Indigenous Architecture Research Articles

Investigate Sustainability Aspect in Spatial Configurations of Javanese Vernacular Architecture: Case Study of Joglo House

Abstract This research focuses on the unique spatial designs and variations found in the Joglo houses of Juwana, Pati, in Central Java, a region celebrated for its indigenous architecture. The Joglo house, a fundamental component of the Javanese cultural identity, is often inherited through generations without any formal written records, leaving its architectural details in scholarly discussions. The purpose of this study is to explore the spatial characteristics of spaces in the Joglo house that support the sustainability. The study employs the space syntax methodology to investigate the spatial interrelations among rooms in 16 Joglo houses then the 5 representative houses were picked to be analysed mathematically. By using the justified plan graph analysis, it identifies specific patterns and categorizations in the relationships between rooms, thereby uncovering the intrinsic architectural principles. The findings reveal that all the representative floor plans have a corridor as the most integrated space and there is a distinct separation between public and private spaces. This study bridges traditional knowledge and scholarly research, highlighting the intricate architecture and cultural significance of Joglo houses.

Assessment of Ornamentation as a Cultural Identity of Mosques in Lagos State, Nigeria

Nigeria's distinctive indigenous architecture is influenced by many historical traditions. The mosque, as the community's principal place of prayer, stands out as a unique architectural style. This research aims to investigate and evaluate the role of ornamentation in mosques throughout Lagos State as a significant element of cultural identity. By analyzing the intricate decorative elements, this study illustrates the various cultural influences shaping these sacred spaces. Focusing on select mosques in Lagos, this work highlights the architectural evolution and its contribution to defining cultural identity in the region.

Forms and Elements of Recent Ethno-Acculturation Preferences of Yoruba Architecture in Southwest Ngeria; A Case Study of Abeokuta Historic City Core

The evolution of indigenous architecture for any social culture is usually sectionalised into thresholds of different but succinct architectural styles. The continued survival of any indigenous style is the ability to accommodate changes in components while preserving the culture of the people. The postmodern and contemporary architectural styles are the most recent defined patterns that have been assimilated into the Yoruba areas of Southwest Nigeria. Existing literature on Yoruba architecture have not addressed the delineation of the current threshold of the indigenous style. In a bid to address this problem, this research set out to define the current outlook of the Yoruba indigenous architecture through the forms and elements that have been acculturised from the foreign styles. This was achieved by locating the study in a historic city centre where the social culture is preserved in the community and the buildings. Urban upgrades carried out in the area stimulated the renovation and fresh construction of buildings where they occurred in the otherwise sedentary community. The older buildings in the sedentary parts of the study area and the newer structures in the upgraded areas provided two different thresholds in the architectural evolution for comparison of the constituents of the building patterns. After defining the study area, building counts were carried out to determine numbers in the upgraded and sedentary areas. This helped to calculate the sample sizes for direct observation guided by a schedule. Questionnaire was administered to evaluate residents’ opinions on the subject. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the trends in typologies and preferences while existing literature was used to explain the chronology of styles and the architectural evolution of the area. The research identified the current natures of the forms and elements being adopted in the area and the reasons for their adoption. It concluded that the forms have been modified to suit the social culture and the climate.

Maori Time

This paper investigates how Western notions of space, time and terrestrial reality may affect the perception of building form in other cultures, and have constrained our understanding of the indigenous architecture of the South Pacific. Maori concepts of space and time are explored to add a further dimension to understanding the Meeting House, which is widely considered to be the primary building of Maori architecture. This paper argues that Maori architecture may not conform to the Western model of the three dimensional object in space, and could also be understood as existing in time rather than space.

INNOVATION IN INDIGENOUS TOURISM: LESSONS FROM EN OORU TRIBAL HERITAGE VILLAGE, WAYANAD, KERALA

Indigenous tourism plays a crucial role in preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of tribal communities. This research paper explores the En Ooru tribal heritage village project in Wayanad, Kerala, and its impact on tribal development and indigenous tourism in the region. The study highlights the key characteristics of the En Ooru project, including its emphasis on preserving indigenous architecture, tribal customs, and traditions. Furthermore, the research explores the economic and socio-cultural impact of the En Ooru project. The village has become a major tourist attraction, drawing a significant number of visitors who contribute to the local economy. The paper also discusses the collaboration between the Kerala Tourism and Scheduled Tribe Development Department, which has been crucial to the success of the En Ooru project. This collaboration highlights the importance of governmental support and partnership in promoting indigenous tourism and tribal development. The findings from this study can serve as a foundation for future research and inform policymakers and stakeholders on strategies to enhance indigenous tourism and uplift tribal communities in Kerala.

Looking back thinking ahead towards the vernacular architecture of Gurage, Ethiopia

In accordance with the culture and environment, vernacular architecture has provided suitable solutions. People are looking for more environmentally friendly structures in today's globalized world. To comprehend the sustainable qualities of indigenous housing tradition, thus it is important to look back in time. This article has used the idea of sustainable development to evaluate the worth of Gurage, an Ethiopian traditional architecture. The indigenous architecture of the Gurage communities is constructed in line with the community's history, culture, and surroundings. In light of this, the research investigates traditional houses and the socio-cultural practices of the locals that promote resilience. In order to find a scientific basis and encourage its implementation in the future, this paper analyzes the architectural expression in Gurage, holistically in light of the knowledge and experience of the local populace. Using a phenomenological research design and a qualitative research approach that involves observation, key informant interviews (20), and focused group discussions (3) with carefully chosen participants, an explanation for the vernacular architecture of the study areas was established. The outcome of the paper reveals how much the rich vernacular traditions of the study site are still relevant today in creating an environmentally and culturally sustainable settlement. It implies that the traditional building practices and cultural heritage of the Gurage people can contribute to the development of a sustainable settlement that is both environmentally friendly and culturally appropriate. By expressing concern about these issues, it highlights the importance of taking proactive measures to safeguard the environment, preserve cultural heritage, and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

Erosion and Resurgence of Biohiphilia in the Evolution of Yoruba Architecture

The concept of biophilia in architecture promotes features such as plants, water, light, and materials to increase occupant health and well-being while also fostering a connection with nature. In traditional Yoruba architecture, the buildings and cities were a continuum with the environment and all the construction materials completely sourced from the immediate environment. The evolution of Yoruba architecture into more attritive forms and spaces arising from acculturation of foreign architectures gave rise to less biophilic features. This presentation explores the extent to which the indigenous traditions have yielded towards absolute social-cultural functionalism to the detriment of conservation and bio-sustainability in modern environmental development in primarily Yoruba-speaking areas of southwest Nigeria. Information and data for the investigation were obtained from literature on biophilic designs and indigenous Yoruba architecture. The findings from the research indicate that there were no inclinations in the contemporary indigenous architecture of the Yoruba to bring back the elements of the environment into its building forms until the proponents of sustainability and greening gained prominence. The urban forms fare better due to the efforts of landscape and urban designers. The paper concludes that the proponents of indigenous architecture who are presently premising their advocacy on heritage preservation and urban tourism should include the advantages of biophilic architecture which was present in the Yoruba traditional architecture in their discourses.

Thresholds of Architectural Morphology of Yoruba Buildings in Southwest Nigeria till the Millenia

The literary materials on Yoruba architecture that are more common are descriptive. They dwell mostly on the massing of units, individual configurations within buildings and cultural patterns in ornamentation. The direct links between the living spaces and their socio-cultural implications are emphasized to explain the origin of the forms. The morphological chronology in the building patterns is regarded as vernacularisation processes especially from the traditional patterns to the vernacular traditions. There are hardly any publications of Yoruba architectural buildings beyond the later vernacular patterns like the Afro-Brazilian style. While these volumes of literature are mostly limited to the traditional and vernacular styles, the ethno-acculturation of more contemporary and foreign building patterns like the "international" and the "postmodern" styles into the body of indigenous architectural building patterns of the Yoruba of Southwest Nigeria are not being investigated and published. The culture of a people is preserved in their architecture. If the culture of the Yoruba is preserved in their buildings, the cross-pollination of the Yoruba culture with different inputs from foreign cultures should be evident in the new indigenous buildings that are evolving up till the end of the twentieth century. This chapter material has organized the different lines of thought in the morphology of indigenous architectural building patterns of the Yoruba into a continuum that extends beyond the limits of the current body of literature on the topic. It attempts to decipher the new forms and elements of the buildings of later Yoruba indigenous architecture up till the turn of the twentieth century. The emphasis is on the definition of newer building patterns that can be termed as "indigenous" to the Yoruba culture in Southwest Nigeria. Having increased the ambit of the Yoruba architecture concerning the building patterns beyond the exposition of the previous publications, the current surcease on the morphology of Yoruba architecture in print can be broken to open up more research and publications on contemporary thresholds of the indigenous Yoruba architecture. The chapter is concluded with a guide on the identity of buildings of indigenous architecture of the Yoruba even within the morass of foreign building patterns that crowd the Yoruba towns in Southwest Nigeria.

Indigenous architecture and rock art and Euro-American historical inscriptions from the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, southwestern Colorado, USA

The paper presents some results from research of the Polish archaeological project conducted in several canyons in the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Mesa Verde region of southwestern Colorado, USA. It focuses on reconstruction of settlement structure and socio-cultural changes in Ancestral Pueblo community from 13th century A.D. as well as on documentation (mainly with advanced digital methods) and analysis of Native American rock art from different time periods. Rock art consists of petroglyphs and paintings that include Ancestral Pueblo and historic Ute tribes, but also Euro-American inscriptions left close to Native American rock art panels. One of the aims of the project is also to reconstruct the relationships between the site locations, architecture, rock art, and the surrounding landscape.

Efficient and optimum design of native architecture – A means for sustainability. Case study of Residential units in Kottar, Kanyakumari

The present architectural tendencies for the design of residential units are primarily focused on aesthetics and structural stability. It needs more thought to the occupants' experience of the space. Native architecture develops from knowledge collected over many generations. It includes key architectural factors like orientation, shape, material, and structural layout. The interplay of these design criteria with the demands of the inhabitants responds to the structural, sociocultural, and climatic factors, resulting in an effective and ideal sustainable design. In December 2021, an empirical investigation was conducted in 10 indigenous residential units in Kottar, Nagercoil, which is a city in the Kanyakumari district.The measured factors were based on how people perceive the space, which included air temperature, air velocity, building materials, construction technique, and space utilisation. A quantitative and qualitative study of the measured variable, highlights the sophisticated design and planning involved in indigenous architecture. The impact of spatial planning, envelope design, building features, opening design, materials, shape, and orientation on air temperature and movement was investigated. The findings emphasise the necessity of thermal zone management, delayed heat transmission owing to high thermal mass, controlling heat transfer from the roof through the intermediate ceiling and arranging openings along the courtyard axis. The analysis determined the factors in the design that affect how the inhabitants perceive the space. These identified factors and their impact contain the potential to improve the process of architectural design and planning.

Examining Mashrabiya’s Impact on Energy Efficiency and Cultural Aspects in Saudi Arabia

The traditional and indigenous architecture in Saudi Arabia is being replaced by modern, Western-style buildings, resulting from the growing influence of Western culture. This change is evident in architectural elements such as Mashrabiya, which was once a symbol of the country’s Islamic architecture. The research paper aims to analyse the impact of modernization and the resurgence of Mashrabiya on a building’s energy efficiency, as well as the cultural and religious integrity of its historical counterpart in the context of Saudi Arabia. The study employed mixed research methods, including an online survey with Saudi Arabian households to study the public perception of Mashrabiya, case studies of residences with traditional and modern Mashrabiya, and a range of dynamic thermal simulations on a residence with traditional Mashrabiya to study its impact on energy consumption. The survey revealed that the public is aware of the changing face of Mashrabiya and its impact on the cultural and religious identity of the region, mainly privacy, but it is largely uninformed about ways to preserve its true essence. The simulations demonstrated a significant improvement in thermal comfort, i.e., an approximate 14% reduction in operative temperature and a 77.8% reduction in peak solar gain; an improvement in energy efficiency, i.e., a 5.7% reduction in monthly cooling load and a 35.5% improvement in daylight factor. Based on the findings, the research provides several recommendations to preserve the identity of traditional Mashrabiya while enhancing their energy efficiency, such as the incorporation of traditional design elements into the plans of the Saudi Arabian government.

Creating and Managing a Radically Edited Cultural Landscape: The Blue Ridge Parkway in the United States

This article explores how a contrived heritage tourism landscape was created, how its identity was marketed, and how it has influenced the culture of the contiguous region in which it resides in. During the Great Depression, the designers from the U.S. National Park Service manipulated the authenticity of the indigenous architecture and radically edited the mountain landscape in Virginia and North Carolina to create an institutionalized super-scenic motorway—the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). Spanning over four hundred miles, the BRP promotes early American mountain culture. As it approaches its centennial year of being authorized by the U.S. Congress, this recreational road continues to be a popular heritage site and supports the regional economy through heritage tourism. However, does the planning of the parkway and the management of its identity convey the region’s historic mountain culture or has it always been a created landscape for tourism that is based on a formal construct of a heritage idea, created by its designers? And for the American tourist experiencing the BRP, what is more important: the authenticity of the regional heritage or the authenticity of the contrived artefact simply put, the scenic road?

Mamwi Gidaanjitoomin/Together We Build It: A Systematic Review of Traditional Indigenous Building Structures in North America and Their Potential Application in Contemporary Designs to Promote Environment and Well-Being.

(1) Background: Housing has long been recognized as an essential determinant of health. Our sense of home goes beyond physical shelter and is associated with personal or collective connections with spaces and places. However, modern architecture has gradually lost its connections between people and places; (2) Methods: We examined traditional Indigenous architecture and how it can be utilized in contemporary settings to restore connections to promote the environment, health, and well-being. (3) Results: We found that traditional Indigenous building structures may be the best manifestation of the Indigenous interconnected and holistic worldviews in North America, containing thousands of years of knowledge and wisdom about the land and the connection between humans and the environment, which is the foundation of reciprocal well-being; (4) Conclusions: Learning from the traditional structures, we proposed that modern architects should consider the past, present, and future in every endeavor and design and to utilize traditional knowledge as a crucial source of inspiration in creating works that are beneficial for both current and future generations by taking collectivism, health and well-being, and the environment into consideration in designs.

Evaluating the Impact of Vernacular Façade Design on Indoor Thermal Performance in Malaysia’s Modern Masjids

Accessing buildings for evaluation on architectural concerns are raised as some designers create the call to revive indigenous architecture when a trend of adopting foreign or international architectural style is widely spreading. The quests for cultural identity in Malaysia towards sustainable contemporary buildings require research of past achievements. Vernacular masjid is known to adhere to principles of passive design as the key to thermal comfort. Researchers posed questions on the extent of flexibility in vernacular architectural concepts, concerning design adaptation on modern masjids for optimal thermal performance. This experimental research aimed to evaluate the outcome of modern masjid façades designed with the vernacular concept in Malaysia. In the literature, research brings together variables such as building height, façade shading, serambi openings, as well as materials and construction details. A quantitative analysis led this investigation through observation and field survey on stratified random samples of modern vernacular masjids in Malaysia. Air temperature and relative humidity were recorded using a MIC-98583 sensor with ±0.6 °C accuracy in temperature and ± 3 % accuracy in relative humidity. Wind speed was measured using an AVM-305 sensor with ± 0.2 m/s accuracy. The empirical finding highlights serambi opening-to-wall design as the most significant element of vernacular architecture found in building façade that influences indoor thermal performance in modern vernacular masjids. The result could become an extremely useful guideline for designers to create the sustainable design in the future.

Ake Palace: A Reflection of Culture and Architecture in South-West, Nigeria

Yorùbá indigenous architecture is not haphazard. It results from an organized cultural and religious system. Family, community, and belief were given top priority while designing every part of the building, including the material choice, architectural style, and construction method. Culture needs a useful location where it can express and manifest its actions in order to fulfill its purpose. Therefore, the area in which this activity and lifestyle can be practiced must be provided through architectural design. Although it is true that both architecture and culture are dynamic and will change for the better, culture must not be readily changed yield to the demands of architecture and its allure. Authors have noted that socio-political, cultural, and religious ideas are expressed in art forms and emanate from them within the majority of societies and throughout time. This suggests that the building embodies and portrays the culture in terms of homage, food, hospitality, education, and sociopolitical ideas. Generally speaking, architecture offers, suggests, or demonstrates the direction of cultural values; it identifies or shows cultural identities. Ake palace in this study denote a series of techniques that establish the city’s identity plans and concepts of the town image as a whole into an integrative city which is based on communal relationships of an urban fabrics. The gap in this study is the disregard for the natural and architectural environments, prior cultural expressions that weakened cultural identity. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between culture and architecture using Ake palace in south-west Nigeria as a reflection of it. A qualitative approach was used, and focus groups made up of custodian leaders from Ake Palace was used to conduct in-depth interviews. Nvivo word trees and place theory was used to analyze the data. Description of Ake palace design concept was gathered from the custodian leaders. This study demonstrated how the architecture of squares reveals important information about the built environment of the current urban fabric, past historical accounts, cultural practices, and the traditional identity of the Ake people.

Transcultural Landscapes: Public Space and Bioclimatic Architecture

Objectives: To analyze Transcultural Landscapes defined by Public Space and Bioclimatic Architecture of African Brazilians and Indigenous Cultures. Indigenous architecture from native ethnic groups added to Africans who came to the country as slaves. Such Brazilian tropical architecture is characterized by moving away not only from the usual constructive methods, but also from a characteristic of western culture of aggressiveness towards nature. Theoretical approach: Architecture as Landscape, Place and Sustainable Development. Discussion: Conforming Architecture to socioeconomic and environmental issues to conform buildings to sustainability. Theoretical / methodological contributions: Architecture comes from ecological conditions resulting from the natural context (Biophilia). Place as a fundamental concept for the study of geography, linking it to Cultural Landscape in which culture is the agent, the natural area is the environment, and the Cultural Landscape is the result. Cultural Landscape concept was adopted by UNESCO in 1992 and incorporated as a new typology of recognition of cultural assets according to the 1972 Convention, which established the World Heritage List. Social and environmental contributions: Changing the Urban Paradigm through micro-prototypes implanted in the favela Morro do Palácio, in Niterói/RJ from the perspective of Technological Innovations and Experiments with New Materials, Processes, and Tools, as goals of the LAPALU (Transcultural Laboratory of Landscape and Place), PPGAU/UFF/CNPq. Conclusion: Teaching the Project of Architecture and its Social Innovation at the Brazilian Federal University.

Wood Identification: A Tool for Preservation of Indigenous Architecture of Traditional Houses in Ifugao, Philippines

Abstract Traditional wooden houses are an integral part of the identity of the majestic Ifugao rice terrace landscape as the architectural heritage of the indigenous Ifugao people. These traditional houses function as family residences and serve as rice granaries, refuge, and special housing for unmarried people in the community. In as much as the materials used for the construction of the traditional house are sourced from the surrounding wood lots and communal forests, the traditional house serves as an important record of the history and value of indigenous and endemic trees found in the central Cordillera mountain range. This study identified 206 traditional houses in Kiangan town, and from these houses, transverse sections of house parts from the dismantled and standing houses were examined. Thirty-two species of mostly indigenous and endemic trees were used to construct traditional houses across four periods: (1) before 1931, (2) 1931–1960, (3) 1961–1990 and (4) 1991–2020. The Ifugaos consistently utilized the preferred wood species such as Amugawon (Vitex parviflora), Udyo (Pterocarpus indicus), and Itangan (Weinmannia luzoniensis) for traditional house construction. Wood species such as Yakal (Shorea astylosa), Gmelina (Gmelina arborea), and Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) were also identified from recently constructed houses. The disappearance of certain premium hardwoods and a shift to commonly available but less quality wood is noticeable, as the former were over-utilized but never mass-propagated. Finally, a conservation planning workshop on traditional houses was organized among local homeowners, barangay, and municipal officials, agreeing on the following points: (a) creation of an ordinance to protect and conserve existing traditional houses; (b) development of information, education, and communication materials on the importance of traditional houses; and (c) enhanced collaboration and cooperation among stakeholders.

Distinctive Aspects of Vernacular Architecture of Wakhan Valley in Afghanistan; Influencing the Crossing Cultures and Adapting to the Harsh Climate

Many scientific sources agree that indigenous architecture, in terms of shape and function, is best suited to its environment. In this architecture, climatic conditions, access to materials, culture and beliefs of residents play an important role in the formation of the outer wall, the arrangement of ancillary spaces and decorative features. This architecture has a unique feature in the Pamir Mountains of Afghanistan in the face of wildlife, different cultures and harsh climatic conditions. The approach of the two Wakhi and Kyrgyz immigrant communities in the region is quite different in their adherence to traditions. However, in the Wakhan Valley, the transfer of experiences between farmers and herding nomads has created a new kind of architecture that is still introverted. To study the formation of this architecture, descriptive-analytical method has been studied on library resources, maps, statistical data, reports and field images. This study showed that indigenous architecture, in a wise introverted way, is based on both maintaining the internal warmth of the house and socio-cultural relationships. Symbols are influenced by the nature, history and culture of neighboring civilizations and have evolved over time. However, this architecture plays an important role in creating interaction and social stability in this region. Communities in residential, religious and burial buildings have also paid attention to available materials and adaptation to land form. Despite efforts to adapt to very cold climates in both types of homes, buildings and tents, there are limitations to receiving lighting and ventilation.

Transformative or Tokenistic?

Transformative or Tokenistic?

Identifying and prioritizing cultural factors affecting the physical structure of the city with emphasis on indigenous architecture (Case study: Sarab city)

Identifying and prioritizing cultural factors affecting the physical structure of the city with emphasis on indigenous architecture (Case study: Sarab city)