The Connotation of Vernacular Architecture

The word "vernacular" comes from Latin, meaning domestic or native. Its development is an organic process that encompasses society as a whole. He is closely related to tradition through specific geographic locations, specific ethnic and cultural groups, and unique historical periods.

The term "Vernacular Architecture" is derived from the Charter on the Vernacular Architectural Heritage, adopted in October 1999 in Mexico. According to the Charter, Vernacular Architecture is the traditional and natural way in which a community builds its own houses, and is a fundamental expression of the culture of a society, of its relationship with the region in which it is situated, and of the cultural diversity of the world.

Vernacular architecture is both a material entity and a cultural journey. It is designed and built by the local users themselves, and is closely related to the local resources, culture and lifestyle. It is like the folk street juggling and family workshops, a kind of folk spontaneous family or individual-based activities, a materialization of local resources, lifestyle, family concepts, neighborhood relations, cultural activities, and a kind of tangible cultural precipitation, which is the outward manifestation of the spirit of the vernacular and the local culture as the vernacular passes through the years.

At present, the terms commonly used to describe vernacular architecture such as "local architecture", "spontaneous architecture", "folk architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture", "traditional architecture" and "traditional architecture" are all used to describe vernacular architecture. architecture", "rural architecture" and so on are described from its nature. The main characteristics of vernacular architecture are spontaneity and simplicity, and it is a "non-mainstream" building built by the people themselves for their own living. Vernacular architecture includes local houses, temples, ancestral halls, academies, theaters, restaurants, stores, workshops, pagodas, bridges and so on. The Charter on the built vernacular heritage, adopted by the 12th General Assembly of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), gives criteria for the identification of vernacular architecture:

1) a mode of construction enjoyed by a group of people***;

2) a recognizable local or regional characteristic that corresponds to the environment

3) coherence of style, form and appearance, or unity of use of traditional building types;

4) traditional craftsmanship in design and construction passed on informally;

5) effective response to functional and social constraints in the context of local conditions;

6) effective application of traditional building systems and techniques.

In the process of designing and building practices of contemporary architecture, neo-vernacular architecture has emerged. New vernacular architecture can be seen as a unity of modernity and tradition. It attempts to condense the unique artistic potential of the locality by absorbing and reinterpreting architectural ideas from outside the locality and starting from the mysterious deep-rooted origins of the locality, ultimately achieving a kind of architecture that is rooted in the local technological and topographical conditions, integrated yet modern. Neo-Vernacular Architecture ( Localism ) is a return to a regional culture in the field of architectural culture, which has become synonymous with local style and typological features as well as the expression of individuality in the context of postmodern culture.

New Vernacular Architecture is the architect's confrontation with globalization, opposing its dismantling of landlord culture, and turning to the attention and pursuit of the local culture of the time. The essential difference between neo-vernacular architecture and vernacular architecture lies in whether or not there is the intervention of architects. Vernacular architecture is a building built by the local people themselves, whereas neo-village architecture is a building designed and built by architects. The new vernacular architecture is contemporary architecture, which has the closest relationship with the vernacular architecture in the contemporary architecture system, while the vernacular architecture is both historically preserved and contemporary. However, when we deal with vernacular architecture, the object is mainly the vernacular architecture that has been preserved in history and has the value of investigation and protection, while avoiding the type of contemporary vernacular architecture. In the contemporary vernacular architecture occupies the main position is the villagers self-built housing, this kind of family or individual as a unit to fund the construction of housing for their own use in China, whether in history or in the contemporary is an important part of the Chinese people's architectural activities.