Lecture 2_Seminar Notes

Community, self sufficiency

Vernacular doesn’t have very designated roles.

Selection of sites, ritualistic – spiritual. Mythology of contemporary.

Malay House in Malaysia.

Many of the tribes existed before the nation states. How some countries have adopted these identities to push nationalist agendas.

Can we call it vernacular if it is so researched and designed and divorced from the community.

Communities don’t want to be associated with the vernacular.

Romanticisation of the vernacular. The community might see themselves as under developed – can be traced back to colonial power. Changing people’s understanding of the vernacular – the vernacular can be evolving.

Atacama desert – a lot of clothes are getting dumped – these are being recycled as insulation. Community initiatives.

What makes ornament less relevant than technology? Ornament cannot be detached from meaning.

Appropriation in architecture – justify the existence of the architectural proposal. So that the architect can impose their idea onto the site. Abolition of the architecture profession.

Temple in Tokyo rebuilt in concrete – two different material processes.

Vernacular is built by themselves for themselves. Nothing built by an architect can be truly vernacular. What is the architect belongs in the community?

There are problems in the vernacular. Learning from the vernacular.

Spatial arrangement as something to bring forward from the past area. Multi-functionality. Spatial arrangement as something that characterizes the vernacular.

Threats to the community shaping the space, as well – what are the contemporary risks? Social but also climatic. Living or surviving?

Maybe it is about time.

Santiago Calatrava thin concrete shells that couldn’t be done elsewhere because there is no expertise.

Ceramics in castellon – firing it in 10 years. Firing it with different sources of energy. Red clay.

People to move seasonally. Structure to be moved easily by a family.

Desertification of Madrid. Main cause of desertification Move here temporarily. Are they farmers? Can we name them.

Spiritual – the sublime. Are there architectural gestures that appeal to everyone regardless of credo?

Government interests when it comes to preserving vernacular language of architecture.

Can the new materiality be combined with traditional materiality. Yes and I would encourage you to do so.