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Contemporary Vernacular Architecture

Part 2 Dissertation 2015
Jasmin Eastwood
 University of Liverpool | UK
The dissertation explores how architects in the 21st century can buck the one-hundred year tend for an “international-style” and generate architecture that remains “of-its-place” despite the rise of modernisation, urbanisation, globalisation and most importantly industrialisation. Whilst the vernacular method of design relies on pre-existing forms, materials and processes, that is not to say that vernacular architecture does not evolve. As social needs adjust, it is inevitable that the area’s vernacular architecture will respond and change too.
However, this process is gradual and is in stark contrast to the rapid changes that have
occurred in the built environment from the beginning of the twentieth-century. The dissertation uses the Isle of a Skye by which to explore this trend and understand what lessons from the traditional vernacular of the Hebrides remain applicable and which 21-st century advances in technology can be used in conjunction with them to create a successful contemporary vernacular architecture.


Tutor(s)
Professor Neil Jackson
2015
The Isle of Skye is the location of two award winning practices, Dualchas and Rural Design
Both practices’ work has been informed by early dwelling-types such as the Hebridean black-house and long-house.
However, both practices recognise that the traditional materials used in early dwellings no longer match with today’s standards of living
Stone is replaced with timber frames that can be erected quickly in Skye’s harsh climate that is characterised by strong winds and driving rain.
Simple forms hunker into the landscape against the winds such as Rural Designs Kendram Turf House.
A broken down form, such as that seen at Dualchas’s Boreraig, lies low in the land and mimic’s that of the Hebridean black-house.
21st-Centry building practices and precise detailing enable today’s inhabitants to enjoy the landscape from the comfort of their homes.
Whilst the forms emerging from both practices seem more abstracted from traditional forms than their earlier work, a direct response to Skye’s climate remains fundamental.
As impressive as Skye’s architecture is, it is the landscape that still dominates this part of the world and ultimately drives the designs of both Dualchas and Rural Design.
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