Vernacular Architecture and Regional Design: Cultural Process and Environmental Response

211 Pages·2009·29.08 MB·English

by  Kingston Wm. Heath Ph.D.

VERNACULAR
ARCHITECTURE AND
REGIONAL DESIGN:
CULTURAL PROCESS AND
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE
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VERNACULAR
ARCHITECTURE AND
REGIONAL DESIGN:
CULTURAL PROCESS AND
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE
KINGSTON WM. HEATH
AMSTERDAM$BOSTON$HEIDELBERG$LONDON$NEWYORK$OXFORD
PARIS$SANDIEGO$SANFRANCISCO$SYDNEY$TOKYO
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Vernaculararchitectureandregionaldesign:cultural
processandenvironmentalresponse
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Contents
Dedication..........................................................................................................................................vii
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................................ix
Foreword:on thestudyof‘regional architecture’.............................................................................xi
Preface– Regionalism reconsidered.................................................................................................xiii
Listofillustrations............................................................................................................................xvii
SectionOne Exploring theNature ofPlace......................................................................................1
1 Aninterpretivemodelforassessingregionalidentityamidstchange...........................................3
2 Architectureasculturalproduction...........................................................................................22
SectionTwo From Regional Theory toaSituatedRegional Response...........................................37
3 Introduction.............................................................................................................................39
PartOne People– Improving theHuman Condition ThroughDesign.......................................................49
4 Findingpatternswithinthelocalbuildingculture,andpreservingthecontinuityof
traditionthroughparticipatoryhousingandcommunitydevelopment......................................51
5 Facingthechallengeofaframeworkapproach.........................................................................61
6 Rewritinghistorythrougharchitecture.....................................................................................75
PartTwo Locale –Interpreting andAccommodating Characteristics ofan Evolving Landscape.................91
7 Embracingtheurbancontradictionsofaborderzone...............................................................93
8 Overpaintingsprawlasasustainablelandscape......................................................................108
PartThree Environment – Appropriate Technologies andDesign Tied tothe Dynamicsof Place..............125
9 Apovertyofresources/arichnessofexpression.......................................................................127
10 Celebratingandsafeguardingtheenvironmentthroughresidentialdesign.............................146
11 Architectureofresponseratherthanimposition.....................................................................159
Index.................................................................................................................................................179
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To mywife,Randall MayHeath. You invest mylifewith meaning, joyand wonder.
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Acknowledgements
This topic, which explores the bridge between Schauble, and Matt Draughn. Their loyalty and
vernacular architecture theory and contemporary friendshipmeanmuchtome.Ihopethisworkdoes
regionaldesign,hasbeenacentralconcernofmine justicetotheircollectiveefforts.
since the mid-1980s. I, therefore, have many in- At the University of Oregon, several colleagues
tellectual debts to pay for the development of my were generous with their time. Howard Davis read
ideasinthistext. the prospectus and made helpful comments at
While at the University of North Carolina, variouspointsofthemanuscriptdevelopment.Tom
Charlotte(UNCC)Iorganizedasymposiumin1988 Hubka and Robert Melnick responded to selected
entitled ’Regionalism, Contextualism, and the chapters on vernacular theory. Those chapters
Searchfora’’New’’Vernacular.’Speakersincluded benefited, as well, from the editorial review by
E. Fay Jones, Steven Izenour, Rob Quigley, Dell Camille Wells and Pamela Simpson for the journal
Upton, and Robert Craig. Subsequent guest entry of ’Assessing Regional Identity Amidst
speakers to UNCC graciously provided time for Change: The Role of Vernacular Studies’ published
interviews. These interviews included wonderful inPerspectivesinVernacularArchitecture,volume13
discussionswithSamMockbee,JosephEsherick,and (2), 2006/2007. Michael Fifield provided back-
JamesCutler.Thosediscussionsledtoamanuscript groundonthetsunamirecoveryeffortsinSriLanka
draft entitled ’Context as Text’ that was presented and provided me with images. Also, University of
to MIT Press in 1995, but was not published. In- Oregon architecture professors Brook Muller, John
stead, some of the theoretical content was de- Reynolds, Alison Kwok, and Nico Larco lent com-
veloped into conference presentations and articles mentary on an earlier draft of the case study on
for the Vernacular Architecture Forum and the As- Glenn Murcutt that led to the clarification of key
sociationofCollegiateSchoolsofArchitecture.One design issues for the author. Natalie Perrin, my
of the case studies from the 1995 manuscript – an graduateassistant,helpedinmanywaystokeepthe
applicationmodeloftheregionaltheoryoffered in bookmanuscriptonschedule.
theoriginaldraft–becamethePatinaofPlace:The Of course, many thanks are due the architects
Cultural Weathering of a New England Industrial whosecasestudiesarechronicledinthistext.Their
LandscapepublishedbytheUniversityofTennessee willingness to expand upon concepts in their re-
Press in 2001. While the theoretical model spective chapter entries, provide original drawings
presented in the earlier manuscript was refined in to clarify design responses, and provide me with
thisstudy,muchoftheoriginalmanuscriptwritten high-quality images to represent their work was
in1995,sixchaptersinall,wasneverpublishedand muchappreciated.
allthecasestudieshereinaretheproductofthepast Finally,athankyouisinsufficienttorecognizethe
fewyears. manycontributionsofmywife,Randall.Shelistened
IwouldliketothanktheSchoolofArchitectureat to me read the various versions of chapter entries
UNCC for granting sabbaticalleave to develop the (and their revisions); provided many insightful
present manuscript. Also, as in the Patina of Place, comments in the process; offered editorial sugges-
my colleague Gregor Weiss provided evocative tions;and(asaresearchlibrarian)madecertainthat
drawings of the mobile home transformations that all my citations were accurate. She has my un-
we discussed together at length. Countless hours wavering gratitude and love – she is a partner in
were spent typing early drafts and discussing everysenseoftheword.
concepts with my very talented thesis students Eugene,Oregon
and teaching assistants Todd Williams, Donia D. 2008