Design of Sustainable Modular Wooden Booths Inspired by Revitalization of Croatian Traditional Construction and New User Needs Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

The paper presents the results of the first phase of the student project CROSTAND2, whose main goal is to revitalize the traditional construction techniques of vernacular architecture in the Republic of Croatia by developing modern sustainable prefabricated modular wooden buildings/public booths in accordance with users’ needs and habits. To incorporate conceptual design, the literature on Croatian construction and wood protection, prefabricated modular construction, and public urban spaces was analyzed and field research was conducted. Photo documentation was also collected in the village of Donja Kupčina, Zagreb County, Croatia. An online survey questionnaire on socializing habits in public spaces, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, additionally analyzed new requirements for user-centered design. The obtained results, as well as results from previous project research, were used as a basis and inspiration for the design of a conceptual modular building inspired by traditional wooden joints, modular construction, and the emerging needs of users to socialize safely in a healthy environment. Conceptual solutions for a sustainable modular prefabricated wooden building for public use, intended for public urban and rural areas, have been proposed. Such constructions would ensure the sustainability of enjoying the natural environment for personal, tourist, and commercial purposes with the perpetuation of Croatian heritage building traditions.

Bamboo Connection Technology for Lightweight Structures

Bamboo construction is often related to traditional and vernacular architecture, which is found mostly in rural areas, where, for the construction, local people apply diverse techniques learned in an empirical way and passed on from generation to generation. However, in the last years, many modern constructions with bamboo have been developed around the world. At the same time, many connections have been designed for permanent and ephemerals lightweight structures. However, most of them do not have standardization and mechanical testing, because it is expensive or there are no means to do it. Therefore, it is required to create a technology classification for the most used existing connections, starting with the traditional way to join canes until the contemporary connections developed with high technology. In this context, connections are a challenge to be developed, as currently there is no normative in bamboo to follow and create standardization.

Bioclimatic and sustainable features on vernacular architecture in Ternate

This study aims to identify the response of the vernacular building to climate and sustainability by literature study and field observations. The results show that the vernacular building in Ternate Island develops based on the characteristics of the region. The typology of building differs in each tribe following the natural condition and local culture, it has a line of equality in the building philosophy as an embodiment of the human body: feet (foundation), body (wall and room), and head (roof). Vernacular architecture in Ternate contains bioclimatic and sustainable features and can be developed to the new building concept; the basic concept is the combination of spiritual/cultural harmony, human harmony, environmental harmony, and harmony with green technology/innovation for comfort and protection of the disasters by bioclimatic architecture design strategy. This study provides insight and inspiration for sustainability in the future especially in the context of archipelago areas.

SIGNIFICANCE OF FORESTS IN TRIBAL VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE: IN CONTEXT TO KHARIA TRIBE IN JHARKHAND,INDIA

Tribal community and their association with nature is deeply rooted. The primitive tribes in India and the world are settled around forests or islands and use their products for their livelihood. The style of architecture, art, culture, beliefs, socio-economic framework is guided by the local environment. As the primitive tribe remain secluded from the urban development and advancement, their beliefs and practices are limited and are based on real time experiences. The availability of resources around the community shapes the type of architectural and cultural practices of the tribe. The forest provides ample resources like wood, fodder, mud, straw, etc. which serves as construction materials, fuel, and source of livelihood for the ethnic community. The article throws light on the influence of forests and its resourceson the vernacular architectural style, the settlement pattern, dwelling units, construction technology and, materials which ultimately responds to the local climate, art, culture, socio-economic framework, and beliefs of the people.

How to Reveal the Meaning of Space in Vernacular Architecture?

Vernacular architecture is a modest style of building used to maintain the balance of human relations with nature. This architectural style is specific to a region and passed down from one generation to another to embody cultural values. However, its development is currently facing globalization and modernization challenges, thereby leading to a gradual shift of this ancestral heritage to modern buildings. Change is unavoidable due to continuous evolution, however, the meaning inherent architecture buildings need to be maintained because it contains the cultural and social values of the associated local community. Furthermore, vernacular building space is a place for social activities and contains historical meaning applicable to modern buildings. Its functionality responds to changes and the needs of times while maintaining the local essence. Therefore, this research aims to determine the suitable method needed to reveal the meaning of vernacular architectural space. Data were collected from the conscious mind of space users through in-depth interviews by applying epoche, which were further reduced, categorized, and integrated to determine its meaning. The data collected through a literature review were analyzed using the content analysis method. The results showed that transcendental phenomenology is the right method to determine the meaning of vernacular architectural space. Based on the results, it is concluded that the meaning passed down from one generation to another could be expressed through the conscious experience of space users. Furthermore, transcendental phenomenology helped reveal the meaning without the intervention of the author’s knowledge, therefore it is unbiased and applicable in modern buildings.

Circularity in the New Gravity—Re-Thinking Vernacular Architecture and Circularity

The mounting climate change crisis and the rapid urbanization of cities have pressured many practitioners, policymakers, and even private investors to develop new policies, processes, and methods for achieving more sustainable construction methods. Buildings are considered to be among the main contributors to harmful environmental impacts, resource consumption, and waste generation. The concept of a circular economy (CE), also referred to as “circularity”, has gained a great deal of popularity in recent years. CE, in the context of the building industry, is based on the concept of sustainable construction, which calls for reducing negative environmental impacts while providing a healthier indoor environment and closing material loops. Both vernacular architecture design strategies and circular economy principles share many of the same core concepts. This paper aims at investigating circular economy principles in relation to vernacular architecture principles in the built environment. The study demonstrates how circular principles can be achieved through the use of vernacular construction techniques and using local building materials. This paper will focus on Egypt as one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a wide vernacular heritage, exploring how circularity is rooted in old vernacular settlements and how it can inspire contemporary circular practices.

Decoding the Spatial Configuration of the Ottoman Palace “Khdewedj El Amia” in Algiers (Algeria) through Space Syntax

Palaces of the Ottoman era, the Golden age of Islamic civilization, bear witness to a prestigious know-how, drawing its rules from a way of life governed by the Islamic Sharia, the socio-cultural context of the Berber-Arab population and the climate-physical environment. The palace of Khdewedj El Amia is one of the majestic palaces located at the Casbah of Algiers and constitutes the subject of this article whose objective is to decode its genome in order to understand the social logic of a space inhabited and designed by a princess who lost her sight. Hence the name El Amia, which means blind in Arabic. The decoding of this building used the space syntax approach via a visibility graph analysis (VGA) performed by the Depthmap tool and a quantitative analysis of the graph justified by the Agraph tool. It is about taking into account the way in which vernacular architecture can stimulate the direct perception of space and participate in the construction of the user’s path. It was found that the palace is made up of two entities; one is of public order highlighting the resident/alien interface, and another intended for the private apartments, the harem of the princess, isolated from the outside world.

Ancient Andean Houses: Making, Inhabiting, Studying

In an extensive survey of vernacular architecture from across the entire length of the Andes, this book explores the diverse ways ancient peoples made houses, the ways houses re-create culture, and new perspectives and methods for studying houses.

Utilization of the Evaluation System for Spatial Comfort toward Multi-Layered Public Hanok Facilities

This study aims to present evaluation methods that can evaluate thermal comfort reflecting traditional values of the vernacular architecture in Korea called Hanok, especially focused on modernized public facilities. For this purpose, representative vertically-sectional structures of Hanok has been categorized by the spatial configuration used for public buildings such as school, museum, library and so on. Next, a comfort assessment index was derived to evaluate the spatial comfort performance of Hanok especially with certified domestic standards and indices. Then, predicted mean vote (PMV) has further been selected as the method for the thermal assessment for their interior spaces. As a result, the surrounding conditions showed the least influence on the Hanok comfort and the adjacency type mostly affected the performance of thermal control in the aspects of the habitual sustainability. Finally, Hanok designs could positively be considered and utilized by surroundings and adjacency types that have the most advantages in terms of thermal environment.