Vernacular Architecture

Abstract

Vernacular architecture refers to both a subject of study and a way of approaching that subject. Vernacular architecture studies emphasize the connections between the built environment and the people who interact with it, reflecting on the two-way nature of those relationships. People, sometimes known by name and sometimes anonymous, plan and erect buildings, but physical spaces also influence how groups and individuals use them. With this in mind, students of vernacular architecture often ask “why” questions, and they are likely to be interested in the entire life cycle of a building, its surroundings, and its interiors rather than just the moment of creation and exterior appearance. The scholarship on vernacular architecture contrasts with more typical architectural history in that it is concerned with the everyday. Ordinary buildings, landscapes, and interiors—the type of things that don’t often attract much attention—are its primary focus. The formal study of vernacular architecture is a relatively new pursuit. While interest in old buildings goes back centuries, it was really in the 1970s that the field developed its current trajectory. In the works that follow, architect-designed buildings are the exception rather than the rule. In terms of methodology, the unifying approach—regardless of type, date, or construction—involves fieldwork, which can mean documenting buildings and spaces through photography and the creation of measured drawings, as well as documenting the human experience through oral history and ethnographic methods. Documentary sources also play an important role in the study of vernacular architecture, especially when the subject involves the more distant past. The study of vernacular architecture is multidisciplinary. The authors of the following books, articles, and websites come from a variety of academic backgrounds, including art history, history, folklore, anthropology, archaeology, cultural geography, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning, among others. Some teach in the academy, but others work at museums and historic sites, cultural resource management firms, historic preservation offices, and other governmental entities. In North America, the Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) is the preeminent organization for the study of vernacular architecture. The VAF traces its roots, in part, to a similar organization, the Vernacular Architecture Group (VAG), which was established in England in 1952 with a focus on the British Isles.