitory; as a process that is not frozen in time and place. This implies that the somewhat artificial urban/rural divide is not useful when it comes to defining the vernacular, or indeed in which typology of settlements we should most fruitfully explore for vernacular building. In the following chapters a great many opinions are expressed, and it is clear that there is a huge range of opinion in the minds of contributors as to how vernacular architecture is constituted, and how it contributes to architectural theory in general.
In Chapter One, Alexander Cuthbert provides a general, theoretical and encompassing approach to the entire field of vernacular architecture and suggests a system for analysis. This constitutes a new and original tool that will greatly assist in our penetration of the many convoluted questions encompassed by the term vernacular. There is a wealth of material contained in the chapter and few stones are left unturned in a critical overview of the subject. The focus is on transformation – how does the vernacular evolve, how can we analyse its adaptations, by which methods can this be done, and with what outcomes? The range of subject matter is both broad and deep, engaging realist philosophy, historical typologies and periods, and the advent of modernity and postmodernity in analysis. The search for examples to reinforce a new synthesis covers most continents in its attempt to access the generic root of the idea and its rhyzomatic appearances, while accepting the fact that a single encompassing solution to the problem is not feasible. Here the ancient and the modern are combined discriminately, theories are challenged and fixed ideas cast aside.
3
In Chapter Three we move from India to the Philippines to discover how vernacular building in that country has evolved, and how it has affected the architecture of modernity. Like many other contributors to this volume, Corazon Hila has grown up in a post- colonial environment, and the idea of vernacular in this context has an unavoidable link to colonisation, its strategies and assumptions about local conditions, and what it considered to be ‘good’ architecture. She points out that Philippino culture is an amalgam of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Indian, Chinese, Japanese and other foreign influences, all of which have impacted on today’s architecture over the archipelago. In addition, given the profusion of local cultures and geographies in an island nation, the typological variation from region to region is explored. Hilum argues that it is this immense variety of indigenous building that is providing the foundation for the national architecture of tomorrow.
In Chapter Four with Liu Yu we move from the Philippines to China to discover the forms and principles behind the evolutionary development of vernacular dwellings, from cave houses to the classic courtyard house, to the tents of the Zang people, to the high-rise forms of the Tu Lou Community. The chapter is courageous in its coverage of a vast country with its great variety of ethnic groups, climates and sub-cultures. In all, 37 provinces are detailed as to the manner in which climate and materials have affected building forms, each with generic illustrations of building typologies. From this encyclopaedic coverage, examples are distilled that demonstrate the evolution of specific vernacular forms into new architecture. The most classic of these is probably the Hutong courtyard house, retrofitted to contemporary life but retaining the spirit of yesterday. Several other examples are given of such developments in contemporary Chinese architecture.
Chapter Five deals with another post-colonial society, namely Vietnam. Here Nguyen Truc Anh and Ta Hoang Van identify the path from Chinese domination (2nd century to the tenth century BC) through the Ly-Tranh Dynasties, and forward to French Colonisation and beyond into the period of liberation. The chapter locates vernacular architecture in the context of the growth and development of Vietnam’s major cities, and details the specific exigencies and particularities of each period, with the cross fertilisation of one period into another. The influence of both Chinese and French colonialism are investigated and illustrated in significant detail. Here there seems to be a clear division on the one hand of Chinese influence on the historical record, predominantly in temples and domestic architecture. On the other, the impact of the French has been felt most powerfully in the transition to modernity, in the organisation of cities, in the architecture of institutions and the domestic architecture for the wealthy. Interestingly, the French influence has not been resisted by the authors, and indeed has been welcomed as having had a positive influence on urbanisation as a whole.
4
expunged or developed? The Post -Independence style answers these questions in using the ideas of young Malaysian architects, along with the new construction methods and materials of the third millennium.
While Chapter Seven originates in Australia, and is written about Bosnia, it retains an unlikely but important link to South East Asia and the culture of Islam in Indonesia. It also has a direct relationship to the previous chapter on the Islamic architecture of Mosques. Dijana Alic’s subject is the adaptations from Bosnian Islamic architecture in the creation of a new Yugoslav architecture in Sarajevo’s historic core. The article addresses the vernacular from a significant perspective, namely the integration of two philosophies, that of Islam and socialism and the resolution of built form under these conditions. The paper focuses on the work of two architects, Dusan Grabrijan and Juraj Neidhardt, whose job it was to synthesise the collective identity of Yugoslavia post world war two. Here a delicate balance had to be struck between the cleansing of religious values and replacing them with secular values in the interests of a socialist state. In this context two typologies are discussed – the vernacular of the mosque and the vernacular of dwelling, with a concluding commentary on the universal and the particular in the Bosnian Oriental house.
Chapter Eight addresses the totality of vernacular architecture in Indonesia. Gunawan Tjahjono argues that despite the apparent drop in vernacular building in the villages, that there is evidence of a revival in traditional building in the form of Rumah Asuh, an agency established to promote and assist vernacular architecture. Nonetheless, the chapter focuses on an emergent conflict between the state and the Indonesian Institute of Architects (I.I.A.). Bapak Jokowi, former Head of the Solo Regency had such remarkable success in his provision of social programs that he was promoted to being the Governor of Jakarta. In his desire to promote traditional architectural practices, he has implied that if this does not happen voluntarily, that it might have to be enforced through the building code. The disagreement with the I.I.A. is whether or not this is the correct way to create character in the city. Tjahyono points out that village architecture differs vastly from that of the metropolis, and while the vernacular should provide lessons for all, it is inescapable that we must act globally and think locally.
5
Chapter Ten is a unique document by Anastasia Sulistyawati. The chapter presented here is a careful English translation of a short text that is currently in press with our publishers, but written in Bahasa Indonesia. It constitutes an annotated dictionary of the practical and conceptual framework necessary to a basic understanding of Balinese architecture. Beginning with an analysis of the symbolic and ritual practices that constitute Balinese cosmology and society, the norms, principles and concepts that support and infuse traditional building are carefully explained in detail, encompassed by the omnipresent Hindu religion, one that has been significantly transformed from its origins in India many centuries ago. In greater detail, the use of colours, local materials, systems of measurement, location and other features are all interlinked. In addition, the function of each building in the traditional Balinese courtyard house is clearly explained. The chapter provides a comprehensive and fascinating account of a luminous ethnic culture and its architecture with a brief overview of the place of Balinese architecture and its future on an island that is imperilled in several dimensions, with suggestions as to defensive measures that will ensure the future of Balinese vernacular in the informational age.
Chapter Eleven by Kore and Kinase expounds on the virtues of Japanese vernacular in relation to housing. As in Balinese architecture, Japanese architecture has highly ritualised features and has undergone refinement over many centuries. First the basic principles are noted, the most important being the establishment of a system of filtering people and the elements in order to create security, privacy and physical comfort within a specific and necessary boundary zone. It is the deliberate use and consciousness of these filtering devices that gives traditional Japanese architecture its beautiful transparent quality and flexible use of space. The authors then illustrate the significance of these principles to contemporary Japanese architecture.
