1. Threats that endangers the existence, sustainability and diversity of vernacular architecture
1.1. Economic
1.1.1. Economic growth leads to borrowing of architectural & planning style of the West by many Asian cities.
1.1.2. commercial greed leads to demolishing of valuable vernacular buildings
1.2. Cultural
1.2.1. Rapid cultural change leads to rapid changing of the built environment, Asian cities often refer cultural preservation as development obstacles rather than an opportunity
1.2.1.1. New form that is thought to be traditional arises, such as Lee Tung Street in HK
1.2.1.2. Preservation of environments, such as 1881 Heritage in HK
1.2.2. Fundamentalization of the Muslim in Northern Africa
1.3. Architectural
1.3.1. Architecture built by Architects that are promoting own personal style but in little regard of the value of the community
1.3.1.1. Architects use their mind as a medium to digest the past and unite their impressions and experiences to give rise to new building in line with the tradition and to express the culture of the community
1.4. Homogenization
1.5. Globalization
1.5.1. How the tendencies become features of lifes
1.6. Industrialization
1.6.1. Technologies for mass production of materials are adopted and Traditional building methods like crafting details are abandoned
1.7. Modernization
1.7.1. Indifference of the old houses e.g. Abandoned house in New Territories in HK
1.7.1.1. Preserving and revitalizing these places, it in a way affirms cultural identity
1.8. Political
1.8.1. Government distortion on collective memory in order to win support for maintaining their power
1.9. Climates
1.9.1. The modern technologies such as air-conditioning are widely adopted in many buildings. The climatic response is no longer vernacular but a rather global response in dealing with local climates.
2. Diversity of Vernacular Architecture
2.1. Different response/ approach by a particular group of community as well as different environmental constraints
2.1.1. Climate
2.1.1.1. How does climate affect the building of vernacular architecture
2.1.1.1.1. Survival is the minimum requirement of a building being suitable for the local climate. Yet, human needs comfort in their climatic zones but not only to survive. Therefore, comfort for the vernacular population, which is derived from the preference of the vernacular majorities, is considered in building the vernacular architecture.
2.1.1.2. When does climate and culture co-relate to give rise of vernacular architecture
2.1.1.2.1. Feng Shui
2.1.1.2.2. [Tropical region] The Malay rises their house by piles for ventilation in the humid climate. It matches their traditional belief that the ground is for the evil spirit but not human habitation.
2.1.1.3. When does other factors such as economic, cultural, spiritual, worked against climate and geography
2.1.1.3.1. [Tropical region] The Malay built their house in wetland - culture is main factor
2.1.1.3.2. Air-conditioning are widely adopted in modern buildings - climate is main factor
2.1.2. Material
2.1.2.1. Types of Materials
2.1.2.1.1. Natural
2.1.2.1.2. Manufactured
2.1.2.2. Methods, Structure, Skills, Techniques
2.1.2.2.1. use the shared common knowledge to build
2.1.2.2.2. obtain experience from the past generations
2.1.2.3. Rituals
2.1.2.3.1. e.g. feng shui concept of the Asia cities
2.1.2.4. Dimension
2.1.2.4.1. human scale
2.2. Rural or urban, with environmental as well as social constraints
2.2.1. Types
2.2.1.1. Urban Vernacular
2.2.1.1.1. Definition
2.2.1.1.2. Types in Asia
2.2.1.1.3. Key stages of evolution of the urban vernacular of the city during urbanization process
2.2.1.1.4. Differences with rural vernacular
2.2.1.1.5. Connection with rural vernacular
2.2.1.1.6. How does the city depend on it? And how does urban vernacular architecture and environment support the city?
2.2.1.1.7. City as a cultural milieu
2.2.1.1.8. Are temporary installations deliberately designed by architects for spontaneous activities to happen considered to be urban vernacular?
2.2.1.1.9. Are we, as people living in the urban vernacular environment, self-conscious or unself-conscious?
2.2.1.2. Rural Vernacular
2.2.1.2.1. Settlements
2.2.1.2.2. Settings
2.2.1.2.3. Cosmic
2.2.1.2.4. Are they built with self-consciousness or unself-consciousness?
2.2.1.3. Informal Settlements of Urban Vernacular
2.2.1.3.1. Types
2.2.1.3.2. Definition
2.2.1.3.3. Why do they appear
2.2.1.3.4. Characteristics
2.2.1.3.5. It is a double sided sword
2.2.1.3.6. Similarities and Differences with rural vernacular architecture
2.2.1.3.7. Relation to the urban vernacular environment
2.2.1.3.8. Relation of one to another
2.2.1.3.9. Fate
2.2.1.3.10. What is it in different people's eyes?
2.2.1.3.11. Who paid the efforts of making it work?
2.2.1.3.12. Pros and Cons of government intervention
2.2.1.3.13. Suggestions on intervention
3. Sustainability of Vernacular Architecture
3.1. Future of Asia's Vernacular Architecture
3.1.1. What is Asia's tradition
3.1.1.1. Definition
3.1.1.1.1. it should be understood by comparing it with modernity
3.1.1.1.2. it is not a static legacy, but a continue process of change
3.1.1.1.3. it is a product that is always innovated with first practice
3.1.1.1.4. a mix of multiple culture
3.1.1.2. meaning
3.1.1.2.1. to let us understand and by then could we shape the present and future
3.1.2. Thinking of how it could survive in the modern world by case studies
3.1.2.1. integrating traditional material into new buildings e.g. Wang Shu
3.1.2.2. e.g. Avis Ranch
3.2. Architectural Conservation
3.2.1. Defining Conservation of Vernacular Architecture
3.2.1.1. A creative and forward-looking process of preserving the physical form as well as other activities so as to maintain the cultural value/significance of a place. It should conserve in a way to respect the past, adapt to present and flexible for necessary future change
3.2.2. Cultural Significance & value of Vernacular architecture to be conserved
3.2.2.1. How to determine
3.2.2.1.1. Story of place that tells the value
3.2.2.2. Level of significance
3.2.2.2.1. Outstanding universal value, the value has transcended national boundary, important for present and future generations
3.2.2.2.2. Common value of a society, it can be a community, a city, a state, a nation
3.2.2.3. Should be authentic
3.2.2.3.1. authentic fakery
3.2.2.3.2. fake authenticity
3.2.2.4. types of value
3.2.2.4.1. historic value
3.2.2.4.2. aesthetic and artistic value
3.2.2.4.3. scientific and research value
3.2.2.4.4. social and identity value
3.2.3. Conservation Approach
3.2.3.1. Controlled change i.e. the cultural significance should not be changed
3.2.3.2. Maintenance
3.2.3.3. Preservation
3.2.3.4. Restoration
3.2.3.5. Reconstruction
3.2.3.6. New work
3.2.3.7. Retaining / reintroducing uses
3.2.3.8. Retaining meaning / association
3.2.3.9. Interpretation
3.2.4. gentrification
3.2.4.1. it is a by product of development of city
3.2.4.2. it has its positive and negative side and we have to find the balance
3.2.4.2.1. upgrading the area is inevitable, but have to consider if it is applicable to the site
3.2.4.2.2. the extent of gentrification should be controlled that the cultural significance is still retained
3.2.5. changing function
3.2.6. Threats
3.2.6.1. urbanization
3.2.6.2. uncontrollable population growth
3.2.6.3. degradation of environment
3.2.6.4. economic pressures- high land prices
3.2.6.5. subsequent urban renewal
3.2.6.6. globalizaion
3.2.6.7. homogenization of culture
3.2.6.8. human neglect, igorance, greed, war, conflict
3.2.7. Steps
3.2.7.1. Evaluate the cultural significance
3.2.7.2. Define the architectural historical elements with character & preserve it
3.2.7.3. Conduct accurate research to understand the story behind to retain it
4. Definition
4.1. the most probable way of adaptation to the present situationby the indigenous
4.2. A continual process of adaptations in the buildings by indigenous people, in response to social and environmental change
4.3. Countrified, Traditional, homemade
4.3.1. Definition
4.3.1.1. to pass on to another the building technology and skills, i.e. the way they build through generations, a timeless way of building
4.3.1.2. cannot be inherited and if you want it, you must obtain it by great labor
4.3.1.3. Results of man's elemental needs and his intricate relationship with the society and the environment he lives in, i.e., customs and behaviors, belief of people
4.3.1.4. Should be refined by and reviewed together with the contemporary
4.4. Built based on shared knowledge commonly understood by ordinary people
4.4.1. What materials they use for different climate conditions
4.5. Distinctive and recognizable form or appearance of cultural tradition of a groups of people - what it looks like and how they behave in it
4.5.1. What is Culture?
4.5.1.1. Culture embodies the complexity of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only arts and letters, but also modes of life, fundamental rights of people, their value systems, traditions and beliefs."
4.5.1.2. The way of ordinary people live
4.5.1.3. The way they feel
4.5.1.4. The values they hold, traditions and belief they have
4.5.1.5. Arts and letters
4.5.1.6. The way they build their habitats and how they use within their means, availability, limits
4.6. not just the building but referring to surrounding Vernacular Landscape as well
4.6.1. Sense of place - a connection of human and place (memory/setting) can be lost when things changed
4.6.1.1. e.g. Tai Hang - grid induced comfort for both pedestrian and vehicles. also with its low-rise building to make better connection with the street, people.
4.6.2. Ongoing changing process resulted in multiple layers of old and new layer of human activities
4.6.3. Built by, compromise by a larger population than that of vernacular architecture
4.6.4. Different from the cultural landscape, as it does more of a serving purpose for the indigenous, while cultural landscape induced whenever human activities take place
4.6.5. If the occupants left, it is not a vernacular landscape, as the serving target is gone
4.6.6. Export culture could become a new layer for the vernacular landscape, evolution instead of revolution
4.6.7. A temporary/ past place could be a vernacular landscape, it might become a collective memory of the indigenous people. e.g. very DVRC
5. Value/Meaning
5.1. Value helps us understand the meaning of its existence because of people. The latent aspect of functions and uses people expressed on the built environment. And how it connects to us (who we are and where we came from). Part of our identity is defined by the place we live in.
5.2. Meaning
5.2.1. What is it? communicated by noticed cues including fixed/semi-fixed features, people, behavior
5.2.1.1. Low-level meaning, cues that identify use of settings
5.2.1.2. middle-level meaning, cues that identify users' identity and belief (While consumption, clothing, transportation could also serve this purpose)
5.2.1.2.1. Less important in Traditional than in contemporary
5.2.1.3. high-level meaning, cues that tell users' sacred, world view, cosmology and philosophies
5.2.1.3.1. More important in traditional than in contemporary
5.2.2. What is the importance? help people co-act an appropriate behavior, but at the same time not limiting their acts