Architecture vernaculaire | EPFL Graph Search

thumb|Cliff Palace à Mesa Verde thumb|Ksar Ouled Soltane à Tataouine L’architecture vernaculaire est un type d'architecture communément répandu dans un pays, un territoire ou une aire donnés à une époque donnée. Étymologie du mot « vernaculaire » Le terme « vernaculaire » n'est pas attesté avant le au sens de « tout ce qui est particulier à un pays ». Il s'agit d'un emprunt récent au latin vernaculus, « relatif aux esclaves nés dans la maison ». En linguistique, le terme de langue vernaculaire renvoie à une langue usuellement parlée dans les limites d'une communauté. Plus précisément, il s'agit d'une langue utilisée en un temps, en un endroit ou par un groupe de personnes dans lequel l'observateur n'est pas inclus. Elle s'oppose à langue véhiculaire. Dans la taxinomie des plantes, les noms vernaculaires sont les noms « vulgaires », c'est-à-dire communs, employés dans une langue, un dialecte ou un patois et qui s'opposent en cela aux noms latins employés dans la taxinomie

Architecture en milieu alpin: un espace pour le corps et l'esprit (Le Châble, VS)

Muriel May

L'architecture alpine, fortement influencée par son environnement, par le climat et les dangers de la montagne, garde un caractère expérimental dans sa pratique contemporaine et reste un terrain attractif pour le projet. Favorable à la recherche, le milieu alpin stimule et favorise le développement de nouvelles solutions constructives, fonctionnelles et plastiques tout en proposant une substance spatiale riche de significations et d'enjeux. Le site choisi, le village du Châble, dans le Val de Bagnes, est un passage obligé sur la route de Verbier. Il se présente comme un lieu stratégique pouvant bénéficier de la notoriété de la station pour attirer les touristes. Il s'en distingue cependant en proposant des espaces caractéristiques du milieu alpin épargnés des interventions des promoteurs. Proposer un projet au Châble permettrait alors de désengorger Verbier et de faire découvrir au touriste le reste de la Vallée. Le programme des bains thermaux semble trouver un cadre idéal en milieu alpin, à proximité d'une source et des hauts sommets, dans un environnement naturel permettant la contemplation, le ressourcement et la détente. A l'image des bains antiques, il sera complété par un programme culturel, une médiathèque, qui répond à une demande locale. Cette multifonctionnalité augmentera le caractère public de l'édifice qui rassemblera en un même lieu autochtones et touristes et proposera un espace pour le corps et l'esprit.

2008

Le facteur séisme dans l'architecture vernaculaire

Milo Hofmann

A large part of ancient built environments in earthquake prone areas have been accomplished exclusively thanks to the experience that their builders developed over centuries of practice. Several of the resulting techniques have showed a satisfactory performance during earthquakes, attesting sometimes of risk cultures. Nowadays, the seismic phenomenon is not systematically considered as a factor that might have been taken into account by ancient builders. A lack of knowledge about vernacular building cultures and their correlation with these phenomena raises the probability that interventions on ancient built stock and prevention activities do not take advantage of site potentialities, even increasing its vulnerability. These issues have been investigated on the basis of the following research assumption: decoding the link between vernacular architecture and earthquakes considering cultural, structural and cognitive aspects, could contribute to reduce the vulnerability of people and ancient built environments, thanks to an in-depth understanding of mechanisms and dynamics supporting their resilience. Thus, this research aimed at highlighting questions and arguments fostering the appreciation of inventiveness inherent to past building cultures and enhancing their value in contemporary practice. Correlation factors between vernacular built environment and seismic phenomena have been explored through three research axes. The first one considers cultural determinants, namely the aspects that have a marked impact on the society reactions to earthquakes. The second one investigates types of vernacular structures that could be qualified as paraseismic. The third research axe concerns cognitive resources regarding effectiveness of a particular building practice implemented in many seismic regions, based on the integration of horizontal wood elements in masonry walls. The exploration of these axes has been accomplished through literature review and field studies considering vernacular built environment from multiple perspectives. It has been perceived as an environment permeated by resilience strategies referred to measures reducing building vulnerability and to precautionary behaviours adopted by populations (L'Aquila Province, Italy). At the same time, buildings have been examined as testimony of structural solutions adapted to the historical seismicity of the area (territory of North Anatolian Fault, Turkey), and as the expression of knowledge closely related to horizontal forces effects (Ohrid Lake region, Macedonia & Albania). Findings from this research highlight the potential of an approach questioning aspects referred to perception, technique and knowledge. Decoding the link between vernacular architecture and earthquakes as between cultural determinants, types of structures and cognitive resources, thus becomes a source of substantial and contextualized elements from which develop resilience strategies that are multi- and trans-disciplinary.

EPFL2015

New Vernacular Architecture as Appropriate Strategy for Housing the Poor

Sytse de Maat

Improving living conditions of the poor often involves a drastic change in lifestyle, in order to fit daily life into industrially produced dwellings. Slum rehabilitation programs replacing informal settlements with standardized mass housing, have often resulted in a mismatch of inhabitants and their built environment. Participation strategies meant to counter this problem, show little effect unless the user is in charge. What is the problem with development and participation? This chapter will discuss ‘housing the poor’ as a case to illustrate how industrialization and systemization are at odds with participation. We will consider two ways of producing housing: industrial mass housing, and informal settlement. The focus is on the connectedness of the user, the inhabitant, with his dwelling. It will lead to the observation that participation aims at meeting the diversity that is natural to human beings, whereas systemization requires and produces the opposite: uniformity. Moreover, the term user-participation implicitly states the user is an outsider participating in developers' projects, which after all are dominated by the interests of the construction industry. An Appropriate Technology - approach in housing the poor would benefit from a focus on user-building interaction as it taps directly into people’s most powerful resource: creativity. Western systemization is not the only route to improvement. Strategies based on vernacular are at least as effective, appropriate, and humanly sustainable.

Springer Verlag2012

Le facteur séisme dans l'architecture vernaculaire

Milo Hofmann

EPFL2015