Vernacular Design: Architecture's Regional Voices
See how local sites and materials create a language rooted to an area. Is your home part of the conversation?
We hear the term "vernacular" applied a lot to home design. What exactly does it mean?
In brief, vernacular design is design rooted in its locale. In some respects vernacular design can be said to be indigenous, the way a language is indigenous, or native, to a certain place and people.
The tepees of the Plains Indians are a certain type of vernacular design, as are the stone and frame barns of the Pennsylvania countryside. Usually made from locally produced materials and designed for utility, vernacular architecture always takes it design cues from the specifics of site and function.
In brief, vernacular design is design rooted in its locale. In some respects vernacular design can be said to be indigenous, the way a language is indigenous, or native, to a certain place and people.
The tepees of the Plains Indians are a certain type of vernacular design, as are the stone and frame barns of the Pennsylvania countryside. Usually made from locally produced materials and designed for utility, vernacular architecture always takes it design cues from the specifics of site and function.
A vernacular design has a language that can be, like any language, broken into parts and reassembled to create new meanings. When architects design in a vernacular style, they break that local design language into its components and reassemble them to write a new design story. So while a roof shape, siding material, color and stone base remind us of the local barns, we may be presented with something altogether new.
Vernacular design is rooted in its place even when it takes on a modern form and uses modern materials. I would expect that these simple structures arranged on the landscape like a temporary encampment would be familiar to many.
This teaches us that just as there is a vernacular to a home's design, there is a vernacular to how a house, or group of houses, is arranged on the land.
This teaches us that just as there is a vernacular to a home's design, there is a vernacular to how a house, or group of houses, is arranged on the land.
"Vernacular" doesn't mean old. In fact, a design can be deeply rooted in the local vernacular and be quite fresh and modern. It takes an understanding of what constitutes the local vernacular to achieve this.
Whitewashed walls to keep the interior bright during the dark days of winter as well as a splash of bright color to bring attention to an important architectural element are rooted in Scandinavian design.
Whitewashed walls to keep the interior bright during the dark days of winter as well as a splash of bright color to bring attention to an important architectural element are rooted in Scandinavian design.
Because vernacular design is specific to its site, it changes from place to place. Where gable roofs and wood lap siding are elements of the New England vernacular, adobe construction, simple forms and bright colors are vernacular elements in the Southwest.
In fact, vernacular design was and continues to be adapted. Centuries ago the pueblo vernacular of the Southwest Indians started to mix with a European, specifically Spanish, aesthetic that remains with us today.
In fact, vernacular design was and continues to be adapted. Centuries ago the pueblo vernacular of the Southwest Indians started to mix with a European, specifically Spanish, aesthetic that remains with us today.
Just as a single home detached from its neighbors can be rooted in vernacular design, so too can an urban attached home. Townhouses for many centuries have been built using a language that includes tall and thin double-hung windows to maximize interior light, masonry construction for solidity and fire resistance, and wide stairways that lead to raised entry stoops, to name a few.
I would guess that homes built like these would be as familiar to city dwellers from a thousand years ago as they are to city dwellers today.
I would guess that homes built like these would be as familiar to city dwellers from a thousand years ago as they are to city dwellers today.
So what type of vernacular design appeals to you?
Is it the simple gable-shaped Cape with an exterior that appears to be a skin like a membrane that's tautly stretched over its frame?
Is it the simple gable-shaped Cape with an exterior that appears to be a skin like a membrane that's tautly stretched over its frame?
Or is it a more formal language, a symmetrical home with a deep-set porch and an elevated main level?
Or is it the way in which a locally sourced material is shaped and assembled to create a home deeply rooted to its place?
Or is your preferred design language less about a particular vernacular and more about something new and different?
More: The Architect's Toolbox
More: The Architect's Toolbox