CE AA I Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo (FCT uID 4041)
Escola Superior Artística do Porto

CEAA | Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo (FCT uRD 4041)
Escola Superior Artística do Porto (ESAP), Porto, Portugal
Research project Popular Architecture in Portugal. A critical look
(FCT : PTDC/AUR-AQI/099063; COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008832)
May 17-19, 2012
SUR VEYS ON VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE
Their significance in 20th century architectural culture
Conference Proceedings
Edited by
Alexandra Cardoso, Joana Cunha Leal and Maria Helena Maia

Título:
SURVEYS ON VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE.
Their significance in 20th century architectural culture
Conference Proceedings
Editores:
Alexandra Cardoso , Joana Cunha Leal and Maria Helena Maia
© dos autores e CESAP/ESAP/CEAA, 2012
Arranjo gráfico:
Jorge Cunha Pimentel
Edição:
Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo da CES AP/ESAP
Propriedade:
Cooperativ a de Ensino Superior Artístico do Porto
I mpressão e acabamento:
LIT OPOR TO - Artes Gràficas, Lda.
P orto, P ortugal
1ª edição, P orto, Maio de 2012
Tiragem: 100 ex emplares
ISBN: 978-972-8784-40-9
Depósito Legal:
Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo
Escola Superior Artística do P orto
Largo de S. Domingos, 80
4050-545 POR TO POR TUGAL
T elef .: 223392130 / F ax.: 223392139
e-mail: [email protected]
www .ceaa.pt

To Pe dro V iei ra de Alm eid a

SURVEYS ON VERNACUL AR ARCHI TECTURE
Thei r significance in 20th century archite ctural cultur e

A su rvey on v ern acu l ar a rchi tect ure, enti tled Inq ué rito à Arq ui tectu ra R egi onal
Po rtugu esa [Sur vey on Regional Arc hitec ture i n Por tugal] was pr omoted by the
Architects ’ Union betwee n 1955 and 1960. I t be nefited from official go vernme nt support
and was conduc t ed by so me of the ma in modern architec ts. I t come out as a two vo lume
book – Popular Ar chi tec ture i n Po rtu gal – pub lished in 1961 and r eprinted in 1979, 1988
and 2004.

Taken fro m th e out set as b ein g abl e to p rovi de “ the b asi s for an honest , a cti ve an d
healthy re gi onalism” (K eil do Amaral, 1947 ), the S urvey, and the b oo k it prompted, had
great i nflu ence on Port ugu ese arch it ectu ral cul tu re. As it was a ccompl i shed i n an
hi st orical turni ng poin t, when some of t he pri nc ipl es of Mod ern Movem ent w ere b ei ng
cri ti call y revi ewed b ot h na ti onall y a nd in terna tion all y, t he Su rvey ’s ou t comes enc oura ged
moder n architects to recover national histo ry and tradition.

Mor eov er, the P o rtug ues e Surv ey on v erna cu l ar archi t ectu re consti t utes a rema rkabl e
re gister of the ancient rura l country at the ex a ct mome nt it was about to disappe ar. This
fac t would also gu ara ntee its importance to other f ields of s tu dy, such as anthropo l ogy,
history , and pho t ogra phy.

In as s oc i ation with an ongoing res earc h project Popul ar A rchi tectu re i n Po rtug al. A
critic al look , this co nference aims to d iscuss the backgro und, conditions,
methodolo gies, publ ished result s, effects and the signif icance of suc h kind of
surv eys in th e 20 th c entury archit ectur e an d archite ctur al thou g ht, and be able
to understand the Portuguese case in t he international cu ltu ral context.

This con ference is co - funded with FE DER fund s by the Ope rational Co mpetitiv eness Progr amme – COMPETE
and natio nal fund s by FC T – Fundaçã o para a Ciênc ia e Tecnolog ia within the p roj ect Popular Architec ture in
Por tugal. A critica l look ( FCT: PTDC/AU R - AQI /099063 ; CO MPETE: F COMP - 01 - 0124 - FED E R - 0088 32)

Sur veys on Ver nacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signif icance in the 20t h Centur y Archi tectural Cultur e
Conferen ce Proce edings. O porto, May 17 - 19, 20 12
15

OUR PROJECT: T HE “POPULA R ARCHITECTURE I N PORTUGAL” . A
C RITICAL LOOK. I NTERCALAR RES ULTS OF A RESEAR CH PROJECT .

Maria Hele na Maia * , Alexandra Cardoso * and Joana Cunha Leal **

*Centro de Estudos Ar n aldo Araújo / ESAP, Porto
**I nstituto de Histó ria da Ar te / FCSH- UNL, Lisboa
Por tugal

Abst ract
The r esea rch proj ect we a re d evel opin g is cen ter ed on the crit ica l st udy of P opu la r
Arch i tectu re i n P ortug al volume, published in 1961 by the Architects ’ Un ion. This subject
was chos en no t onl y f or the impo rta nc e o f the s urvey on whic h it is ba sed f or th e his tory
of Portugue se architectural c ulture , but also bec aus e we consider that the cr itical
discus si on pro mpted by the surve y maintains its re levance unaltered, now that the
deba tes on vern acul a r an d r egion ali sm h ave re - en te red t he agen d a of p rof ess iona l
debate s .
Ev en so, P opu l ar Arch itect ur e in Portu gal is not being study in iso lation, in and f or its elf.
Inste ad, we chose to stu dy it wi thin a ponder ed fra mework, dialo guing with theo r eti cal
elem ent s un derl yin g th e exp ressi ven ess o f som e mod ern arc hit ectu ral e rudi te
languages.
Within this fr amework, Pedro Vieira de Almeida (2010) brought in two complementary
key an al ytica l v arian ts of t hi s proj ect . He con sid ered th em a s “p aram et ers i n s ordin a”:
Firs tly, the notion o f th e gene ric i mpo rtan ce for a rchi tect ura l exp ress ion of great er or
less er d egree of thickness of the walls , shaping what might be c alled a poe ti cs o f thin
wall s on the one hand, and a poeti cs of th ick wall s on the other.
Sec ondl y, the n otion of tr ans ition - spac e’ s archit ectu ral exp re ssiven ess ke y
sign ifican ce.
Thi s pap er aim s to pr esen t th e curr ent stat e of our resea rch pr oject , bri ngi ng its core
wor king lines and results into discuss ion .

Keywords: Surv ey, V ernacu l ar A rch i tectu re, M ode rn A rchi t ectu re, P ort ugu ese
Arch i tectu re

Maria He lena Maia , Alexandra Car doso, Joana Cunha Leal, Our Proj ect: The “Popular Ar chitecture in Por tugal”.
A Critic al Look. Inter calar Results of a Resear ch Project
16
The Popular A rchitecture in Portugal. A Critic al Look, which we are now
presenting, was set as a re search projec t in late 2008 to be deve loped between
April 2010 and Marc h 2013, under the c oordination o f Pedro Vieira de Almeida.
The proposal and assumpt ions on which this p rojec t relied, were being equated
by Pedro for so me time. As the project took form they achieved a wider critica l
dimension, for c oncerns we re no longer i ndividual, but shared w ithin a team
work.
Two dist i nct yet complementary focus were enco mpassed by this projec t (1) the
Survey taken as obj e ct of study and (2 ) the Surve y used as a pretext for
theoretical ref lection.
The latter holds all theore tical re flexion on architectura l expressiveness which
takes as key ana lytical variants of th is proj ect what PVA c onsiders the
‘ paramete rs in sordina ’:
Firstly, the not ion of the generic importance of greater or lesse r degree o f the
thic kne ss vector, in the fie ld of architec tural expressiveness , and what its
degree of i nc i dence o n vernacular arch itecture and e rudite archite cture, shaping
what might be called a poetics of thin walls on the o ne hand, and a poetics of
thick walls on the oth er.
Secondl y, th e real ex pressiv e meani ng of the noti on s p ace - trans ition in
structuring the idea of “habitation”, un derstanding space - transition, an in -
between s pace defined as being s imultaneously inter ior and exte ri or.
This ref l ection broug ht by Pedro to the pro ject goes far be yond the aspec t s
directly linked to the Inquérito à Arquitectura Regional Po rtuguesa [S urvey on
Portuguese Regional Architecture] . Indeed, i t is deep ly rooted in broader
theoretical and cr itical co ncerns.
To the date of his death, Pedro was writing Caderno s 1 e 2 (Almeida , 2011;
2011a), in which he sought to define the theo retical basis of t he proj ect. This
work was meant to cl arify h i s theore tical position, as he was trying to net in a
reason ed di scourse vari ous research i nterests (m oderni ty, modern i sm/p ost -

Sur veys on Ver nacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signif icance in the 20t h Centur y Archi tectural Cultur e
Conferen ce Proce edings. O porto, May 17 - 19, 20 12
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moder nism, post - modernity, on the o ne hand, and identity, vernacular , heritage
and globalizat ion, on the other). Pedro was also reco vering hi s e arly studies on
space in arch itecture.
The richness of thi s work and the need to respect autho rshi p, led us to c hoose t o
limit this fi rst paper to a presentation of intercalary results of the proj ect,
leaving the inf luential contribute of Pedro to a seco nd paper dedicated to h i s
thoughts on the S ur ve y 1

. I t is i mportant to note that, despite not being present,
Pedro Vie ira de Almeida is also author of th e work now be ing presente d.
The S urve y as o bje ct of st udy
The study o f the Survey covere d several aspe cts, including a ne w reading and
identificat ion of problems associated with it; a cr i tical review of the
historiography o n the subj ect (Cardo so, Maia 2010) and an attempt to
understa nd its sign i ficanc e in contemporary architectura l culture, both nationally
and internat ionally, which i s the gene sis of this Conference .
One should begin by noticing that although the publication of t he Survey under
th e t it le A rquitectura Popular em Portug al [Popular Architect ure in Portugal]
currently achieved its 4th edition, and despite the fact that it is be ing widely
mentioned by all sorts o f texts devoted to Portuguese architecture , i nfo rmation
on it was rela tively sc arce.
Available, and co mmonly referenced information is often conce rned with three
major issues : 1) identif ication of the genealogy of the Survey in its art i cula tion
with the problem of Portuguese House (Fr ança 19 70); 2) i ts rel at i on to the 1 st
National Congress of Architecture promoted in 19 48; and 3) its re lation to the
‘ Architec ture’ journal (Portas 1978). We might add to those matters the attempt
to asse ss i ts i nf l uen ce, esp ecially in wh at concer ns t he so - called third way
followed by the Portugues e modern architecture ( Portas 1978), a subje ct that is

1 See in this Conferen ce Proceedings Leal, Maia and Cardo so, Pedro Vieira de A lmeida an d the
Survey

Maria He lena Maia , Alexandra Car doso, Joana Cunha Leal, Our Proj ect: The “Popular Ar chitecture in Por tugal”.
A Critic al Look. Inter calar Results of a Resear ch Project
18
attracting most re ferenc es, perhaps due to the internat ional proj ection that this
architecture has re ached today.
The liaison with the politica l system is part of those aspects. The ambiguous
relationsh i p estab lished between architects and the dictatorship o f Salazar, was
interpreted as an act of re sistance (Pereira 2000) supported by subtle ingen ious
misunderstandings ( Portas 1978). This reading needs , as far as we are
conce rned, to be c onsidered in a wider conte xt: that of general relations
between arc hitecture, architects and power during Estado Novo (Cardos o, Maia
2011) this being a rather polemical issue in the context of national
historiograp hy (see Perei ra, Fer nan des 1987 ; Pereira 2000; A lme ida, Ma ia 1986,
Almeida 1 998).
On the other ha nd, some authors (Almeida, 2002 Cardos o, 2005; Filgueiras
1986; Mendes 1987) mention the strong cultural influence of geo graphy and
anthropology. As is we ll known contact with Orlando R ibeiro and J orge Dias’
team was espe cially re l evant to the northe rn tea ms work ing in t he Surve y. This
fact, turned out to have international cons equences, through the choices made
for the study subm itte d by the Portuguese delegat ion to the X C IAM Congress in
Dubro vnik in 1956, und er the tit le Plan for a Rural Community in Trá s- os -
Mo nt es .
From our point o f view, s ince here one could antic ipate the art iculation between
critical regi onalism and critical internationalism that Pedro has been building
from Carlos Ramos’ quotation of Emile Schreiber ' (…) international pene tration,
n ational interpretatio n, this is the whole secret o f har mony in the world of
tomo rrow . ’ ( 1986 ).
In contras t, Survey’s contribution to anthropology through the reco rd of a
largely disappear ing rural Portuga l has bee n stresse d (Pereira, 2000), as well as
its importance as a photographic doc ument for the history of Portugues e
photography (S ena , 1998).
Converse ly , attention was never g i ven to the methodolog i cal aspects of the
Survey. It is important to stress the historiographica l unawarene ss to this po int ,

Sur veys on Ver nacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signif icance in the 20t h Centur y Archi tectural Cultur e
Conferen ce Proce edings. O porto, May 17 - 19, 20 12
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as we believe tha t it should be thorough ly analized . Indeed, one of the bi ggest
problems in read i ng and interpreting the S urvey is that no methodo l ogica l
homogene ity whatsoeve r bonds the work of the six teams that ha ve done it.
Thi s abs ence of a common met hod reflects itse lf in the tota l lack of unity of the
Surve y (Almeida 198 6). Moreov er , the authors' de sire to find the diversity in
Portuguese traditional architecture, co nditioned their look ‘ to read what in the
country are pe rmanencies, not o nly in time but als o in space ’ (Almeida 2008:
110).
As rightly noted by the geographe r Orl ando Ribeiro (1998, XVI) ‘there are two
ways to loo k at the rapid transfo rmations the world goes thro ugh. Many see
mos tly the changes, others try to catch out what, des pite them, stays the same’
A first approach to the Survey’s graphic material immediately h ighlights the no n -
systematic notat ion used zone by zone which i n itself makes it difficult for a
comparative analys is of the findings. In a ddition, the lack of u nif ormity in t he
characterization of t he differe nt architectural types , accord i ng to i nd ividual
criteria, makes it im possible to re ad the global set of maps that have be en
published.
It was there fore crucial for our s tudy to treat all the ex isting do cumentation to
be read as a who le, what l ed us to ma tch in a single map the boundaries of the
zones that we re surveyed.
Apart from an o bvious e xcess o f i nformation, th is exerc ise permitted us to
realize that the lack of the typological map of Z one 5, Al e ntejo, would not allo w
an information se t. To address this gap we decided to make a s ketch map,
based on a regiona l chart anno tated by this zone team 2

2 I t is th e region al divisi on of the Zon e [5], a ccor ding to Prof. Amor im Girão Esboço duma Carta
Region al de Por tuga l publi shed by team’s zon e 5 ( A rquitectu ra Popu lar em Port ugal , 1961:512)
, trying to ident i fy in the
territory the location of the examples collected o r r eferred to in the text. In thi s
task, the symb ol s and the characterization empl oyed for these t ypes were based
on similar criteria of approach, which we presume have identified in all the three
teams from the so uth. Note that the se team s were particular l y se nsitive to the
construc tiv e and form al aspe cts of rural hous ing.

Maria He lena Maia , Alexandra Car doso, Joana Cunha Leal, Our Proj ect: The “Popular Ar chitecture in Por tugal”.
A Critic al Look. Inter calar Results of a Resear ch Project
20
After treating dig itally all charts and typological maps ass ociated in an
interactive databas e - an operating too l that allows suc cessive approx im ations
for clearing up informat i on – and recorded the various elements that we re
consi der ed significant by the six te ams of architects , it was pos sible to account
for the 82 symbols employe d. The mos t representative examples of popular
architecture in Portugal were the n translated in d ifferent types of buil d ings
(dwellings, serv ices, markets , coll ective equi pment, ch apels,…).
In the first stage of s ystematizat ion, some elements were excluded, for they did
not seem relevant to the critical research be ing d eveloped. As a result,
structures with greater characte r inducer of co llective life - habitat ion - we re
highlighted. T he struc tures which have only a utility induced of coll ective li fe, or
without direct arc hitec tural va lue, wer e remov ed 3
With these ‘cleaner’ maps, it was now possible to se lect areas fo r first v isits of
key points, which witho ut excessive detail allowed collect ing information in the
field, thus va lidating t he choice o f those areas to be wo rked more co nsistently.
. Currently, a se t of 53
different types of dwellings is identified.
T his in loco approac h in Zone 4 ( Estremadura), wh i ch is r ic h in e xa mp le s
provided w ith thin walls, and Zone 3 (Bei ras), whi ch is exp ected t o host
exam ples of thick walls and space - transition has not been part icul arly use ful on
this last parameter, be cause many of the examples registered by the Survey
have disappeare d. Howe ver there are s ti ll some cases that allow the crossing
with the graph ic information, so it is important to check them in t he field.
In a second stage of systematization, an attempt was made to group in the
sa me ty po lo gic a l c la s s ific a t ion ex a mp les of dwellings s eparately understood and
presente d as distinctive by the Survey. For it se emed to us that no analytical
advantage was co ming from th i s opt ion. A good e xample of this is Zone 1,
where farmhouse s ar e singled out individually and Zone 2 with several variations
of dwellings wi th balco ny.

3 At th is stage w e decided to k eep the pil grimag e chapels (z o ne 1) and th e chapels with porch
(zone 2) as a po ssible h ypoth esis to s tudy the notion of space - transition . .

Sur veys on Ver nacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signif icance in the 20t h Centur y Archi tectural Cultur e
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This approach to e xa mpl es of vernac ular architecture is not inte nded to be a
renewed s urvey, but an intentional and co nscious approach meant to verify the
working hypothese s formulated in ad vance: th ickness and space - tr ansition as
expr essi ve values .
Beyond the immediate graphics co nsequences, this work phase has a component
of critical interpretatio n of those e lements, which requ ires a careful theoret ical
framework for the o ptions to be taken.
We hope that the release of informati on, currently being work ed on new
summary - maps co veri ng the six zones will eventua lly allow an integrated
reading of the entire national terr itory. From this informat ion, we expec t results
that enable us to for mul a te a ty po lo gic a l r e d efinition about the e xampl e s held in
the ' Survey' and to start a refreshe d critical d i alogue betw een e rudite and
vernacular fields in general architectural language .
Currently, we are in a c rucial phase of our res earch, not only because we are
now proce eding to critically or iented recognitions, but also because it
simultaneous ly represe nts a moment, particu l arly delicat e, that requires
attention and discipli ned sensitivity to the examples to find. These will suppo rt
the k i nd of expressi v e el ements i n the ar c hitectura l language that we propose to
analyze, i.e., the impo rtance of ‘ wall th ickness ’ in the determination of interior
space and the s ocial significance of ‘ s pace - tr ansition ’ in the s oc ia l iza tio n of
home. ( Almeida 2011a)
For the o bjectivity o f this particul ar reading, it is important to count on a
universe of a ' stabili zed' work, as is the case of the arch i te ctures that the
"Survey" spec ifically refers to . Furthermore, and because they are examples of
vernacular arch itecture, they have i n our o pinion the add i tion al advantage of
holding an architectural expression ‘ spo ntaneous, popular, ge nui ne characte r, in
the sense o f b eing culturally candid, and no t being dominated by erudite ideas ’
(Almeida , 2010: 1 2).
Finally, it is our inten ti on to pay a tribute, now that 50 years have passed since
the Survey was bro u ght forward, to its au thors and promoters , since we believe

Maria He lena Maia , Alexandra Car doso, Joana Cunha Leal, Our Proj ect: The “Popular Ar chitecture in Por tugal”.
A Critic al Look. Inter calar Results of a Resear ch Project
22
that to this date the Survey on Po rtuguese Regional Arch itecture hasn’ t been
critically stud ied, as it deserve d.

Ackn owledgments
Thi s p aper i s f unded with FE DER funds by the Operat ional Competitive nes s Programme –
COMPE TE and national funds by FCT – Fun dação para a Ciência e Tecnol ogia with in t he
pro ject P opular Arc h itecture in Portugal. A critical look ( FCT: PTDC/AUR - AQI/099063;
COMP ET E: F COM P- 01 - 0124 - F EDER - 008832) .

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Sur veys on Ver nacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signif icance in the 20t h Centur y Archi tectural Cultur e
Conferen ce Proce edings. O porto, May 17 - 19, 20 12
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de 1926 a 19 59 i n O Estado Novo. Das origens ao fim da autarcia 1926 - 1959. II. Li sboa,
Fragme ntos
Por tas, Nuno (1961) Arquitecto Fernando Távora: 12 anos de acti vidade profissional,
Arquite ctura , 71(3)
Por ta s, Nuno (1 978), A Evolução da A rquitectura M oder na em Portugal: uma
i nterpr etaçã o i n História da Arquite ctu ra Moderna of Brun o Ze vi, 2n d vol ume, Lisb oa,
Editor a Arcádia
Ribeiro , Or l ando, (1998), Fore w or d to the 2nd edition (1962) of Port ug al o Med ite rrân eo
e o At lân tico. Esb oço d e Rel açõe s Ge ogáfi cas. Li sboa , Livraria Sá da Costa Edi tora, 7th
e dit io n
Sena, Antó nio (1998) Hi stóri a d a Ima g em Fot og ráfi ca em Po rtu gal . 1839 - 1997 . P ort o ,
Port o Edi tora
Tos tões, Ana (1997), Os Verdes Anos na Arquitec tu ra Por tuguesa do s An os 50 . P ort o,
FAUP

Maria He lena Maia , Alexandra Car doso, Joana Cunha Leal, Our Proj ect: The “Popular Ar chitecture in Por tugal”.
A Critic al Look. Inter calar Results of a Resear ch Project
24
Aut hor’s id entif ication
Mar ia H ele na M ai a . Graduate in H ist ory/Ar t an d Arc haeology a nd PhD in Modern
Archite ctu re and Resto ration. Te ach er at ESAP and preside nt o f its S cientific Board .
Direc t or of CEAA, FCT R&D unit 4041 and principal rese archer of its Theory, Criticism
an d Hist ory of A rch itect u re re sear ch g rou p; R esea rch er of proj ect Th e "P opul ar
Archite ctu re in Portugal. " A Critical Loo k. Last related public ations include the papers
Trad iti on an d M od ernit y. Th e Hi st oriog raph y of the S urv ey t o the Popu l ar Ar chi tectu re in
Por tugal (2010) and Architectur e and Power. Toward a Historiogr aphy of the Modern
Moveme n t in Portugal (2011), all with Alex andr a Card os o, an d F rom t he P ortu gue se
Ho us e to the “Po pular A rc hitecture i n Por tugal” : notes o n th e co nstructio n of Portugue se
arch ite ctu ral i dent ity ( 2 010 ). P rizes: J osé d e Fi gu eired o 200 8 ( ex a equ o) o f Port ug ues e
Natio nal Academy of Fine Arts, for the book P atrimónio e Restauro em Por tugal (1825 -
1880) and Ignasi de Lecea 2007 - 2008 of Public Art & Design Observatory – Universitat
de Barcelo n a, with Margarida Ac ciaiu oli and Jo ana Cunha Leal., as editors of the books
Art e e Pai sag em (20 07) e Art e e Pod er (2 008 ).

Alex an dra C a rdos o. A rchi tect (F AUP, 1994 ). In teg rated r esear che r an d b oard memb e r
of Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo (CEAA), R&D unit 4041 (FCT); Dire ctor of CE AA
(2003 - 2010). Ha s been working with Pedro Vieira de Almeida s ince 1995, in the study of
th e work of some Po rtug uese arc hit ects , su ch a s Vi ana de Li ma, Arn ald o Ara új o e
Octáv io Lixa Filgueiras. Fro m these studies resulted in several ex hibitions and
publicatio ns. Member of the pro ject The "Po pular Architec tu re in Portugal ." A Criti cal
Look (FC T- COM P ET E, 2 0 10 - 13). Last related publications, all with Maria Helena Maia,
include the papers: Tradition and Mo d er nity. The Historio graphy of the Survey to the
Popula r Architec ture in Por tugal (2010), Architectur e and Power. Toward a
Histo riog raph y of t he Mode rn Movement in Portugal (2011) and Por tug ues e Popular
Arch itect u re – Appropriations (2012).

Jo ana da Cunha Leal is Assistant Profe s sor of the Departm ent of Art His tory and
Asso cia ted R es earch er of t he A rt Hi sto ry In sti tut e of Uni ver sid ade Nov a d e Lisb oa - FCSH
(she i s the hea d of its research group o n th eory and dis ciplinar y practic es of art history
and vice - di rect or o f th e In sti tut e). Sh e t eache s c ours es on art th eory , 1 9t h cent ury a rt
histor y , arc h itec tu re and urba nism (also as an invited le cturer in the Univers itat de
Barc elon a, S pai n) . He r res earch in tere sts h av e been fo cusi ng the relat ion shi p bet ween
art, politics , and social change in the late 18th an d 19th ce ntury Europe, with par t icular
emp hasi s on ur ban change dur ing the s e perio ds. She ta kes p ar t o f th e res earch t eam for
the pro ject "The “ Popular Arc hitec ture in Portugal”. A C ritic al Loo k” , coor dinate d by
Pedro Vieira de Almeida until 2011 (CEAA, ESAP), while also working on Early Modernis t
Paint ing. H er rese arch projec t on “O ther M odernisms ? The c a s e of Am ad eo Sou za
Cardoso” w as awarded a Fulb right Re search Fe llowship (2010). She was a fellow of the
Stone Summer Theory Institute twice : “Beyo n d the Aes th etic a nd the Anti - Aes thetic”
and “Farewe ll t o visual studies” (C hicago, SAIC July 2010 and 2011). Her rec ent
publicatio ns include: “On the Str ange Place of Public Art i n Contempor ary Art Theory ”,
On The W@terfront (Barcelo na, 2010) , 35 - 52; “Uma entrada para Entr ada. Amadeo, a
histor iografia e os terr itórios da pintura”, Intervalo (Lisbon, 2010), 133 - 15 3; “Post - 1755
Lisbo n: T wo and a half por traits”, Por trait of the City, ed ited Gillian O’ B rian (Dublin,
2011).

Sur veys on Vernacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signifi cance in the 20th Century Archite ctural Culture
Conferen ce Pro ceedings. Opor to, May 1 7 - 1 9, 20 12
31
Vern acular arch itec tu re’s key importa nce
A quest i on like t he one N. Le ach (2004) as ks – “ can there eve r be a Democratic
architecture?” – could never have passed unnoticed to Pedr o. The quest i on
matches so me of hi s main concerns, and is taken by h im as esse ntial.
Nevert hel ess , as far as Pedro is concern, it is incorre ctly formulated. Its o verall
ambition – taki ng architecture as a whol e – preve nts a pos sible answe r: “It i s
certainly not arch itecture globally considere d that may ca pture values of
democ racy" ( 2011a).
Pe dro fully supports Leac h’s position while stating that architecture i s not by
itself liberat i ng or repres sive. Nevertheless, “architecture can contai n efficient
causes of repression or liberat ion”, as it is pos sibl e to invest igate them: what
really matters is to know “which elements o f the architectural langua ge might
tak e one or ot her of these t enden cies" (ibi d.).
Pedro sought that th is k i nd of rese arch is no t only possible, but is a lso urgent,
given the fact that “t hese are some of the factors that can de termine the so -
called ‘soc ial responsibility of arc hitecture ’” (ibid.). Thus, adding to the
recogn i tion of a m ore sim p l e equa tion of the pr oblem – the social signif icance of
architectural programs – one should conside r a second degree question: that
which br ings us back to “sectors of arc hi tectural language, which by themselves
lead to what might be called a true ‘encouragement to freedom’ of appropriation,
and therefore have major and spe cific social res ponsibility.” (201 1a)
T ra ns it ion - space is clearly an example of such encourage ment. It was also on
the grounds o f these queries that Pedro’s atte ntion to vernacular arc hitecture
was strengthe ned. For vernacular architecture escapes the guidelines and
constraints of erud ite architecture 4
Thus, it is not surprising that his definition o f the vernacul ar brushes off from
hypertrophy and growing trivializat ion of t he term. Conve rsely, Pedro is
. It generate s a terri tory – or rese rvoir – of
freedom while p laying with expre ssive and use values o f vital i mportance to
Pedro’s thought and researc h.

4 “T he notion of ‘v ern acular’ s upposes a reality where expr ess ive m atu rati on was n ot devia ted by
an y ex cess of inf ormation” (20 10: 12)

Joana C unha Leal, Maria Helena Maia, Ale xandra C ardoso, Pe dro Vieir a de Almeida and the “Survey”
32
interested in recove ring a “primitive”, authentic va l ue for the c oncept, one able
to remove it fro m the muddy connotation s that the cu ltural industry had been
bestowing it. 5
“I suppose the idea of ‘vernacular’ in archite cture has always meant, a ho lder of
an express i on strat ified over time, of reg ional nature, spontane ous, popular,
genuine, meaning cul turally c andid, not dominated by s cholarly ide as (...). Thus ,
contrary to what Vincent Canizaro [2007:20] seems to vindicate, I suppose the
vernacular cannot be seen as a simple answer out of sheer necessity, adapted to
the con di tions of each si te. The ver nacul ar also imp lies cultural choices, even
though they do no t address to a pre determi ned cu ltural aim.” ( 2010: 12)
Engaging in a dialogue with E. Said (2004) and N. Le ac h (2005),
V. Canizaro (2007) an d P. Tourn i kiotis (2001) , Pedro advocates :
Taking vernacular architecture as a pre ferred area of research is, Pedro beli eves,
the nece ssary condition to de epen and asse ss the premises launched on the
grounds of his obs ervati on o f erudite archite cture. In other words, vernacular is
the territory in which “the analysis of the importance of thickness in architectural
express i on will beco me clearer.” This is exa ctly why “the collect ion of vernacular
architecture co rresponding to the so ca lled ‘Survey of the Union’ i s prec ious.”
(2011a)

Overcoming the center - periphery unbalance d divide
In addition to re - balanc i ng and debate s pe c if ic Portugues e architectural trends
and constraints – the surv ey focuse s Portuguese popular arc hitecture and
therefore opens the equati o n of a specific s ituation that draw us back bo th to the
specific ity of nationa l architectural cu lture, and to the re gi stration of a pro per
Portuguese heritage sentence d to disappear – , we are now in better conditions
to realize the ove ral l implications Pedro ascri bed to the research project Popular
Architec ture in Portugal. A c ritical look .
As Pedro makes clear, “if the explanatory potential of the hypothes es ri sen at
the outse t of this research pro ject pro ves worthy , as I expect, one mi ght a lso try

5 One can sense here a cleare r condemnatio n of Venturi and Scott Brown’s proposals ag ain.

Sur veys on Vernacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signifi cance in the 20th Century Archite ctural Culture
Conferen ce Pro ceedings. Opor to, May 1 7 - 1 9, 20 12
33
to address from there que stions brought abo ut by some modern arch itecture as
a generic paradigm, a nd by modernism as a pro fessional movem ent giving them
more structure d answers. By the s ame token, one might a lso try to g ive part ial
answers to questions on what we currently see built and released in the world
(...)” (2010: 25 - 26)
Fin a lly , it is po s sib le t o c la im t ha t c r it ica l r e gio na l ism an d c r it ica l int er na t ion a lis m
interdependence , repeatedly cheere d by P e dro, has to be exte nded in order to
overwhelm all cr itical approache s to architecture . In sum, what Pedro so ught i s
the empowe rment of thi s “homemade” attempt, so that it disquiets, and
event ual l y over comes th e com mon tend ency for parr oti n g conc lusions imported
from foreign cu ltural centers, while pa ving the way for these new premises to
enter internationa l debates. I n other words, Pedro is determine d to make us
mistrust any stra ig htforward interpretation of pro bl ems and values ass ociated
w ith the Modern M ovement, as well as to take action for an enhanc ed critical
mean i ng of Post - Modernity. Pedro c ommi tted himself to the se tasks with the
greatest e nthusiasm ever.

Ackn owledgments

This wo rk was funded with FED ER funds by the Oper ati o nal Com peti ti veness Prog ram me
- COMPET E and national f unds by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Te cnologia within the
pro ject FCT : PTDC /AUR - AQI/099063; C OMPETE: FCOMP - 01 - 0124 - FEDER - 008832,
Po pular A rc hitecture in Por tugal. A Critical Look .

References

Almeida, Pe d ro Vi ei ra de ( 197 0) R aul Lin o. Arqu itec to Mod ern o i n Raul Lino. Exposição
retrospectiva da sua obra. Lisboa: Fundaç ão Calouste G u lbenkian
Almeida, Pe dro Vieira de (2010) Dois Pa râm et ros d e Arq ui tectu ra Post os em Su rdin a. O
propós ito de uma investigação . Po rto: CEAA, Edi çõ es Casei ra s/14, 2010
Almeida, Pe dro Vieira de (2011) Dois Parâ me tros de A rqui tect ura Po stos em Su rd ina .
Leit ura críti ca do I nqu éri to à a rqu itect ura reg ion al . Cad erno 1. Po rto: C E AA, n o p relo
Almeida, Pe dro Vieira de (2011a) Dois P arâm et ros d e Arqu itec tura Po stos em Su rdi na.
Leit ura crít ica do Inq uéri to à a rqu it ectura r egio na l. Cad ern o 2 . (texto inédito e m fase de
edi ção)

Joana C unha Leal, Maria Helena Maia, Ale xandra C ardoso, Pe dro Vieir a de Almeida and the “Survey”
34
Canizaro, Vicent B. (2007) Arc h itec t ural Regio nalism. Co lle cte d Writings o n Place,
Identity , Moder nity, a nd Traditio n . New Yo rk: P ri n ceton A rchi tect ura l Pr ess
Leach, Ne il (2005) A Ane stética de Arquitec tura . Lisboa: A ntígona
Said, Edwa rd W. (20 04) Orientalismo . R epr esen taç ões ocid ent ais d o Ori ent e . Lisb oa:
Li vros Cot ovia
Tour niki ot i s, Pa nayotis (2001) La Hist ori ogra fia d e la Arq uitectur a Moderna. Mad ri d:
Li breri a Ma irea y Cel est e Ed i cion es
Venturi e Scott Bro wn (1972)

Aut hors iden tificat ion

Jo ana da Cunha L eal i s Ass i stant Pro fessor of the Departme n t of Art Histo ry and
Asso cia ted R es earch er of t he A rt Hi sto ry In sti tut e of Universidade Nova de Lisboa - FCSH
(she i s the hea d of its research group o n th eory and dis ciplinar y practic es of art history
and vice - di rect or o f th e In sti tut e). Sh e t eache s c ours es on art th eory , 1 9t h cent ury a rt
histor y , arc h itec tu re and urba nism (also as an invited lec tu rer in the Unive rsitat de
Barc elon a, S pai n) . He r res earch in tere sts h av e been fo cusi ng the relat ion shi p bet ween
art, politics , and social change in the late 18th an d 19th ce ntury Europe, with par t icular
emp hasi s on ur ban change dur ing th ese p eri ods. She tak es pa rt of th e re sea rch t eam fo r
the pro ject "The “ Popular Arc hitec ture in Portugal”. A C ritic al Loo k” , coor dinate d by
Pedro Vieira de Almeida until 2011 (CEAA, ESAP), while also working on Early Modernis t
Pai nti ng . Her r esea rch p roj ect on “ Other Mode rni sms? T he ca se of Am ad eo Sou za
Cardoso” w as awarded a Fulb right Re search Fe llowship (2010). She was a fellow of the
Stone Summer Theory Institute twice : “Beyo n d the Aes th etic a nd the Anti -Aes thetic” and
“Farewe ll t o visual studies ” (Chicago, SAIC July 2010 and 2011). Her rece n t publicatio ns
in clud e: “On the St rang e Pl ace of P ubl ic A rt i n C ontem p orary Art Th eor y”, On Th e
W@terfro n t (Barcelona, 2010), 35 - 52; “Uma en trada par a Entrada. Am adeo, a
hi storiog raf ia e os terri t órios d a p in tura ”, In t ervalo (Lisbon, 2010), 133 - 153; “Post - 1755
Lisbo n: T wo and a half por traits”, Por trait of the City, ed ited Gillian O’ B rian (Dublin,
2011).

Mar ia H ele na M ai a . Graduate in H ist ory/Ar t an d Arc haeology a nd PhD in Modern
Arch itect u re an d R est orat ion. T each er a t ESAP and preside nt of its Scientifi c Bo a rd.
Direc t or of CEAA, FCT R&D unit 4041 and principal rese archer of its Theory, Criticism
an d Hist ory of A rch itect u re re sear ch g rou p; R esea rch er of proj ect Th e "P opul ar
Arch itect u re in Po rtug al." A Cri tic al L ook . L ast related publica tions i nclude the pa pers
Trad iti on an d M od ernit y. Th e Hi st oriog raph y of the S urv ey t o the Popu l ar Ar chi tectu re in
Por tugal (2010) and Architectur e and Power. Toward a Historiogr aphy of the Modern
Moveme n t in Portugal (2011), all with Ale xand ra C ard oso, an d F rom th e Port ugu ese
Ho us e to the “Po pular A rc hitecture i n Por tugal” : notes o n th e co nstructio n of Portugue se
arch ite ctu ral i dent ity ( 2 010 ). P rizes: J osé d e Fi gu eired o 200 8 ( ex a equ o) o f Port ug ues e
Natio nal Academy of Fine Arts, for the book Património e Restauro em Por tugal (1825 -
1880) and Ignasi de Lecea 2007 - 2008 of Public Art & Design Observatory –Universitat de
Barcelona, with Margarida Acciaiuoli and Joana Cu nha Leal. , as editors of the books Arte
e Pai sag em (2 007 ) e A r te e P ode r ( 2008).

Sur veys on Vernacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signifi cance in the 20th Century Archite ctural Culture
Conferen ce Pro ceedings. Opor to, May 1 7 - 1 9, 20 12
35
Alex an dra C a rdos o. A rchi tect (F AUP, 1994 ). In teg rated r esear che r an d b oard memb e r
of Centro de Estudos Arnaldo Araújo (CEAA), R&D unit 4041 (FCT); Dire ctor of CE AA
(2003 - 2010). Ha s been working with Pedro Vieira de Almeida s ince 1995, in the study of
th e work of som e Po rtug uese ar chit ects , su ch a s Vi ana de Li ma, Arn ald o A raúj o e
Octáv io Lixa Filgueiras. Fro m these studies resulted in several ex hibitions and
publicatio ns. Member of the pro ject The "Po pular Architec tu re in Portugal ." A Criti cal
Look ( FCT - C OMP ETE, 2 01 0 - 13). Last re lat ed publications, all with Maria Helena Maia,
include the papers: Tradition and Mo d er nity. The Historio graphy of the Survey to the
Popula r Architec ture in Por tugal (2010), Architectur e and Power. Toward a
Histo riog raph y of t he Moder n M ov ement in Por t ugal (2 011) a nd Po rtugues e P o pular
Arch itect u re – Appropriations (2012).

Ana Tost ões, The su rvey as a k nowledge proc ess and a crit ic to o l. Some topic s to debate
36

THE SURVEY AS A KNOW LEDGE PROC ESS A ND A CRITIC TOOL.
SOME TOPICS TO DEBATE

Ana Tostões

Institu to Superior Técnico, Portug al
DOCOMOMO Internaci onal

Abstract

The mid-1950s were a moment of c ritical thought and operative action contributin g for
the affirmation of wh at one may call in a d isciplin ary way P ortugu ese archit ectural
culture. In fact, t he se arch for local reference s would give rise to a cr itical regionalist
awareness referenced t o the revelation of Popul ar Architectu re throu gh the Survey on
Regional Archit ecture in Portugal (1955) r esearch proje ct. If this atti tude revealed the
conflicts and cri sis t he Mode rn M ovement wa s going th rough in the international context
namely within the most recent CIAM discussion platforms, it marked in Portugal a
retrieval of t he in tegrating sense that seems to consti tute a const ant in Portug uese
architecture as G . K ubler remarked (19 72). Indeed, t he questi ons o f bui lding traditi on,
modernity and regionali sm traversed the conscience of diverse architects, raisin g once
more the q uestion of the Casa Po rtuguesa [P ortuguese hou se] in a som ewhat hegem onic
way since the beginning of th e century.
As a r esult of his built work, Keil do Amaral (1910 -19 75) had alr eady highl ighted
important new element s, divu lging the Dutch archit ecture of Dudo ck and proposing , in
1947, “Uma in iciativa necessária”, that one lo ok in to popul ar archite cture in sea rching
for an auth entic architectur e r emoved fr om a ll ecl ecticisms and styl es and identifyin g
with its own r oots. Januário Godinh o (1 91 0-19 90) h ad also been developing an
approximati on strongly contextual ised on the location and the nat ural environm ent and
revealed considerable k nowledge o f th e traditio nal methods and materials. Th e s eries of
Hostel’s he de signed i n the Serra de G erês f or HICA and other i ndustrial or s ocial
facilities of hi s revealed a s ensitivity t o th e rust icalness of th e landscap e and an nounced
an o pen process of contextualisation. Withou t rejecting modernity or the vanguard
contributions, F ernando Távora ( 1923 -2005) searched for aut henticit y puttin g together
history an d Pr oject, s earching for overcome of the Probl em of Casa Po rtuguesa ( 1947).
Since the lat e 1940 s, also Nuno T eotónio Pereir a (1922 -) had been car rying out his o wn
innovative conc eptual research in line w ith th ese questions, w orking, in th e Igr eja de
Águas, on a process of formal investigat ion, which, coming out from orthodox
functionali sm, d eliberately searched for a new un derstanding of t he spac e as a
significant social and cul tural value.

Surveys o n Verna cular Archi te cture. Their Significan ce in th e 20th Century A r chitect ural Cul ture
Conferen ce Procee dings. Oport o, May 1 7-19, 2012
37

1. A modern movement Su rvey on Re gional A rchitecture in Portugal
The conducti on of the Survey on Regiona l Archi tecture in Portugal was to be of
major cultural and political imp ortance in this context of resistance to both the
offi c ial conservati sm and the schemati sm of the Internati onal Sty l e. More than a
sim ple inv entory of forms and buil d i ng techni ques, it pr oposed a closer
rela tionship with the pl ace, the forms of settlem ent and the forms of li fe
refl ected in the appropria tion of the spac e. As a project of investigati on and
cultu ra l integrati on, it p l ayed a decisive role contributing to f ace a culturalist
archi tectural language reposi tioned between fai thfulness to the Modern
Movement and the compr omi se w i th reality.
Followi ng “uma Iniciativa Necessári a” the inqui r y questions eme rged form ulated
under the scope of th e m odern movement ar chitecture assumptions namel y
concerned wi th:
1) Existenz minimum research and spati al organizati on concept; th e
popul ar house is envisaged as a house typol og i e la b
2) Less is more axiom is applied to unveil mi nimum resources, scarci ty
and d epurati on
3) The sear ch for platoni c and Pure geometries as an inspi r ing plastic
val ue
4) Brutal and rough textures related i n order to unveil den si ty
connected wi th the chara cter of craftsm anship materi a ls
5) Anthropologi c space anal yses
6) Politi cal ideological Consci ousness about the rural way of life
poverty and primitivi s m
7) The architectur e envi saged as a social condenser foll ow i n g Le
Corbusi er “architecture and revoluti on” pr oposi ng better livi ng conditi ons
(see CIA M Dubrovni k)

Ana Tost ões, The su rvey as a k nowledge proc ess and a crit ic to o l. Some topic s to debate
38
In fact, during the survey period architect’s incr ementally changing attitude from
hi s earlier rejection of the questi on of the Casa Portuguesa to hi s subsequent
rejection of i nstrumentali zed moderni sm is mirr ored across other countri es,
whe ther in the rest of Europe or on the e ast coast of the USA. While Távora’s
int ellectual transformati on might be characterized as a retreat by the young er
generati on of Portuguese archi tects, i t will no doubt prove i n some year s to
come as a culturally consistent insi ght i nto the fail ures of moderni t y.
The Survey stands as the basis of a mature cycle of the Portuguese archi tecture
starti ng during the latest 50’s and connecti ng the identity which individ ual pieces
of archi tecture were able to establish varied: each piece of architectu re may
therefore be read in terms of the positi on it estab li shes vis-à-vis the notion of
physi ca l, i mmediate context, or vi s-à-vis cul tural, i ndeed national context.
As Parad oxi cally, the aesthet ic com ponent of moderni sm impli ed the creation of
uni form surfaces, the appli cat ion of few material s and colors, the composi tion
wi th geometri ca lly pure forms, in other words, a formal d i sc ipline that stood in
contrast to the desire f or the freedom of individual expression.
Thus, while the discussi on raged a ll over Europe at the beginni ng of the 20th
century regardi ng national identity and how archi tecture mig ht contri bute
towards this, the late effects of the modern movement are only now begi nn i ng
to tak e thei r compl ete toll on the environment ev erywhere.

2. The set ting-o u t o f architectural the ory
In 1961 the publication of Arquitectura Popul ar em Portugal , which spread out
the Surv ey , fi xed the memory of a territory and way of buildi ng . It was the hi n ge
between these two worl ds, in which abstract rationali sm was see n reali st i cally in
the vernacul ar enabli ng one to overcome the local versus interna tional

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Conferen ce Procee dings. Oport o, May 1 7-19, 2012
39
di chotomy. It has been the symbol ical marking of the process of coming to
terms with moder nity. It meant the opening up of Port uguese architecture to the
future and to the possibili ty of contemporanei ty. At this po int, research on
archi tecture practice and theory became an academi c subject i n tegrati ng CODA’s
project. Thi s was the case of the fi na l architectu ral educati on project conducted
by the pioneers rese archers and professi onals Pedro Vieir a de Almeida (1933-
201 1) and Nuno Porta s (1934-) at ESBAP as it proposed a close int eraction
between practi ce and theory , between schol arship and a rchitectura l design,
therefore aim ing to bri ng up a maturity stage on Portuguese archi tectural
cultu re.
Pedro Vieira de Almeida analysed the philosophic and ex i stential problem atic of
the architectoni c spa ce, presenting i n 1 963 an “Essay on Archi tectural Space”
(publi shed in Arquitectura, Li sboa, 3ª série, nº79, 80, 81, respectiv ely July,
December 1963 ; March 1964 .). Pedro V i eira de Almeida also addressed themes
rela te with th e space and architectur al output from out sid e the speci f i c terri tory
of the p rofessi on.
Nuno Porta s CODA’s from 1960: “Soci al H ousing , pr oposal for its archi tectural
methodol ogy (RA-Revista da Faculdade de Arqui tectura da Universi dade do
Porto, 1992 )
Parall e l to this, from 195 6 onwards a young generation of architects born in the
193 0s (F rederi co Sant'Ana, Carlos Duarte, Pedro Vieira de A lme i da, Hestnes
Ferreir a, to name but a few), who were joined by the brilliant, knowledg eable
and int e llig ent critic Pedro Viei ra de Almeida or Nuno Portas, ushered in a new
phase for Arquitectu ra , publi sh ing and exerci sing cr itici sm a nd divulging the
roots of the Modern Movement in a perspective of cu ltu ralist and historical
refl ection.

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The gradua l assump ti on of responsi bility on the pa rt of a rchi tects as
transform ers of society was to be reflecte d in several articles throughout the
60s. Here, due to its critical power and conti nuity, one must hig hlight the work
of Nuno Portas, which was not limited to Arquitectura magaz ine. He spread his
acti vity to the Jornal de Letras e Artes, where he began wri ting his chroni c l e
(Portas, 1964) “Pioneir os de uma Renovação” (Pi oneers of a Renewal). During
the 19 60s Nuno Portas extended his thoughts to larger-scale works: in A
Arquitectur a p ara H oje (196 4) a nd, above all, A Ci dade co mo Arquitectu ra
(1969 ) he distanced himself from the Modern Movement and the tendency to
overv al ue languages and creator ships, in itiall y proposi ng a qualifi ed “serial”
archi tecture in democratic city. The veteran Ke i l do Amaral also reflected
somewhat more bitterl y on the significance of the new times in Lisboa, Uma
Cidade em Transfor m ação (1969 ). In the context of the LNEC (N ati ona l Civil
Engi neer ing Laboratory), i nvest i gat i on al so receiv ed strong and deci sive
im pu l ses.

3. A mature archi tectural prod uctio n made with pride and without
prejudice
One may say that some of the most impr essive buildings owe their incepti ons to
a knowledgeabl e recourse to a disappearing tradition such as Raul Lino’s Casa
Montsalvat in Estoril (1902) or his Casa do Cipreste in Sintra (1907 -13), or to
the graduated transi t ion between pre-existi ng and new orders as in Januário
Godi nho’s Edificio da UEP in Porto (1953), or to the abstracted nostalgi a for
fragm ents and ruins such as in Fernando Távora’s desig n for the Quint a da
Conceição i n Matosi nhos (1956 ), or to the virtuoso m arri age of an unsuspecti ng

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Spai n, by its freedom from academi c r ul e and from Ita li an ate forms. The
Portuguese plai n style is like a vernacular archi tecture, re l ated to living dialect
tradi tions more th an to the great authors of the rem ote past…. in Portugal there
are uncharted elements of an entirely different archi tectural geography, where
clari t y, order, proporti on, and simplici ty mark the countours of another
aestheti c.” (Kubler, 19 72)
In fa ct, recent historiograp hi es of modern architectur e look af ter the connection
between the research on archi tectural history deali ng with eru di te and popular
archi tecture i n order to contribute for the redefi n i tion of 20 th centu ry
archi tectural cultu re scholarshi p.
An aesthetics of poverty , as it has been revealed by Portuguese Plain
Architecture approac h, is then critically perceived in ord er to rescui ng
deli berately memory and history issues. Discussing the hegemonic Portuguese
plain style concept as an app roach to archi tectural production i n t i mes of
scarci ty, the research aimed to unveil the nature of Portuguese archi tecture
character. Namel y, it has been possibl e then to enlig htened Lucio Costa’ s
research on, his own words, coloni al architectur e in Brazil (Godwin, 1943 ) in
order to defi ne hi s strategy to create the sense of a Brazili an modern
archi tecture. The sur vey he condu ct in Portugal search i ng for the roots l aunched
in Brazil, his acute remarks to Carlos Ramos (1897-196 9) or Keil do Amaral and
hi s activ e role sti mulating the Survey on Regional Architecture in Portugal are an
evi dence from this.
“ Documenta ção necessár ia ” (1937) wa s a research program that contained an
expli c it hypothesis: demonstrati ng the possibility of constructi n g a genealogi cal
line between the architecture of the co loni al period and modern archi tecture.
Such documentati on cl aimed for a n i nvestigation consi st ing of a systemati c

Ana Tost ões, The su rvey as a k nowledge proc ess and a crit ic to o l. Some topic s to debate
48
analy sis of the spat i a l devices in the dwell ing organi zation, includi ng its regional
varia tions, concerni ng systems and constr ucti on processes … and forms of
occupati on. As Andr é Tavares referred, the purpose of the study, ultim ately
ai ming to reach contemporary, was “t o determi ne the reasons for th e
abandonm ent of such ad equate r ul es and the ori g in of the [cur rent] mess” .
The plan to restore digni t y to the present through the redi scovery and
int erpretati on of a co loni al past, which was no more than that l ess on of plain
archi tecture, that fun cti ona l and close to the essence erudi te, t hat architectu re
meant to serve rath er than to please, as Keil said. Lucio Costa strategy is to
prove a sort of continuity, namely the sequence of the evolution of windows and
facades, presented in schemati c drawings, cl earl y evidences how the “ fenêtre en
longueur ” was reached i n this process of adapta t ion to new times.
As Costa states “Our anci ent Architectur e has not been adequa tel y studied yet
[...] popular a rchitectur e i n Portugal shows, in our view, gre ater interest than
the erudi te one”. And further on, “it i s in thei r v ill ages, in the vi rile aspect of
thei r rural constructi o ns, at once roug h an d wa rm, th at the qualiti es of the race
show better. Without the affected and sometim es pedantic look of refinement
int erventi ons, then, at ease, it naturall y develops, showi ng on its justness of
proporti ons and absence of m ake up, a per fect pl astic health.”
Lúci o Costa’s “founder” text “ Document açã o neces sári a” rescued some ideas of
the 1 929 text “ O Aleijadinho e a arquitect ura tradici onal ” in wh i ch Lú c io “looked
at hi s works from the standpoi nt of pure architectu re” trying to understand what
he desi gnated the homogeneity of the Portuguese colonizati on period c ivil
archi tecture “way to make”. “Our a rchitectur e is robust, strong , massi ve, and all
he ever did wa s sl im, deli cate, and fine. Our ar chi tecture is calm and q ui et, and
everythi ng he di d was tortured and nerv ous. Ev erything about i t i s stable,

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severe, simpl e, and never pedanti c. As f or him, everything is unstabl e, r ich,
co mpli cated, and a li t tl e prec i ous.”
Comi ng back to current, contemporary , architectur al production i w ish to
conclud e stating that concerns such as direct materiali ty , excellent crafts,
conduci ve spaces, l a pi da ry forms, awareness of the natural and built co ntext,
knowl edge indeed of the wider h i story of archi tecture appear to be part of the
int ellectual curiosity that consti tute contemporary architects in Portugal. As
W.Wang argues, the 20 th century has see n what I have described as a see -sa w
of attitu des i n the architecture in Portugal. I believe that a more bal anced
expressi on straddli ng pri de and mela ncholy i s achi evable. But for that, the
objectiv e and unsenti mental search and r esearch conduct ed by the previous
generati on and the current one into the gestation of built cu l ture and
archi tecture in Port ugal needs to b e passed on year after y ear.

Reference s:

AA/VV, Arqui tectura Popu lar em Portugal , SNA, 1961.
Amaral , Francisco Keil , “Uma iniciati va Ne cessá ria”, Arqui tectura, nº47, 194 7.
A Moderna A rquitectura Holandesa, Lisboa, Cad ernos Seara N ova, 1943
O Problema da Habitação, P orto, Livrari a Latina, 1945
Banham, Reyn er, The New B rutalism , London, 1 966.
Cald as, João Vi eira (ed.) Arqu itectura Popul ar dos Açores, OA, 20 00. (autori a colecti va
de A. Tostões; F .J.Si lva, J.M.Fernandes, M.L .Janeiro, N.Barcel os, V. Mestre)
Costa, Lúci o, “Razõ es da nova arqui tectura”, (t rabalh o publicado na revista da Directoria
de Engenh aria da Prefei tura do Distrito F ederal , vol .III, nº1, Janei ro de 1936) i n Lúci o
Costa: sôbre Arqui tectura, Alberto Xavier (org.), Centro de Estudantes Universitári os de
arqui tectura, Porto Alegre,1962.
“O Al eijadinh o e a arquitectura tradi c i onal”, (trabal ho publicado em O Jornal do Ri o de
Janeiro, número especial sobre Mi nas gerais), in Lúci o Costa: sô bre Arquitectura, Al berto
Xavier (org.), Centro de Estudan tes Uni versitários de a rquitectura, Port o Alegre,1962.
“Documentaçã o n ecessári a”, (t rabalho publi cado no p rimeiro número d a revista do então
“Serviço do Patrimóni o Históri co e Artísti co Nacional ”, d o Mini stério da Educaçã o e

Ana Tost ões, The su rvey as a k nowledge proc ess and a crit ic to o l. Some topic s to debate
50
Saúde, i n Lúci o Costa: sôbre A rqui tectura, Al berto Xavi er ( org.), C entro d e Estud antes
Uni versitários de arqui tectura, Porto Alegr e,1962.
Registro de uma Vi vência, São Paulo, Empr esa das Artes, 1995.
“sôbre A rquit ectura, Al berto Xavi er (org.), Centro d e Estudan tes Uni versitários d e
arqui tectura, Porto Alegre,1962.
Fernandez, Sé rgio, P ercurso, Arqu itectura Portu guesa 1930 - 1974 , 2ª ed ., Porto, Edi ções
da Facul dade de Arqui tectura da Uni versidade do Porto, 1988 .
Gomes, Paul o Varela Gom es, "Quatr e B ataill es en Faveur d'un e Archi tecture
Portuguai se," Eur opalia 91: Portugal Points de R epere: Architect ure du Po rtugal ,
Brussels: Fond ation pour l 'Architecture, 1991, pp. 41 – 42 (transl ation by Robert L evit)
Kubler, Geo rge, Portugues e Plain Archi tecture , 1 972.
Lino, Raul , A Casa Portu guesa, Li sboa, 1929.
Casas Portug uesas , Lisboa, Cotovi a, 1992 [1933]
Pereira, Nun o Teotónio, Escritos , Porto, Edi ções da FAUP, 1996.
Portas, Nuno, “Cr ónica de Arqui tectura: Pi oneiros d e uma Renovaçã o”, Jornal de L etras e
Artes , Lisbon, 13 De c. 1961, 18 Apr. 1962 , 30 Jan . 1963, 24 Jan. 196 4
A Arquitectura Para Hoje, Lisboa, Sá da Costa,1 964.
A Cidade com o Arquitectu ra, Lisboa, Livros Hori zonte, 1969.
"A Evolu ção da Arqui tectura M oderna em Port ugal , uma Interpretaçã o" , i n ZEVI,Brun o,
História da A rquitectura Moderna, II vol., Lisboa, Arcádi a,1977.
Funções e Exig ências de Àreas d e Habitação , Lis boa, LNEC, 1969 .
Tavares, Andr é, Novela Bufa do Ufanismo em Concreto , P orto, Dafne, 2 009
Távora, F ernando, O Problema da Casa P ortug uesa, P orto , Cadernos de Arquit ectura,
1947.
Da Organizaçã o d o Esp aço, 2ª ed., Po rto, Edi ções d o Cu rso d e A rquitectura d a Escola
Superior de B elas Artes do Port o, 1982 [1962].
Tostões Ana Tost ões, Os Verde s An os na Arqui tectura Po rtuguesa dos Anos 50 , P orto,
FAUP publ icações, 1997.
Monsanto, Pa rque Edu ardo VII, Cam po Grande . Keil d o Ama ral, Arquitecto do s Espaços
Verdes de Lisboa , Li sboa, E diçõ es Salam andra, 1992.
Cul tura e Tecnologi a na arqui etctura m oderna portuguesa, Lisboa, Doutoram ento IST -
UTL, 2002.
The Buil dings, Lisboa, FCG, 2012
Arquitectura e Cidadania: At elier Nuno Teotóni o Pereira , Lisbon 2004.
Tostões, A.; Wang, W ., Po rtugal: At chitektur im 20.Jah rhundert , Munchen, Prest el,
1997.
Wang, Wil fried, “Architecture of the 20 th century: moderni ty as the source of pride and
melan choly”, IAPXX , OA , 2006.

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Author id entificati o n
Ana Tostões (Lisb on, 1959) lives and works in Lisbon an d Barcelona where she is chair
of DOCOMOM O Internat ional (2010 -2016). She has a deg ree in Archi tecture ( ESBAL,
1982) an d a master’s degree i n History of Art ( UNL, 1994 ). He r thesi s was enti tled Os
Verdes Anos n a Arquit ectura Portu guesa dos Anos 50 (FAUP Ediçõ es, 19 97). She holds a
PhD from Instit uto Su perior Técnico, Universid ade T écnica d e Lis boa ( IST - UTL) on
culture and technology in Modern Portuguese architecture (2003). She is associate
professor at IST- UTL, where sh e is in charg e of the archite ctural h istory an d th eory
disciplines. She has be en coordinating the master’s deg ree in ar chitectu re (2007 -2009) .
Her research fi eld is the history of ar chitecture and t he city of the twentieth centu ry, in
which she develops an operative vi ew oriented towards t he re -use of m odern
architecture, focusing especially on post -war ar chitectural cultu re and relations between
European, African and American mod ernity. O n these topics she h as c urated exhibitions,
published bo oks an d scient ific articles: Th e Buildin gs. Calouste Gulb enkian Foun dation
(2012). Let’s talk abou t [7] Houses in Cascais . Privat e l ife a rchitecture (2012 ); Pardal
Monteiro, uma fotobiog rafia (2009) ; Arquitectura Portuguesa Con temporânea (2008);
Lisboa 1758: The Baixa Plan Today (20 08); Gulbenkian Headquarters and Museum, The
Architectu re of the 60s (2006 ); Arquit ectura e cidad ania. Atelier Nu no Te otónio P ereira
(2004); Bib lioteca Naci onal. Exteri or/Interior (20 04); Arquitectura moderna p ortuguesa
1920 -1970 (2003); Portug al: Architektur im 2 0. Jahrhu ndert (1998); Keil do Amaral, o
arquitecto e o h uman ista (CML,1999).Sh e has p articipated in several sci entific
conferences and given l ectures in Europ ean, American and African universiti es. She has
taken part in var ious jur ies and scientific com mittees an d has be en invited as an expert
to several award s.

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SARDINIA’S HISTORIC DISTRI CTS RENOVATION MA NUALS

Carl o Atzeni

DICAA R Di part im ento d i Ing egn eri a C ivil e, Am bi enta le e A rch it ettu ra – Un iv ersit à deg li
Studi di Cagliar i / De partment o f Civil- Env ironm enta l Engi nee ring and Ar chitec ture –
Un iv ersit y of Cag l iar i, C agl iar i, I taly

Abst ract
The h ist oric al - traditio n al Sardinian architec ture, is an important and interesting example
of p opu lati on s ett lem ents and c onst ruct i ons in t he M edit erran ean ar ea.
At the mome nt, a significant par t of the pre - indu str ial bui lt - up area is s trong ly at ri sk of
abandonme nt and is thr eate n ed by r enovation inte rventio ns which do no t co nform to the
typical tec hniques and mater ials of the local building tradit ion.
The re novation Manuals (5 territor ial manuals and 2 the matic manuals) and the
const ru ction At las of S ardi nia , have b e en r ecen tly el ab orat ed, at a local a nd regi ona l
level , u nder t he c oordi n ati on of t he Dep artm ent of Ar chi tectu re of th e Uni versit y of
Cagliari. They give pre ci ous inf ormation and ar e a cr ucial analysis o f the t raditio n al living
and buil ding c ulture i n the vari ous are a s of the Isla nd, defining a se ries o f ideal
inte rve ntio ns on Sa rdinia’s archi tectur al and identity he ritage
Even if sol ely ai m ed at a Regi onal scale, the p rojec t of th e ren ov ati on Ma nua ls of
Sardini a’s hist orical di stricts, tak es on a) an extra - l oc al value as regards the approaches
to the tradi tional he ritage r ecovery proble m s at diffe rent sc al es (urban, buildin g an d
mat erial - constr u cting) and b) give s so m e operation guide lines on the built - up area.

Keywords: tradi ti onal arch i tectu re , renovation manual s , ty pology , tech nol ogy

Introduction
T he his to ric a l - tradit ional Sardinian architecture, represe nt s an important
material her itage of the M editerranean area, from both a cultural ( wi th spe cific
versi ons with respec t to a more gene ri c one) and “usage ” (still being inhabited
and underlining the peculiarities which dist i nguish places and communi t ies)
point of v iew.

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However, the historical - tradit ional Sardinian bu ilt - up area se ems to be
threatened by the dee p crisis which is altering the secular b alance between
society and territory. I t is mostly the de eply rooted rural areas that are
characterised by the increas ing phenomenon o f abandonment and ensu ing
deteriorat i on. All of this, togethe r with the loss of knowledge conc erning the
traditiona l building m ethods, and the diff iculty to operate on the cons oli date d
built - up area (ac cording to a maintenance and rene wal approach and also tak ing
into account the te chniques and the mate rials typical of a spe cific area ) expose
the pre - industria l architecture to inappropriate modif ications which a lter (ofte n
in an irrevers ible way) its substanc e and its qualities.
However, the hi storical districts with their var ious Sardinian cultural aspects, are
the expres sion of a strong identity und erlining a s ignificant corre lation and
repetition of the r egion’s basic arch ite cture. They are fundamental in
understanding the qual i ty of living space and – mos t of all – the y still express
an extraord inary usage potential, as we ll as ma te r ia l he r ita ge o f pr ice le s s v a lue .
The Renovation Manuals knowledge projec t - co ncerning the local culture of
building, preservat ion and rene wal of the traditional Sard inian built - up areas – is
to be included in such a co ntext. It also r eprese nts an important chance for the
econo mi c and cu ltural development of the R egional territory thro ugh its own
pe c ul iar it ie s.
The Renovation M an uals of Sardinia’s his torical districts are a rticulated into: 5
territorial manua ls of the s ub - regional areas c haracterized by ana lo g ies in th e
lifestyle and bu ilding c ul tures; 2 themat ic manual s a im ed at a s pecific study and
analysis of raw - earth ho uses and sto ne houses which have a starring ro le in
Sardinian tradit i ona l co nstruction; 1 construction cu l ture Atlas. T heir objectiv e is
to define the geography of the lifesty le and the pre - industrial bu ildings of
Sardinia; they a lso re present an operatin g tool in def ining so me guidelines for
the renewal and main tenance of the traditional arch itectural heritage .
The need to establish a protoco l defi ning goo d interventi on guide lines, to be
shared by the tec hnical communit y, gives the se ries of Manua ls a fundamental
role for a ll strategies conce rning urban improvement and re novation. Nowadays,

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this is eve n more important, s ince the re novation is often financ ially supported
by public inst itutions (Euro pean Community, Regions, Mun icipalities) .

Res ults e xpecte d a nd Us ers o f the M anua ls
The results expecte d from the manuals, can be tracke d down to cultural and
usage reasons . The structure of each territorial manual is suppo rted by graphic
and descriptive shee ts of case studies of so me typi cal element s of traditional
building (roo fs, i nte rmediate floors, maso nry, opening systems etc.). This
structure allows a detailed knowledge sho wi ng the recurring types of the various
building cu l tures. Mo reover, the te chnical community (focusing on the ac tiv e
protection, maintena nce and sustainable modification of the tradit i ona l built - up
areas) cons i ders the manuals a useful tool for a correct approach, from the
knowledge and the m ethodological point o f v iew.
The natural users o f the M anuals are the communities and the world of the
experts with its double articu lation between thought and practice. The M anual s
pay particular attent ion to the first group o f users, since the comm unity owns
most of the traditio nal - historical her itage and is the start i ng point fo r any
renovation.
Through a representative syste m at vari ous scales, the Manuals’ tas k i s that of
clarifying to the “no n - expert” wo rld, the c ultural , u sage a nd econom i c val ues
related to the pre - indus trial architecture .
For the te chnici ans, the Manuals are a fundamental too l in the knowledge and
the transmission of the methodological inte rvention approaches which confo rm
to the traditional cons truction culture and codify most of the historical building
procedure s which previously were passed on by mere word of mouth and
therefore l acked a pro per building code .

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Str uc tu re and c on tent s of the M a nuals
From the be gi nning of the twentieth ce ntury, settlement cu l ture s developed in
the regional territory cre ating a homegeneous area, and have been the object of
study in the terr itorial manua ls and in the Atlas of co nstruction cu ltures.
The material - cons truction datum is one c riteria of the homogeneous terri to ri al
areas. It allows to d istinguish be tween areas with raw earth bu ildings (bas ically
the plains of Camp idano, Cixerr i and Sarrabus ) and those with s tone buildings,
even i f some buil t - up are as are an interest ing mixture of the two .
The cultura l and geo graphical areas are ano ther element of definition and
individuation of the te rritorial areas undr analysis. In fact, a distinct ion among
the settlement areas of the central - southe rn hills, the northern hills, and the
farthest hab itats of south - weste rn Sardinia has been made .
The te rritorial Manuals are articulated into the follow ing thematic sections:
- Knowledge of the settlement and pre - modern buil dings;
- Analysis of the rec urring dete rioration problems;
- Definition of a methodological approach and the subsequent gui de lines for the
renovation intervent ions ac cording to various critical and i nvasiv eness scales.
The traditional archite ctural heritage has been investigated at the morpho -
typological and te chnology scales w ith the help of synopt ic diagrams, typo logical
schedules and detai l e d sheets, in order to assoc i ate the syste mic nature of the
traditiona l heri tage and the re all y stro ng relationship among urban shape s,
building types and construction cu ltures.

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Figure 1. Urb an s t r uctures of raw hearth areas.

Wi th t hese hel pful elem ents, the foll ow i ng items ha ve been i nves ti gated:
At an urban scale, th e settlement rules, such as the position of the iso - oriented
residential bui ldings, the re l ation betwee n public and private spaces, which may
be full or empty;
- At a typo logical s cale, the main param eters have been defined in o rder to
obtain a typo logy of the buil t - up heritage . This has bee n done by ident ifyi ng the
referenc e types at a regi o nal scale (such as the courtyard houses and the
elementary wall bo x) and there are spec ific interpretations in which each o f
them are art i culated at a loca l level and the processes of space implementation
an d d iv is io n.
- I n the construction and building material sc ale, the main e l ements of the
traditiona l building, suc h as masonry, ro ofs, intermediate floors, vaults,

PAPERS

Sur veys on Vernacular Arc hitecture. The ir Signif icance in the 20t h Centur y Archi tectural Cultur e
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VERN A CULAR, CO NSERVATIVE, M ODERNI ST:
T he unco mfort able ‘Zone 6’ (Algar ve) of the Po rt uguese folk
archit ecture survey (1955 - 1961)

Ricardo Agarez

The B art let t Sc hool of A rch i tectu re / U ni versi ty Col l ege Lon don, Un i ted Kingdom

Abst ract
To this day , part o f t he aur a surro unding the 1 955 - 1961 ‘ Inquérito à Arquitectura
Regi ona l Por tuguesa’ in Po rtuguese arc hitectura l culture s t ems from the res ista nce
narra tiv e c onstru c ted a roun d it : c oun terin g p ercei ved offi ci al st ereot yp es fo r reg i onal
arch ite ctu re, t he au thors o f this surve y on ver nacular building tr aditions would hav e se t
out to pr ove that ‘folk arc h itecture wa s, like a ll “true architecture”, functionality ,’ a nd
desi gned th e p roj ect to f it t hei r ow n p os t - war modernist agendas. Disma ntling
preco nc epti ons o n regional f ea tures, demonstrat ing div ersity a nd integr ating m oder n
arc hitecture with the long - sp an l inea ge of v ern acu lar t radi tion we re e ssen tia l ai ms of th e
surv ey, shar ed b y al l it s t eams . Yet , th es e goal s were not alwa ys eas y t o pur sue.
By loo king at t he work of th e ‘Zon e 6’ t eam in A lga rve, th e south er nm ost r egion of
Por tugal, my paper will discuss the challe n ges place d by a specific building identity,
histo rica lly char ged and vis ually ent icing , o n the sur v ey’ s s tat ed and uns tated pur poses.
With its id iosyn crasi es, A lga rve seem s to h ave b een valu abl e in rend erin g n ati onal
div ersi ty mo re d ramat i c and enab lin g a cl eare r con tra st b etw een extr emes , th us
countering cla ims to homogeneity; an instrumental v iew that ec ho ed o th er, politic ally
dispara te initiativ es, ea rlie r in th e centu ry. Fu rt herm ore , it s ‘vern acul a r’ feat ur es wer e
uniquely te mpting to both conser vative and modernist eye s, and the survey place d them
under the ae sth etic is ed loo k that, as much a s the author s atte mpted to downplay it,
perm eat ed th e en tir e work – an d, i n th e cas e of Alg arv e, wa s oft en n ot so fa r from th e
superfic ial, stereotyped views tho se author s condemne d as trite vulgarisatio ns. Finally,
th ere wa s t he em ba rra ssin g mat te r of ext er nal dec orati on: an i ne xtri cabl e pa rt o f
Algarvian bu ilding traditio n that hardly fitted moder nist te nets, it was sense d as
pro blematic a nd fra med in te rms that ec ho those with whi ch, t went y year s bef ore, oth er
Medi te rran ean v erna cul ars were rec ord ed .

Keywords: Verna cul ar, F olk Archi t ecture , Su rvey , Al ga rve , Olh ão

Ricardo Agare z, Vernac ul ar, conservativ e, modernist: the u nc omfor table ‘Zone 6’ (Alg arve) of the Portuguese
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Introduction
When Artur Pires M a rtins (1914 - 2000), C eles tino de Cas tro (1920 - 20 07) and
Fernando T orres (1922 - 2010) set out in 1955 to reco rd the fo lk bu ildings of
Algarve ( in ‘Zone 6’) for the nat ionwide survey ‘ Inquérito à Arqu itectura Regiona l
Portuguesa,’ they faced a delicate task . In its stated purpo ses, the project
included redress i ng Portugal’s re putedly false regiona l stereotypes. The turn - of -
the - century ‘ Casa Por tugue sa’ program , whic h so ught an anti do te to Beaux Arts
ec le ct ic is m i n o r ig i nal tra its of Portuguesene ss , had be en popularised by both
architects and non - arc hi tects in formu las th at came to embod y, in the 1940s, a
key axis of Portuguese national ident i ty: r e gio na l d iv er s ity ( Branco 1999, Leal
2000, Me lo 2001) . T he s outhernmost province of Po rtugal, wi th extant traces
(real and imagined) of a r emote, exotic Moo rish past and mark edly
Mediterranean physic al and cultura l characterist i cs, had an ess enti a l part to play
in this kaleidosco pic construct of Portuguese diversity /u n ity . As su ch, it had bee n
duly typif ied in public and private bu ilding initiat ives throughout the first ha lf of
the last century, be fore being taken by the to uri sm phenomeno n to other
purposes and scal e. The Zone 6 team scooted through Algarve imbued wi th a
cle a r im p ressi on of the reg i on’s ster eotyp e , and the ir part in the survey was
devoted to dismantling it .
However, A lgarv e had no t been a stra ightforward case of built identity cons truct ,
simply based on s tere otypes issued f rom metropolitan c entre s towards
peripher al contexts , but rather an intricate pro cess of negotiation and exchange ,
in which local and regional agency active ly took part , and whose s trength
underlay other, more transient trends . Amo ng other reasons, this was because
the basis for such co nstruc t – the extant built environment – h ad engaged both
the modernist sens ibility towards Me di terranean vernacular rati onality , and th e
cons ervative, pasto ral interest in the pi cture sque; in fact, the Algarve case is
one wh ere th e boun d ari es between the t wo sensi b ili t i es, often seen as opposed ,
most visib ly co llapsed. When t he Zone 6 team attempted to dis man t le Alg a rve ’ s
stereot ype, they eve ntuall y found them se lv es enmeshed i n some of i ts original

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misgivings and had t o deal with feature s that, othe r than part o f th e ster eotyp e,
were part of the reality around them. T o th eir m odern ist eyes , and within a
proje ct aimed at exposing superficial regionalism, dea li ng with Algarvian
vernacular was an un expecte d challenge.

Debunking stereoty pes , or the value of d iversity
Po rtuga l lacks unity in what concerns Architecture. T here i s not,
absolutely not, one ‘Portugue se Architecture ’ or one ‘casa portuguesa’ .
(…) Betw een the houses of Fuseta a nd th ose of L ama s d e Olo, there are
barely any links … ([Amara l], 1988 [ 1961])
For the authors o f Arquitectura Popular em Portugal (1961) and of the ‘Inquérito’
that supported it, the c ountry’s folk archi te cture was es sentially diverse, as
varied as the many di ffere nt geographic, climatic , topographic, material,
techni ca l , social and economi c ci rcumstances that had produced; an a rchitecture
‘that was no longer pro perly Portuguese but existed, i n mu ltiple and diverse
expre ssions , in Por tugal.’ ( Leal, 20 03, 176) S urvey and book s hould,
furthermore, a llow them to demons trate that folk arc hitectu re was in fact
moder n. This, a key point for post - war arc h itects who claimed the right to follow
their time w ith a contempo rary stance and against p erceived off icial
conse rvati sm, was pre sent sin ce the p roject’s i nception. A s one o f its propone nts
wrote, f olk dwe llings were ‘ the most functional and less subj ect to fantasy’ and
those ‘ which best suit th e new in tentions . ’ (T ávora, 1947 [1945] , 11) W it h
hindsight, partic ipants admitted to being ‘nece ssarily tendent ious’ by merely
looki ng to conf irm what they had set out to demons trate: a cause - and - effect link
with the environment, the rational i ty of building techniques and the ‘ authenticity’
of mate ria ls , prov ing that ‘ f olk arch itecture was, like all “tru e architecture,”
functiona lity.’ (Pere ira, 1984, 29) The s urveyors’ view of vernacular arch i tecture
was therefo re filtered thro ugh their spec ific agendas, leaving aside a number of
other aspe cts; they focused on regional diversity and the vernacular lineage o f
modernism as two es sential arguments against superf icial ste reotypes.

Ricardo Agare z, Vernac ul ar, conservativ e, modernist: the u nc omfor table ‘Zone 6’ (Alg arve) of the Portuguese
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Algarve suited both arguments pe rfectly. In my opening quote, a village in the
north of Portuga l (Lamas de Olo) is presente d as virtually inco mparable to the
Algarvian village of F useta, suggesting that , as before , Algarve played an
ins tr um en ta l r o le in r e info r c ing the diversity of Portugal’s fo lk architecture, in
enabling a clearer co ntrast between extremes . F urther more, i t was not only
different from the rest o f the country but al so internally hetero geneous . T he
Zone 6 team referred to r ece nt Human Geography scholars hip (Lautensach
1932 - 1937, Gou veia 1938, R i beiro 1945) to support their acco unt of the
coincidence between Algarve’s d i verse ge ographic regions (the mountains, the
hilly midland Barrocal and the seas id e), the rural econom y, th e typ es of
settlement, and the h ouse - types of each of those r egions.
In the discussion of t he ‘urban struc ture’ in Algarve, Martins’s t eam introduced
one point that emerg ed cons i stently there after : to str ess how t he fishing centres
of Olhão and Fuseta wer e non - re presentati ve of the regi on, and th ei r hou ses,
‘ exceptions in the ent ire Algarvian coas t.’ (Martins et a l, 1988 [1961], 146) The
two ‘unique’ s ettlements wi th the i r predom inantly flat - roof e d houses were briefl y
described using wel l - known sources ; th e team borrowed existing e xp lan a t ion s
for the f lat - r oof so lu tio n and shared long - las t in g perp lexities at the fact that
other village s in similar co ndi tions had differe nt roofing devices.
They made their point clear shortl y after. The section on ‘Climate ’ show ed how
locals ingen iously looked for the best orientation for the ir settleme nt, opening
windows according to the sun and wi nds, using el ements l ike porches, te r races,
patios and v ine pergolas to co ntrol sun light and achieve ‘pe rfec t conditions of
dwell ing’ in winter a nd summer. The impact of climate on traditional build ing
solutions prompte d them to address the subjec t of the terrace roof (locally called
açoteia) as repres entative of Algarve:
Widely popularised c onceptions on the defi n ing features of a regiona l
Architecture, anx iously sought and light - heartedly unders tood, do not
always corre spond exactly to what one can f ind in a careful, judicious
observation. The ro le of the terrac e roof in ‘A lgarvian Architecture ’ has
been m uch i nvoked; h owever, to t he exception of the rural are a

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geographical l y define d as ‘ Lim estone Algarve’ (…) and of the settl ements
of Olhão and Fuseta, it is fair to say that the terrace roof is not frequent in
most o f the pr ovince. (Ma rtins et a l, 1988 [ 1961], 166)
The autho rs as so ciated the co mposite roofing so l utions (part te rrace , part tiled)
of ‘Li mestone Al garv e’ to cl imate and local econo my requi reme nts ; and again
stress ed how special the ‘ cases’ of Olhão and F useta were, where ‘frequent
contact with North A frican people and traditions, as well as c limate affinities,’
would expla in the assimilation of both the terrace - roof house type and the
corres ponding organic urban fabric.
However , the y noted, in the reg ion as a who l e the t iled roof so lution had more
currency than the te rr ace r oof: i n one vill age ‘no fla t roof s may be seen, a nd th e
tiled roof is w idespread,’ and in ot her , ‘there is no roo fing ty pe o ther than the
tiled one .’ (M artins et al, 1988 [196 1], 1 38 - 41) In the ‘Construction materials
and techniques’ s ection they gathered further e vidence: wi thin the range of
roofing tec hniques us ed, the doub le - o r s in gle - pitch tiled roof dominated. At the
same time, another buil ding feature re l ate d to climate, the pátio – not the
Andalusian courtya rd but the front ( or side) yard – was note d as being as
comm on as t he m yth ical açoteia, and as rationally jus tified: ‘ N o thin g is
improvised, nothing is arb i trary, and on the contrary, eve rythi ng is proper ly
justified and verified thro ugh experience. ’ (M artins et a l, 198 8 [1961], 1 71)
The t err ace roof issue was central to one of the declared purposes of the
‘Inqué rito’ – to dismantle the myths regarding Portuguese re gional architecture
– since it was an esse ntial part of the stronges t stereotype of Algarve
architecture in the firs t half of the century . This feature had b een adopte d by
conse rvati ve spheres as typi ca l and used to s ymbolise the entire region, as well
as exerte d a clear fascination over mod ernist des igners for its proximity to
rationalist forms. Olhão , in pa r t icu la r , unde rwent a pro cess of ‘di scovery’ by
scholars, writers, j ournalists and architects that mirrored co ntemporary
developments in Spain ( Ba le a rics), It aly (Capri ) or Greece.

Ricardo Agare z, Vernac ul ar, conservativ e, modernist: the u nc omfor table ‘Zone 6’ (Alg arve) of the Portuguese
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Figure 1. Ol hão, 2009 (© Ricardo Agarez)

Portuguese authors hail ed its ‘d ices of lim e’ ( Barreira 1909) , the box - lik e
buildings that, as if ‘ p rojec ted from Picasso’s canvas , (…) intertwine, over l ap,
cover e ach other, dismember themse l ves, the laws of pers pective and volume
annulled by whitenes s and mirage.’ (R i bei ro, 1927 , 75 ) English travellers raved
about Olhão, whose architecture ‘co uld give points to many a modern young
architect prid ing himself on the functiona l use of materials.’ ( Gordo n, 1934 , 212 )
It was in fact s ystematica lly associate d with modernism, not least by
metropolitan Portugu ese archi tec ts suc h as Segurado (1926), R amos ( 1931) and
Cottinelli Tel mo (1933). Concurre ntly , nat ional and foreign scholars debate d the
terrace - r oof house ’s orig in an d e vo lu t ion , and Ol hão became a favourite topic of
Human Geography studies ( G iese 1932 - 1935, Gi rão 1935, F eio 1949, Fe rro
1956, Stan islavsk y 1960, R ibeiro 1961 ) that interpreted its special ‘pyramidal’
growth pattern closely fo llo w in g lo c al , non - scholar v ie ws (M achado 1934, Lo pes
1948). The p ictorial analogy of O lh ã o as the co untry’s ‘Cubist’ town (Fe rro 1922)
was well es tablished acro ss all fields of kn owledge and this particular to wnscape
was later popularised as a s urrogate for Algarve as a w ho le , namely in
represe ntations of the region in national and internationa l expo sitions (Paris

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1937, Ne w Yo rk and San F rancisco 19 39, Lisbon 1940) and in tourism
propaganda.
There fore, by confining the terrace roof to a precise geography the ‘I nquéri to’
authors meant to e xpose the fallac y embraced by both co nservatives and
modernists, and to replace it with a new , ‘scienti fic’ approach to vernacular
tradition.
Unsurprisingly, in the ‘Hous i ng Types’ section the architects could not identify
one single A lgarvian ho use type, but rath er referre d to the ‘d iverse aspe cts of
hous ing in Algarve’, i llustrated w ith co ttages from the inland hills , the pla ins and
the villages. T he general features o f the A lgarvian house were limited to it s
external simplici ty, ‘very pure in forms and surfaces,’ and some la yo ut
idiosyncras i es suc h as the ‘ im portance and significance ’ of rece pti on spaces ove r
private and serv ice are as .
The discuss i on of the c entral or ‘Limestone Algarve’ type , e ss e nt ial in
demonstrating the variety of A lgarvian ho use types, was clearly inspired by
previous descriptions made by geographers (F eio 1949, Fe rro 1956). I n t h is a s
in other respects , the architects’ wo rk seems to have been closely influence d by
the appro ach of th eir non - archi te ct predece ssors ; in te nt io na l ly or no t, in m any
poi nts the ‘Inq uéri to’ seem ed content to complete and illustrate those sources
for the benefit of an architectural aud ience, high lighting whiche ver points cou ld
help reinforce its sp e cif ic message .

Th e ambivalen t Algar vian v ernacular
For the Zone 6 team, the house - type of Olhão and Fus eta was first and foremost
a case o f its own, ‘ dif f e re nt and unmatched in the Algarve province. ’ Yet the
choi ce of exam ples t o character i se this typ e as spec ifically local and not reg ional
suggests the difficulti es that their obje ct of study pose d to architects who, as
they themselves admitted, were driven both by a precise agenda and by the
‘plastic qua lity’ of wh at they found (Martins 1999 in N eves, 2001).

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The de scripti o n of a s et of terrace d houses i n Fuse ta inv oked a case that would
perhaps not qualify as the best instance of vernacular. T he exact repeti ti on of
the same des ign and the standard i sed co nstruction and decoration e lements
configure d a s et that did no t seem to have gro wn spontaneous ly or organ i cally,
or to have be en built by its inhab i tants; rather, it had a ll the features o f a
multifamily housing uni t, des igned and built in one s tretch to form one who l e
street fro nt.
Plans and photograp hs depicted an exa mple of proto - industrial low - budget
housing, se rially produc ed, possibly designed and built by profes sionals for the
fi shermen or the canni ng industry workers. S tudyi ng the buil di ng practice in
Algarve in the earl y dec ades of th e century, I identified a mome nt when
vernacular build ing customs we re codified into bureaucracy fo r planning
permission purpose s and i nte grated with the s phere of formal design. I n the
1910s and 1920s, a number of ex ampl es co mparabl e to those presented by the
Zone 6 team we re built in both Olhão and Fus eta to approved designs,
configur ing an inter mediate layer betwe en the vernacular t radition proper ,
spontaneo us and infor ma l, and the ru les and re quirements of the construction
industry, by wh ich learned arch i tects o perate . Designed, standard ised and
re gu lat ed , t h is in v is ib le la y er mis le d ev er yo ne – geographers and
ethnographers , pi cturesque - driv en authors, pre - and post - war modernist
architects, and the Zo ne 6 team – into enco mpassing object of very di fferent
extraction under the same c ategory of ‘folk architecture’ . If t hese hou ses prov ed
that vernacular was modern and rational, it was because they were mo der n a nd
rational.

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Another motif of ‘c apti vat ing expressiveness’ was shown in a house i n the inland
hills (A l coutim): a p arapet with a ceramic zigzagg ing grid was cons idered ‘a
curious example,’ a lbeit not typical, in which ‘ common elements of the Algarvian
buildings are groupe d in an or i ginal way,’ pro viding a synthetic i mage of
‘architectura l unity’ and ‘alm ost sce nographi c plastic interes t.’ Raul Lino and
other Casa Po rtuguesa supporte rs used this same motif in the ir synthes es of the
Algarve type and would ha ve described it i n similar te rms. H ere , the team’s
discourse was dang erously close to the very ste reotype they were set to
dismantle, g i ving re ason to the disclaimers wi th wh ich they fenc ed this
problematic sect ion of the text. In comparison the lace - like chimney to p, the
quintessentia l Algarv ian stereo typi cal el ement, was more cautiously descr ibed as
an adulterat i on of th e pure, ‘balloon’ chimney, and illustrate d only summar ily .
Fin a lly , the team sugge sted that the wood - lat t ice shutters , a faili ng tradit ion that
could be found but o ccasional ly in Algarve, sho uld be developed and app lied in
new ways ; in th is p oin t , the y concurred not o nl y with their conservative
predece ssors , who emp loyed such shutters e xtensivel y, but al so and most
importantly with the ir Braz ilian contemporaries, who were the n giving this
Moori sh - Portuguese inheritance a most ex citing overhaul.
The ‘ Inquérito’ has been signalled as the ‘birth of a “mode rn view” o f vernacular
architecture’ in Port ugal (Leal, 2003, 185). Yet in the Algarve section, this
‘modern view’ had so me poi nts i n co mmon with other, previous v iews .
Determined to d ismantle the ster eotyp e of the Al garve house, thi s secti on’s
authors seem nevertheless to have fal len for that model’s aesthetic appeal and
to have lost so me of the i r intended obje ctivity . The Algarvian trad itions of
building de coration, se en as an embarrassment in a modernist ’s min d - set , were
provided with an alt ernative frame, not without its prob lems. Such difficult i es
expose d th e tensions and challenges presented s peci f ically by the Algarve built
environment: pared - down, e l emental and whitewashed for mode rnists, intricate,
exuberant and picture sque for conservatives, but equally seduc tive for all. More
than merely reinforc ing the survey’ s clai m as offering cove rt resistance to state
cons ervatism, a nd de spite those te nsions, I s ee the Algarve section as ev i dence

Ricardo Agare z, Vernac ul ar, conservativ e, modernist: the u nc omfor table ‘Zone 6’ (Alg arve) of the Portuguese
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of the wider attempt to re concil e mo dernist values with an appreciation of
picturesque ness – in other words , to explore the m iddle ground that Span ish and
Italian were pointing to : the possibility of an unders tandi ng, in Portuga l,
between the pressure of tradition and the eagernes s for conte mp o raneity.
The risks pos ed by th is propos ition were many, for metropolitan arch i tects, and
sensed ev en bef ore t he book’s pu bli cation: as one of the au thor s put it in 1959,
‘we may find ourselves enmeshed in an e ra of neopro vi ncialism in architecture ,
retrograde and s ickening, comparable to other neo provi nc ialisms.’ (F reitas,
19 59 , 37) Th e ghost of a fet i shisa tion of vernacu la r forms hover ed over the
‘Inquér ito’, and was later proved by its lasting popularity with gene rations of
architects. It was the ir perceived interest, and the new uncontrolled possibilities
offered by this showcase of regional and local diversity, endo rsed by the
country’s architectural a vant - garde, that raised the cr itics’ conc ern of ‘a re -
enactment of re cent absurdities, th i s time by the respectable h ands of modern
architec ts.’ ( Duarte , 1959, 40) T his fear, and the response s it provoked, has
dominated Portuguese architectural cu lture in the past fifty years .
© Ricardo Agarez 20 12 All Rights Res erved

Acknowledgeme nts
Thi s pap er stem s fr om my on - g oing rese arch as a PhD candidate at The Bartlett Sc h oo l
of Ar chi tect ure – Un iv ersit y Col leg e London , su pervi sed by Ad ri an F orty and Jan Birkst ed
and provisiona ll y e ntitled ‘ M oder n architectur e, building tradit i on and c o ntex t i n southe rn
Por tugal ’. This re search is suppo rted by Fundaç ão para a C iência e a Te cnologia,
Por tugal .

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Archite ctu re and the Mediter ranean: Vernacular Dial ogue s and Contes ted Identitie s (pp.
64 - 93). L ondo n: Routledge.
Mart in s, A. P., C astro, C . de, & Torres , F. (1988 [1961]). "Zona 6." In A rqui tectu ra
Popu lar em Port uga l , v ol . 3 (pp. 1 21 - 239) . Li sboa: As soci ação d os A rqu itectos
Portug uese s.
Melo, D.S . (20 01). Sala zaris mo e Cultura Popular (1933 - 1958) . Lisb oa: Uni versi d ade de
Lisb oa. Ins t itu to de Ciê nc ias So c iais.
García Mercadal, F. (1930). La Casa P opular en España . Madrid: Espasa- Cal pe.
Neve s, R.O. (2 001). 'Letter to Raul Lino': Cultur al Ide ntity in Por tu guese Ar chitec ture.
Man chest er: Uni ve rsi ty of Sa l ford.
Perei ra, N.T . (1984) . Ar chi tettura Po polare, dall'I nchi es ta al Pr ogetto . Domus , 655 , 28 -
30.
Ribeiro, A. (1927). Olhão. In R. Proenç a, Guia de Portugal: Es tremadura, Alente j o,
Al garve (pp. 75 - 78) . L isboa: Bibli ote ca Nacional de P ortugal.
Romba, S. (2008). Evolução ur bana de Olh ão . Fa ro: Uni ver si dad e do A l garve.

Ricardo Agare z, Vernac ul ar, conservativ e, modernist: the u nc omfor table ‘Zone 6’ (Alg arve) of the Portuguese
fo lk architectur e survey (1955 - 19 61)

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Sabatino, M . (2010a). Th e Pol iti cs of Medit er ranei tà i n Itali an Modern is t Arch it ectu re. In
M. Sab atino (Ed. ) & J.F. Le jeune (Ed.), Modern A rchit ectu re and the M e dit erran ean:
Ver nacular Dialo gue s a nd Contested I dentities (pp. 40 - 63 ). London: Rout l edge .
Sabatino. M . (2010b). P ride in M odest y: M od ern ist Archi te ctur e an d th e Vern acu la r
Traditio n in Italy . Toron to, B uf fal o, Lond on: U nive rsi ty of T oron to P ress .
Távora , F. (1947). O P rob lema da Casa P ortug u esa . Li sboa: Tip. Imp. Li bâni o da Silva.

Aut hor iden tific ation
Ri card o Agar ez (Li sbon 1972) is an archite ct ( DipArch 1996) and archi tec tural his t or ian
(MPhi l 2004). H is research interes ts lie in the architectur al humanities and the cultural
stud ies of a rchit ectu re, a nd h e has sp ecial i sed in the history and theor y of archite cture
and ur ban planning in t he 19th a nd 20th ce ntu ries . Ricardo, currently a PhD candidate in
Arch itect u ral Hi st ory a n d The ory a t Th e Ba rtl ett Sch ool of Ar chi tect ur e (U niv ersity
Coll eg e Lon don) , ha s w ork ed for th e P ortu gu ese go ve rnmen t’ s bui lt heri tag e inf orma ti on
syst em ( SIPA ) a s sp ecia li sed re sea rch er an d ca s ework er (2 003 - 2008). He published h is
MPhil thes is (Moder n re visite d. Multifamily housing in Lisbon in the 1950s) in 2009.

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FROM SEA TO STON E
Cradle of Avant- Garde
Rubén Al colea, Ai tor Acilu
Escuela de Arq uitectur a. Uni vers i dad de Nav arra / School of Architecture.
Universi ty of Navar ra, Pam plona, Spain

Abstract
The idea of mod ernity an d its formalization is d ee ply rooted i nto Mediterranean culture,
not only in t erms of formal or ma terial config uration but also c oncerning the human
approach of architecture to t he sit e and cultu re. Long in history, popu lar Mediterranean
architecture h as b een ma inly devel oped just by their u s ers or by artisan s, in a perfect
example o f und erstanding building s as an e xten sion of hu man li fe, h abits and se nsibility
to lan dscape an d climate. This point of view of the popular has comm only bee n s een by
early mode rn and avant -garde archit ects as th e d eparture lan dmark or prelude fo r a new
and int er national archit ecture, in a p er fect exa mple of int egration of p opular culture into
the most orthod ox and th eo retical dis courses an d theories. Josep Llu is Sert – on e of the
most relevant Span ish architects i n early years of modernism – and the Austrian Bernard
Rudofsky – who visite d ma ny t imes the S panish mediterran ean ar ea lo oking for
vernacular references – work ed wi th this p rinciples t o settle the t heoretical argum ents to
get to mod er nity t rough history.

Keywords: Ser t , Moderni sm, Spain, Ibiz a

Man´s physical freedom mani fests itself n o doubt in his ability to choose
the pla ce on earth w here he wants to live. Whereas imm a ture reflection
tends to judge by usefu lness alone, a discrimina ting mind may ask its
share of beauty. Neither p riva tions nor danger w ill deter man from
selecti ng a spot tha t provi des him w ith the exhilar ation generated by
superb l andscape. [1 ]
Tradi t ionally , both h istory and theory or archi tecture have focused on studyi ng
the work of the out st andi ng but only a few tim es their field of research have

Rubén Alcolea, Aitor Acilu, From Sea to Ston e: Cradle of Av ant-Garde
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been the regul ar and non -rel evant. It means that an im portant part of the true
and history has been left aside, as the wo rk of the designer s represents j ust a
small part, someti mes ridicul ously insignificant, on the buildi ng activi t y of any
apoch. [2 ]
If we choose a comp lete v i ew of the terrestri a l space, we could see that the
physi ca l envir onment, speci a ll y the one that has been bui lt, has been only
controll ed by designers or architects just in a very small pa rt. This is why the
number of buildings and works of archi tecture whose source i s vernacul ar or folk
is really outstandi ng, and at the same t ime, has been a l so usually removed from
hi story a nd theory of ar t and archi tecture.
There are only a few exampl es, as The Greek works cl ose to the Acropoli s,
anci ent roman dwellings, the buildi ngs around the Pyram ids or the medieval
cathedral s or some others. These have been considered because of their direct
rela tionship to more uni que p i eces of archi tecture . Usuall y , histori ans hav e
selected for their research the more brilliant solutions or speci al typologies, as
templ es, palaces, graves or theatres, but non-singular dwelling or small
constructi ons have been just erased from thei r studies. Neverthel ess , the se
works are, precisel y , the symbol of culture and traditi on, and the spaces where
the hum an-bei ng shares the most i ntimate: i ts own life a nd being.
In fi rst instance, we shou ld consi der as relevant building s the ones that outstand
for their s i ngularity. Therefore, cottag es, huts and many other minor
constructi ons are alway s in sec ond place. But modernity , thanks to social
changes and the ar ise of new techn ological revolutions a nd philosophical
approaches has al wa ys considered, in some way or another, the va l ue of a ll this
second-cl ass architecture, that outstand s for having, in their selves, in their
materi ality and configura tion, the identi t y and cultural essence of di fferent
societi es and cultu res. This is pure and clean archi tecture, free of desi gn freak s.
Buil d ings that respond to technical necessities and whose last mean is to serve
and to become functi on. Is here, in all thi s not outstandi ng architectu re, where
moderni ty found a r eal source of inspi ration.

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But, the everl asting question i s, what i s vern acul ar architecture? What i s the real
int erest of it in the w orl d of architectural form and compositi on ? What are their
mai n char acteri st ics for becomi ng a reference i n the XXth century?
From a general point of view, we should consider that we could classify buildings
in two large groups: the ones that consider tr aditi on on design and the ones that
consid er tradi t i on as fol k. [3]
The first group, that assumes tradi t i on as desi gn, includ es a ll architecture work
that has its origin to impress their population. In the opposite, the folk
tradi tional building s are a direct and unconsci ous transl ation of cultural
formali zat i ons, and by extensi on, of their cultural values and necessiti es, as
desir es or dreams of the epoch. Is here, in this last group, where we shal l
di stingui sh among primi tives and vernacul ar. [4]
Consid ering that we are interested i n vernacul ar a rchitectu re, we shoul d focus
on the construction and desig n process. [5] Every vernacul ar design process is
based on model s, that get adapted and transf ormed attending to diff erent
necessiti es, and generating di fferent s oluti ons of a singl e type. ‘When a
professi onal builds a barn for a farmer, they both know the ty pe, the form or
materi als to be used. There is only left the specifi c, as the personal needs o f the
client attending their own circumsta nces: si ze, re l ationshi p to the envi ronment,
and cli mate’. [6]
This is a pattern that gets adapted through the process. It begins with the first
sketches, the general features, and then come the detai ls, that are a djusted as
the construction advances. So, vernacul ar archi tecture can fit, a t the same t im e,
in many d i fferent s ituati ons, and re -create a new pl ace for any of them. Also,
one of it main characteri st ics is the capacity and even necessity of additi on. Its
open nature, as opposed as the closed ecosystem of design, all ows changes and
additi ons that could d estroy the orig inal image of the work but tha t will generate
a new and second conception of it. Consi dering the context, Mediterranea n
archi tecture i s just the ad di tion of very simpl e vo l umes, the mo re rati onal the
better. Fi rst is the addition of one or two bedrooms, then a porch, then a barn to
refurbi sh... [7 ]

Rubén Alcolea, Aitor Acilu, From Sea to Ston e: Cradle of Av ant-Garde
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This is why the re lati onsh i p and so luti on among d i fferent elements is really
im portant. The model is the resul t of the cooperati on of many different people
through many genera ti ons, as the cooperat ion among the builders and the users
of the buildi ngs, giving pl ace to what is k nown as tradi t i on. W ithout style, nor
school and practised by agents that have no any other master than constructi ve
tradi tion. [8]
This architecture has the strength of being created by coll ective consensus. Its
point of appr oach w ill work as long as t raditi on is alive. If tradi t i on dies, the
context will radicall y change. Without tradition there is no confidence in the
accepted forms and types, and then we s houl d accept architectural, temporary
and i nstituti ona l sty l es.

Mediterran ean : Sou rce of Civilizati ons
The Mediter ranean area, origi n of many c iviliz at i ons, is the geographi c al context
where Afri can, Asian and European cultu res get togeth er, and has been a basic
reference for the origin and growt h of modernity. Through their terrestri al limits,
and promoted by the cultu res that settle in its margins, it is possible to fi nd a
great spectrum of architectur al works that inspired the most foreru nners
archi tects from early XXth century. All the se ar e ar chitectu re exam p l es tha t, far
from tryi ng to become brilliant , hide in their thick brick and stone wall s, the
weig ht of history and traditi on.

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Figure 1. H ouses t ypic al of Mediterran ean Ar ea, Ru dofsky,
B. Archit ecture Wi thout Archi tects: A Short Introducti on to
Non-pedi greed Archi tecture, MOMA, New Y ork, 1964, p. 1

The si ngularity of the Mediter ranean and its context is essential for the
understand ing of evoluti on and history of all the countries around it, and a lso for
many other whose geogr aphi ca l does not even touch its waters. This i s why it i s
necessary to unders tand its role as an essential departure point for l atter
devel opments of west ern civiliz ation and m oderni ty in general. Its vocation, first
as a transport ation path t ill the arrival of railway and p lane, allowed the
communi on of cultures of very different root and natu re. T his geographical
context has i nherited a very strong cultural and heterodox chara cter, that reflecs
the i nteraction among very diff erent societi es that, free to chose thei r own
id entity, share some of their features. This is why it is not strange at all that one
of the ma in spotlights of moder ni ty was precisel y this great space: th e
Mediterr anean.

Vernacula r as Avant-Garde

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It seem s i mporta nt to think about how and why avant-garde archi tecture was
born, at the early XXth century, just at the same place where tradi tion was
stronger. Until the 1900s, man had built his envi ronment wi th l o cal materials, i n
a very easy and non-sophisticat ed natural way. The human being was constantly
rela ting its architecture to the sun, wi nd, rai n and land, and basically trying to
solv e the i nconveni e nces of da il y life. S ociety had developed techni ques to
protect itself from d iscomfort. Pi oneers and forerunners of avant-garde stated
that research on th e most essential , the root, of anti que commun ita r ia n
archi tecture could bring many clues to form alization to new mod ern postul ate s.
They assimil ated th e shape and formali za tion of vernacul ar Mediterr anean,
all owing more rationalist proposals to d i r ectly link to tradition, as th e white
constructi ons devel oped i n the Weissenhofsi ed l ung in Stuttg art in 1927. T his
was a perception that will settl ed even m ore deeply j ust a decad e later, when it
was cri t i c ised b y the Nazi propaganda and cari caturized as a n Arab setti ng.
In these first steps to the understand ing of the human work, there were many
that tried to rescue and r e-use anti que classicisms. But, b y contrast, the avant-
garde wa s able to bri ng references tha t alterna te from unimagina ble fut ure
utopi as with the essent ial d eep view of the past and origin of humanity.
This bidirecti onal strategy configured a round tr i p that allowed the fr ee
coexistence of the moderni sm visual art and the more soph isti cated technical
advances. Different intell ectual pos iti ons merged in a common ground, a ll ow ing
archi tecture to be c onsi dered the pure disci p li ne were both ar t and technique
lived together. It wa s a rea l experimentati on field that w ill or igi nate the most
revol utionar y sta tements of moder ni ty .
From thi s point of view, we dare say that hi stor ia ns have focused on moder n
archi tecture from a purposeful point of view, not medi tated. We can found
research about bui l t work in places with a reall y low scienti f i c or technologi cal
devel opment, especially in many specialized magazi nes from the 1920 s and
193 0s. For example, the 1927 issue of T he Western Architect published articl es
as ‘Aborig inal American Architectural Types’, that analyzed pre -Col umbi an
cultu re as the only source of the pure-original American. That issue incl u ded

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Figure 5 . Be rnard Rud ofsky and Lui gi Cosenz a, Casa Oro,
1935 -37, Vi ew of the house. (The G etty Research I nsti tute.)

We could consi der Casa Oro, one of his first work s, as a precede nt, that perfectl y
adapts to the difficulty of inserti ng a bu il d ing i nto the urban plot. The building is
locat ed in a very pronounced slope, and R udofsky recovered it to l ocate gardens
and terraces, some of them hi dden, d espi te of the urb an context and the
exposed of the intervent ion. The outdoor areas enjoy priva cy, and th e house
hold s compacity and very nice composition, that gets emphasi zed with the
Mediterr anean sunshi ne. At the same tim e, every bedro om is a uni que vo lum e, a
characteri stic that remains fr om the st udy of vernacul ar dwellings.
The final formaliz aton i s a v ery audacious composi tion of vo lum es that, in i ts
constructi on, were buil t attending to techniques settl ed in the more orthod ox
moderni ty. Pure and whi te cubes, with out any corni ces. Columns, light boxes
and folding screens are made in iron, reduci ng its materiality to the minimum.
The structur e was m ade of concrete wi th stone founda ti ons.
Some years l ater, Gio Ponti com mented on that house:
The plan is i nteresti n g from the conceptual point of view, in its structure
and also in its way of living. Also because of the perfection of the publi c
spaces, despite of the non-existing corridors. The clari ty and beauty of i ts

Rubén Alcolea, Aitor Acilu, From Sea to Ston e: Cradle of Av ant-Garde
96
constructi on principl es and the gr eat electi on of the site are lovel y and
ostensib le atrib utes. Probabl y , it is the more beauti ful of our modern
houses. [15 ]
In a si milar way as Sert, Rufosky will continue with the incorporati on and
devel opment of hi s ideas around the vernacul ar in many of his designs till the
end of his life, concludi ng that he p l ayed a very important and infl uenc ing role
through the entir e XXth century. The direct contact of the maste rships with the
vernacul ar and tradition in this geographical context allowed the recovery of th e
val ues and pr i nc ipl es more directly lined to human necessi t ies. Also, they all
understood that th e more essenti a l constructi ons are not made just of stone, but
of the i mma terial re lati onsh ip ol huma n being wi th its envi ronment throug h si te
and cli mate.

Reference s
[1] Rudofsky, B. A rchitect ure without ar chitects. A n introduction to Non - Pedigreed
Architectu re , The Museu m of Modern Art, New York, 1964, p.32
[2] VV. AA. Actas d el Cong reso Int ernacional: Viaj es en la transici ón d e l a arquitectura
española hacia la m odern idad , T6 E dici ones, Pamp lona, 2010
[3] Rapoport, A. Vivienda y cultu ra , Gustavo Gi li, Barcel ona, 1972, p.11
[4] This Basic di st in ct ion is l ocated i n many texts, as : Ma cdonald , D. Mass cult an d
Mild cult, Again st the American grain , Random House Inc., NY, 1962; Redfiel d, R. The
primitive world and its t ransformations , Corn ell University Press , Ithaca, 19 53;
Redfiel d, R. Peasant soc iety and sculptu re , Chi cago Uni ver sity P ress, Chi cago, 1965
[5] Rapoport, A. Op.cit . p.11
[6] Re dfiel d, R. Peasant soc iety and . .., Op. cit.
[7] VV. AA. La arqui tectura popul ar medi terránea. AC: D ocumentos de Actividad
Contemporán ea , nº 18 (1935), p.15
[8] VV. AA. La arquitectura p opular medi terr án ea, Op. cit.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Gol dfind er , M. Arquit ectura popular medit errán ea , Gustav o Gili , 1992, p.18
[11] Rovi ra, J. M. José Lui s Sert, 1901 - 1983 , El ecta, Milan o, p.231- 232

Surveys o n Verna cular Archi te cture. Their Significan ce in th e 20th Cen tury A r chit ec tu ral C ultu re
Conferen ce Procee dings. Oporto, Ma y 17-19, 2 012
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[12] VV . AA . La arqui tectura popul ar medi terránea. AC: Do cumentos d e Actividad
Contemporán ea , nº 19 (1935), p.33
[13] Borras , M. L. Op. ci t. pp.22 - 24
[14] Boc co Guarn eri, A. Be rnard R udofsky. A Humane Designer. Spri nger Wien New
York, NY, 2003, p.9
[15] VV. AA . Be rnard Ru dofsky: life as a v oyage. A rchi tekturzentrum Wi en in associati on
wit h the Getty Research Insti tute, Los Angel es, p. 266

Author id entificati o n
Ruben A. A lcolea , (ral colea@unav. es) MA, Ph D, Architect. Teache r both in Design an d
in History and Theory courses at th e School of Architecture of the Uni versity o f Navar re
(ETSAUN), wh ere he currently is Vi ce Dean. In 2004 was visiting teacher and in 200 8 -
2009 Visitin g Scholar at th e Architectural Scho ol of Archite cture, in Lon don, where also
made research p rojects an d given seminars. Sp ecialized in ph otography an d mod ern
architecture, has pu blished s everal articles in ma gazines, read pap ers in congress and
symposiums and given l ectures in other cul tural international as sociation s (Pamplona,
Barcelona, Zarag oza, Kr ems -Aust ria-, Dresden -Germany-, Alb uquerque - USA). In 2005
gets the PhD wit h the doctoral w ork “Architectu re, photograph y and the myth of industry
in Richard J. Neutra”, that is the origin of the bo ok: Picnic de Pione ros. Arquit ectura,
fotografía y el mito de la in dustria (Pioneer Pi cnic. A rchitecture, ph otogr aphy and the
myth of industrializ ation) (Valencia 2009).

Aitor Acilu , ( aacilu@g mail.com ) MA, PhD Stud ent, Architect. Architect since June 2010
and Master in Th eory and Hist ory in Septembe r 2011 by the S chool of A rchitecture of th e
University of Na varre (ETSAUN) , where he is currently de veloping a Ph. D. guided by
Ruben Alcol ea. During th e course of Master, ha s developed an intense research on the
conceptual o rigins of primit ivism and the influen ce of the primi tiv e in mode rn
architecture f ocusing on th e Spanish example a nd its main reference figu re s.

Meltem Özkan Altınöz , Review on Vernacular Archit ecture of Safranbolu Houses and Their Social and S patial
Reflection Ov er the 2 0 th Centu ry Archit ectural C ult ure, Turke y
98

REVIEW O N VERNA CULAR ARCHITE CT URE OF SAFRA NBOLU HO U SES
AND THEIR S OCIA L AND SP ATIAL REFLEC TION OVER THE 20TH
CENTURY A RCHIT ECTURAL CULTUR E, TURKE Y
Meltem Özkan Altı nöz
Karabük Üni versitesi / Karab ük Ü niversi ty , Karabuk , T urk ey

Abstract
Traditional Ottoman cit y Safranbolu enclos es vernacular h ouses and mansions, wh ich
reflect a rich u rban compo sition with se veral religious monument s. Whi le Otto man
Empire fa ced wi th h ard times economicall y and politicall y it was s ee n th at Safranbolu on
opposed to t he Em pire, experienced its golden epoch during the 17 th , 18th and th e early
19th centuries as it occ upied vit al positi on in c aravan trading . Th ere was a pa rallelism
between wealth condi tion and formation of Safranbolu hous es. In add ition to the
economic r ealities g eographical an d social circumstan ces ma de th eir ma jor imp act on
settings organizat ion an d bui lding houses as well . The first settin g, call ed ‘Çar şı/ Bazaar
or Çuku r/Hole ’, used f or t he winter ses sions, Turkish populat ion lived there, and th e
houses wer e located i n a narrow val ley sett ing. The s econd section, ‘K ıranköy’ was
mainly housed b y Rum popu lation un til their total deportation from Safranbolu in the
20th centuries; this section has developed as a business area until nowadays. The third
section ‘Bağlar R egion / th e Vin eyard ’ was a summe r r esidence area for two di stinct
social group of people; Turks and Rums. However, thi s urban formulation in the
beginnin g of the 20th century wa s dramati cally chan ged because Ind ustrial Zone
Karabük was founded b y th e new ideology and occupi ed the central po sition in th e area.
This study firstly aims t o inve stigate Sa franbolu’s urban p olicy; it will demonstrate how
three hist orical settin gs o f Safranb olu have evolved i n time and affecte d its vernacula rs .
Then the res earch will claim that although Ça rşı ha s preserved its statue , Bağla r and
Kıranköy h ave lost th eir origi nal fo rmation by the ef fect of polit ical and social ag endas
where prima rily u nconscious l ater consciou s protecti on of Çarşı, an d un conscious d ecay
of Bağlar an d Kırankö y region we re exp er ie nced . By this study it is expect ed to
contribute fut ure buildin g performanc es of Saf ranbolu while showing b oth examples, t he
historical houses logic, whi ch wa s rational an d the re cent architectu ral bl under that away
from rational ity an d introduced ‘ kitsch ’ reality t o Safranbolu .

Keywords: Safr anbolu, Vernacu lar Archit ecture, Bağlar Region, Kı ranköy Di strict

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Introductio n
Tradi t ional Safranbolu House patterns of both Musli m and non-Musli m groups
shed li ght on Safranb olu’s rich history , which are located i n the Black Sea
Region . M ansi ons and houses construct ed in lar ge dimensions and their sheer
numbers with multi quanti fied window arrang ement all demonstrate th e
prosperi ty of the c ity whose numbers were increased as social and economic life
enri ched due to the caravan trading opp ortuni t i es (Bak ı rer, 2001). Th e issue
someti mes even creates arg uments on vernacular identity of Safranbol u 1 .
Alth ough, craftsm en were responsi ble for these constri ctions it must be
underli ned that the Empire char ged architects for th e Ott oman cities to manage
buildi ng mechani sm . The issue becam e infl uent i a l on Safranbolu ’s vernacul ar
id entity to b e high, whi ch topic will be dealt in the future studi es .
In Safranbol u the e conom ic conditi on was not the only determinant factor, but
geographi c , and social i ssues as well made its ma jor impa ct on the urban
arrang ement where there urb an nucl eus appeared , Çarşı , Kıranköy and Bağla r
Sections (Günay,2 003). Houses of the there urba n si te revea ls the fact that
different social and p racti cal applicati ons f ormed the houses, and they obtained
physi ca lly individualistic features. Spatial usage and a source of materials
differed from each other. In thi s regar d, it was possible to c la ssify M usli m Turks
houses from the Rums (Romans) and Christia n T urk s who were living in
Kıra nköy .
Affl uent situation of Safranbol u was changed at the 19 th century due to tax
regul at i ons of the Empire that arranged on favor of foreigner traders, which
suppli ed liberti es for them and the issue de generated the l ocal e conomy. Finall y,
as the city was not able to combat with the cheap and abun dant European
products lost its power. Economi c recession of Safra nbol u could not prev ented
by construction of rail road station and Karabük Iron Steel Factori es near to the
town in the early 20 th century. Contrary, t he industri a l setting became effective

1 Vernacu lar entit y of Safranbolu Houses is questioned in academic discussions made between
Dr.H.Maia, A.C ardoso and M.Özkan Altınöz. I acknowledge my colleagues for bringing intriguing
questions to the field.

Meltem Özkan Altınöz , Review on Vernacular Archit ecture of Safranbolu Houses and Their Social and S patial
Reflection Ov er the 2 0 th Centu ry Archit ectural C ult ure, Turke y
100
on creation of urba n and socio-economi c dil emmas amon g tradi t ional Ottoman
city Saf ranbolu and Republi can moder n city Kar abük .
When UNESCO deter mi ned Safranbolu as a prosperou s architectur al her i tage
site, and approved its statue in 1994, these houses had al ready suffer ed from
unconsci ous spati al formul at i o ns that changed urban composi t i on where k i tsch
archi tectural producti ons and restorati ons accompani ed to it. Besides,
repli cat i ons of Safranbol u Houses contri buted to kitsch reproduct ion process .
With this study i t i s aimed to develop total appr oach to Saf ranbol u House
concepti on. Furthermore, Safranb olu H ouses ’ setting and their reproduction
process in the 20 th century will be shown as a result of changing economi ca l,
poli tical dynamics of the regi on where fi na lly unconscious protecti on of Çarşı and
kit sch architectu ral p atterns are ca me out in Kı ranköy and Bağl a r areas.

Developm en t of Sa franbolu Setti n g a nd i ts Vernac ulars’ C haracteristics
Alth ough, Safranbolu was settled by d i verse cul tures during the h istor y , its
remark able periods experienced in Ottoma n era when the city members had a
close relationship with the Pa l ace 2 . They constructed monum ental buildi ngs,
whi ch became effective creation of central point in the city (Zey bek; Kara, 2005,
p. 123) . In addition to Safranbol u originated official s ’ contribution to the c i ty
formati on , the actual development ach i eved by trading caravans especially
advanced in the 17 and 18 th centuri es that based on leatherwork ing; timber and
saffron buy and sell . Trading was so determi nant for the city economy that while
the Ottoman Em pire economi call y experienced hard times in the 19 th century, on
contrary Safra nbolu was in prosperou s condi tion whose network encl ose d
European countri es also. The weal th sta te of th e city in th e 18 th and 19 th
centuri es could be fo ll owed from tax records where Safranb olu appears as the
second big tax g iving town of the empire after İnebolu in the region ( Emiroğlu ,
198 1, p. 46).

2 In Byzantine times the site was k nown as Teodoropoli. Following it was n ame d as “ Dadybra” and
“Zalifre”, “B orglu”, “Zalifre Borglu”, “Ta raklı Borglu”, “Zağfiran Borlu”. Safranbolu Culture and
Tourism Association catalogue

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This economic power mir rored on Safr anbol u urban setting where three mai n
living areas devel op ed . The fir st setti ng, call ed ‘Çarşı/Bazz ar’, used for th e
wi nter sessions, Turkish popul at i on lived there, and the houses were l ocated in a
narrow valley whose history goes back until the 10 th century. T he second
im portant section of Safranbol u was ‘Bağlar Region / the Vineyard ’, whi ch place
served as summer residence area for two distinct social group of people; Turks
and Rums, it was formed i n the 18 th centur y ( Akpı nar Kasap , 2011 , p. 148) . The
thi rd part , ‘Kıra nköy’ was housed by Rum (Roman) popul ation until the ir total
deportati on from Safranbol u in the 20 th centu ri es 3 ; thi s section ha s developed as
a business area until nowadays. This wealthy situation let to have two house s
both in Çarş ı and Bağl ar Region. Safranbolu inha bitant s were living in Çarşı in
the wint er sessions than they were moving towards Bağl ar , which was supplyi ng
better living conditions for hot sessi ons. Rum popula tion accompanied to same
mobiliz ation, both lived in Kıranköy and Bağlar Reg ion up to s ession. However,
thi s urban formulation in the beginning of the 20th century, would be
drama ticall y changed and the newly established Industrial Zone Karabük, 8km
to Safranbol u, would be representi ng the new ideol ogy and occupy the central
positi on. The issue will be di scussed i n the following parts of the paper.
Another im portant factor influenced the setti ng of traditi ona l Safranb olu houses
was its valley conf ig urati on. Althoug h, Bağlar topography was large in dimension
the Çarşı did not have same chanc e where development in a na rrow valley
brought space pr oblem together. The h ouses built cl ose to each other an d
created narrow streets. Sometimes these streets were too narrow even pack
ani ma l cou ld hardly move. Narrow setting did not prevent pay respect to
neig hbors, thus hoses carefully located in order to not cease the neighbour ’s
sight that created rich visual appeara nces on urban scale. In order to dimi n i sh
the incli nation, more bends were created in the streets and cobble stone
pavement / arnavut kaldırım ı were constructed to prevent wash floors. Therefore,
someti mes ther e are b lind all eys occurred ( Emi roğ l u, 1981 , p.50) . (figure 1 )

3 Sources states that there were C hristian Turkish population were living with Christian Rums in
Kıranköy section (Yalçın, 2006)

Meltem Özkan Altınöz , Review on Vernacular Archit ecture of Safranbolu Houses and Their Social and S patial
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Figure 1. Safranbolu Çarşı Houses (taken by the author)

Sources f or con struction m aterials of th e h ouse s wer e stone, adobe and timber.
In the construct ion of the houses mai nly ti m ber structure i s p referr ed. Timb er
was not only used in th e structural frame but al so in th e floors, ceili ngs,
cupboard s, door, wi n dows and roofs wi th other constructi on materi a l s. Durability
of timber got importance whil e constructin g a house. Therefor e trees w ere cut
down on October an d November before the sap withdra ws into the trunk. In
decorati on a l so the same materi a l was preferred. Howev er ti mber vari ed in
characteri stic in regard to the usage of it. The mostly preferred trees were fir ,
yell ow pi ne and l arch, together some popl ar, wa l nut and hornbeam but oak wa s
never used. Constr uction process wa s firstl y started by laying down the
foundati ons. Then ground floor wall was constructed. Foll ow i ng, timber fram e
wa s erected and fill ed with several materials accordi ng to desi res. After that,
fl oor joists, roof and eaves, roof covering, daraba (wooden pa rtitions), floors,
ce ili ngs, plaster and whitew ash were com pl eted (Güna y, 20 04).
Another factor that aff ected structures of the Safranb olu houses was the s oci a l
life . Çarşı Houses and Bağlar Houses which were dwell ed b y M usli m Turks, did
not have wi ndow in t he basement floors for secrecy of famil y li fe and gardens
served to same aim wh ere door opened gard ens instead of street. Secrecy was
suppli ed by screening the windows by lattice works. Th i s soc i a l agenda

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separated the planning of houses, but this type of us age was common for rich
mansi ons. For instance, some mansions di vided into two functions “haremli k”,
and “selamlık”. Hare mlik was used by female members and selamlık served to
mal e members who were hosting their guests in this part. The m ain i mportance
wa s gi ven to the i nt eri or in order to protect famil y life. Every room organi zed
accordi ng to daily ne eds of single family. We should bear i n m ind that accord i ng
to the Turkish t radi t ions couple of families used to live together in a same
house. For that reason every room was arranged according to needs of
particul ar famili es su ch that they can s it, eat and sleep within the same room.
Even they were able to take a shower insi de of th e room s (Gü nay, 1 999).
Therefor e, it can be said that these houses were not only reflecti ng construction
cultu re of ar chi tectural environment of this geographies but also tr aditi onal
Muslim - Chri st ian Turki sh and Christian Rums living conditions of the 18th and
the 19 th centuries.
Muslim Turkish customs di fferenti ated from Rum and Christian Turkish
popul at i on. For example, Kırank öy houses contained wine ce ll ar at the bas ement
fl oor, and windows did not have wooden latt ice work, which was screening the
wi ndows in order to suppl y privacy for women. In additi on, timber did not
occupy the centra l position in Kıranköy Rum House. Instead they mai n ly
preferred stone as a construction material. On opposed to Muslim patterns,
doors opened to ga rden, Rum houses directly opened to street. Another
difference wa s at least one store place found in Kırank öy h ouses (Emi roğlu,
198 1, p.3 4) Bağlar Region of Safranb olu both contai ned Rum and Muslim -
Chri st ia n Turkish Popul at i on where mainly gard ens located. In this secti on of the
area, Safranbolu houses construct ed in b ig gardens. Here, Cu ltiv ation of grape
vi nes carri ed out by Christi an Rum p opulation. (fi gures 2-3)

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Figure. 2 Kı ranköy Hou s e exampl e (taken by the author)

Figure 3. Bağlar Hou se in a garden (taken by the author)

Endura nce of Tradi ti onal S afranbolu Setting in the early 20 th Century
By the earl y 20 th centur y Ottoman Empire had already l ost its st rength and was
sufferi ng from economi cal problems. As a soluti on the Empire indebted its
economy to Eu ropean loans , si nce they were i n surviv al process coul d not catch
its counterparts and neither paid back the l oans. Refl ection of the Ott oman

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SURVEYS, TRAVE LS AND DISCLOSU RE OF VERNA CULAR ARCHITE CTURE
IN THE PORT UGUESE AND EU ROPEA N CONTEXT.
Paula André
Institu to Universitá rio de Li sboa (ISCTE - IUL ), DINÂMI A’CET - IUL, Li sboa Portug al

Abstract
The pap er, Surveys, t ravels an d di sclosure of verna cula r a rchitecture in the Portug uese
and European context in tends to chara cterize t he ant ecedent s of Portugu ese
Regional/Popular Archi tecture surv ey (1955 - 61), in th e first h alf of the 20th century, in
the context of the Port uguese t erritory, focusi ng on L ucio Costa (Tra dição Local, 19 29;
Documentaçã o necessá ria, 1937 ); Orlando Ribeir o (Inqu érito à Geografia Regi onal,
1938; In quérito à habitação Rural, 1939 ); E. A . Lima Basto and Henriqu e d e Barros
(Inquérito à Habitaçã o Rural, 1943 - 47); F rancisco Cast ro Rod rig ues (account of
Aesthetic Mi ssions by Alent ejo, holiday , 1945 ). In the European con text th e focus is
centered on Leop oldo Torres Balb ás ( La vivi enda p opular en España, 1934 ); Fernando
Garcia M ercadal (La casa popula r en España, 1930 ), Josep Lluis Sert (Arquit ectura sin
“estilo” y sin “arquitect o”, 1934) ; Giuseppe Pagano and Guarni er o D aniel (Archit ettura
Rurale Italianna, 1936) ; R ober to Pane (Archit ettura Ru rale Campana, 1936); Le
Corbusier (travel s in Es pagne, Maroc, A lgérie, 1931). In t he German conte xt will cover
the conf rontation betw een mod ern archit ecture and vernaular/traditi onal architecture,
analyzin g what the contemporary press called "war of roofs", through three exhibit ions
of a rchitecture (Ausst ellun g Bau haus, Weima r, 19 23; Di e W ohnung , Stut tgart, 1927;
Bau -Au sstellung Deutsches H olz, St uttgart, 1933 ) an d the resp ective r esponsible
architects: Walt er Gropius; Mies van de r R ohe and Paul Sch mitthenner. We will return to
the Portugue se c ontext confronti ng th e wat er colour Fa rmhouse in Capri (18 04 ) of Karl
Friedrich Schin kel with th e co re of Algarv e Portuguese villag es of Portugue se World
Exhibition (1940), seeking to r eveal the comp lexities and contradicti ons of modern
versus t raditional versu s ve rnacular. Reveal the ve rnacular archit ecture as a c ontinu um
for t imeless ar chitecture, translat ed int o const ructive sea rch for truth , in wh ich Climate
and Medite rr an ean ap pear a s k eywords. Th e end poin t i s imag es of archit ecture of th e
North of P ortugal, h eld by Portuguese Regi onal Architectu re survey , pre sent ed at t he
exhibition Archi tecture Without Architects (196 4 -65), held at M OMA in New Yo rk.

Keywords: Surveys , Trav els, Vernacul ar Architectur e, Clima te, Me dit erranean

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In the fir st half of the 20th century, the import ance of studying geography, the
apprai sa l of popular ar ts, and discoveri ng the constructi ve logic of vernacular
archi tecture were the pre-founders of the Inquérito à Arquitectura Regional
Portuguesa (Survey on Regional Portuguese Archi tecture). Wi thi n this context,
i.e., the first part of the 20 th century, a ve rnacul ar architecture that was looked
int o and dissemi nated as an alternati ve to the academic route, brought with it
the need for (re)ap pr eciation journeys and in situ contact. These trip s in search
for vernacul ar architecture provi ded a new learning process and also created a
new awa reness of th e local and nati ona l archi tectonic id entity .
Venturi ng i nto these travel s through the eyes of architect Lúcio Costa, we can
perceiv e and be aware of the evol ut i on of his knowl edge and hi s contact with the
roots of Port uguese architectu re in the c onfrontati on between what i s erud i te
and vernacul ar. And, through a radiogr aphic eye, he reveal s t he constructi ve
and expressi ve logic that allows one to uncover the bas es of Portugues e
archi tecton i c culture. In hi s Tradição Local (Local Tradi tion) (1929 ), Lúcio Costa
says that the roots of authenti c reg i onal a rchi tecture are where i t comes from
(‘as raízes na terra’, Costa, 1929, p.33), believing that above all it is import ant
to get to know ‘regional Portug uese archi t ecture in i ts own birthplace’. According
to Lúcio Costa, it was ‘in the popular constructi on, w ith a v i rile and kind of
rugged but welcomi n g look of its v ill ages that the quali ties of the race are best
shown. From the start, one can percei ve a perfect artisti c knowledge in the
bal ance of proporti ons and lack of artefacts’ (Costa,1 929 , p.3 3,34). And in
Documenta ção nece ssária (Necessary documentati on) (1937), Lúcio Costa
beli eved that, in Portuga l, popul ar architecture was of ‘greater i ntere st than the
erudi te’. According to this archi tect, ‘f ai r proportions’ could be found in
Portuguese vi llages, in rural construction s, and he menti oned that when
archi tecture travell e d to Brazil and was impl emented and adapted to the
envi ronment by the ‘ old masters and unlearned bricklay ers’, such architectu re
graduall y lost ‘a little of that typically Portuguese carrure ’, which, on the other
hand, was compensated wi thin a Brazilian context by reducing, or even
elimi nating, ‘cert ai n preci ous and somewha t animated m annerism s’ found in the
metropoli s (Costa , 193 7, 86,87). According to Lúcio Costa, studying popu lar

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Portuguese archi tecture would enabl e modern Brazili an architects to use it ‘as
materi al from new research’ and as a lesson of ‘o ver three hundred year -old
experi ence’ (Costa, 1937 , p.86, 8 7). That study, which we believe is an appeal
to a survey i nto Portuguese architecture, m akes us r elate Lúcio Costa ’s warning
to the need to carry out a study that woul d document popul ar Portuguese
archi tecture, called Documentação necessária , with the ar ticle Uma iniciativa
necessária (A neede d initiati ve) by the a rchi tect Keil do Amaral, published in
194 7, in the magazi n e Arquitectura , appeali ng to a sc ienti f i c survey on regi ona l
Portuguese architectur e, highli ghting the need to ‘coll ect and classi fy elements
pertai n i ng to Portuguese architectu re in the diff erent regions of the country,
ai med at be ing published in a w i dely and discer ningly do cumented book’
(Amaral , 1947, p. 12,1 3). In 1955, Ke il do Amaral was responsible for
coordi nationg the Inquérito à Arquite ctura Regional Portugu esa (Survey on
Regiona l Portuguese Architecture)(Arqui tectura, 1980 , p.XX). Lúcio Costa
consid ered that in that research i nto popul ar Portuguese archi t ecture, as well as
the systems and const ructi on methods, t he ‘different project sol ut i ons’ should
al so be studied, including ‘how they vari e d from one r egi on to another’ (Costa,
193 7,p.9 0), thus seeki ng the construct iv e logi c subjacent to each r egion.
In 1936, during his scholar ship for t he National Education Council , the
geographer Orla ndo Ribeiro began a ser i es of journeys in Portugal wh i ch pr oved
to be determi nant. In 193 8, at the Congrès Internationa l de Géograp hie in
Amsterdam , he pres ented hi s Habita t Rural au Portugal , and prepared a draf t for
the Survey on Rural Habitat , cons id ering that a study of the h ousehold comes
hand i n hand w i th a stud y of the p opulations. He upheld that the sur vey should
be ba sed on ‘persona lly looki ng into and observi ng the populations d ir ectly, and
exami n i n g maps , stat i stics and histori cal documents’ with the aim of prepari ng a
charter wi th the type s of rural habita ts in Portug al, studied from the shape and
origi n perspective. Orl ando Ribeiro stressed that ‘the resu lt of numerous
excursi ons to all the provi nces’ a l lowed him to ‘establi s h some general
gui de lines’ whi ch would help him in his work , and highlig hted the wi de range of
different ‘rural habi tats’ from the Minho to the Algarve (Ribeiro, 1938, p.6 -8). In
that same year, he also prepared a Survey on the Regional Geography draft

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ai med at gathering e lements for the geographi ca l study of the Beira Baixa and
surroundi ng regions.
Agronomy engineers Li ma Basto and Henrique Barros published the Survey on
Rural Dwelli ng ordered by the Universida de Técnica in L isbon and fun ded by the
Nati onal Federati on of Wheat Producers, correspondi ng to the Minho, Douro,
Trás- os -Montes and Al to-Douro regi ons (19 43) and the vol ume correspondi ng to
the Beira Litoral, Beira Alta and Be i ra Baixa regions (1947). In the introducti on
of th e fir st volum e, Lim a Basto says that ‘in recent years, there has been a
growi ng i nterest in rural dwellings in nea rly every country’ (Basto, 1943, p.7).
After menti oning a series of studi es on rur al dwellings carri ed out in Engl and,
Germany , France, Italy, Denmark, and Sw eden, he hopes that his survey w ill
‘awaken the interest of engineers and archi tects to the problem of rural
dwelli ngs’, enabling what he believes are ‘the key elements for projects adapted
to the different regions, of convenient and cheap rura l houses that could be
adopted or advi sed by the authorities or the insti tutions responsi b l e for ensuri ng
the d efence and well - being of the rur al popul ation’ (Basto, 19 4 3, p.26 ). He al so
menti ons that the aim of the survey was to show what existed and that he made
every eff ort to en sure that the phot ographs showed exactly what the
‘predomi nant rural dwelli ng’ was. In order to do this, he prepared a Guide
Questionnair e , whi ch wa s an indi ssociable part of the survey, regarding the
house, a detail ed descripti on of its exterior, its orientati on, whether it has a
pati o or not, a garden or annexes, con structi on materials, and overl ay and
roofi ng, size and openi ngs, among other f eatures.
In 1 945 , while st ill a student at th e Lisbon School of Fine Art s , Francisco Castro
Rodri gues particip ated i n th e IX Missão Estética de Férias (9th Aesth etic M i ssion
on Holiday), wh i ch t ook place in É vora. He rememb ers that he ‘carr ied out a
survey on the di fferent constructi on peri ods of the Évora See, a survey on the
poor, mi dd le -class and upper- class dwel lings in the Al entejo’, and also visi ted
several villages and a farming estate i n Reguengos de Monsar az (Dionísi o, 2009,
p.11 5). When the newspaper Democracia do Sul asked Castro Rodri gues what
had been mor e i mportant for an architecture student, he said that i t had been to

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meet the bri cklay er. Referri ng to the mason buildi ng the vaults for the dwelling s,
he sai d:
I would stay at the bottom watchi ng the worker laying and fixing the
bri cks to the wall and, from there he would follow the curve drawn on the
wall. They would bu ild it with no scaffol ding. There was a poi nt when they
woul d move onto th e bu il t structure, with a “spire”, a minimum hei ght of
about 50 centim etres or less for 4 or 5 metre voids, or sometim es more.
When th ey reached the last hol e, the worker at the top wou l d someti mes
put a whole brick, others just a piece, a broken bit that would close the
vault. Once the v ault was closed off, a hodman woul d be sent up to jump
up and down, w ith t he contractor , the bricklayer, the savant, watching
from down bel ow to see where it j oi ned or not. Then he’d tell him to press
down on the “ki dneys”, as they used to call those voids, filli ng t he em pty
spaces adjoini ng th e dome with detritus until it was a ll balanced,
accordi ng to t heir i d ea, their art. It was interesti ng to watch. I haven’t
seen any one d o it since. Now, y ou can do every thi ng wi th reinforced
concrete... With more, or less, concrete...But then, they di dn’t use any.
Just brick, the “ l ambaz”, I think that was the name of that type of brick.
(…) At the time we used to get on reall y well with the National
Monuments ’ guy s, directed by Júli o, and Saul D ia s, Rég i o’s brother. I later
asked him: “How’s th is done? What i s the maths formula?” He di dn’t
know. “This is empirical . It’s the workers who know”. There are som e
experts that know the possibil it ies of loweri ng the void, the “spire”, as it’s
call ed (Dioní s io, 2009, p. 115).

In Spain, during his archi tecton ic excu rsi ons int o the outskirts of Madrid,
promoted and organized by hi s professors Te odoro d e Ana sagasti and Torres de
Bal bás of the Escuela de Arquitectu ra de M adrid , architect Fernando Garci a
Mercadal discovered and revealed the simpl e and functional character of popul ar
archi tecture, through quick sketches that established the e ssence of that
archi tecture. Torres de Balbá s, interested in a modernized regionali sm, mindful

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of the influen ces of the climate and the materi a l s of the regions, recorded th e
constructi ons he studied on hi s tri ps through photogra phs, pictures and drawings
whi ch, i n 1919 , wou ld be publi shed i n the maga zi ne Arquitectur a un der the ti tle
Rincones inéditos de la antig ua arquitectura española . Torres Bal bás took on the
arti st i c form of popul ar architecture as a standard of the peopl e’s need and
advocated the norma li zation and rationali z ati on of the vernaculum dissoci ated
from the shape and dependent on the const ructive logi c (T orr es Bal bás, 193 3,
p.15 5). Torres Bal bás sought the coll ective soul of the nation in vernacular
cultu re, denouncing the superf ici a l ch aracter of architecture’s histori ca l
element s. In 19 25, in hi s speech to enter t he Real Academia de Bell as Artes d e
San Fernando , architect Lui s Belli do showed hi s position against the constructi ve
di shonesty responsible f or the decad ence of architecture, warning about the
need to look for the constructi ve honesty in the gestures of past architectur e, of
seeking “rul e and stru ctura l logic”, the need to “carefu lly serve the clima tological
demand s and the tradi tional use of materi al s and constructi on syst ems” (Bel lido
Gonzál ez, 1925, p.15). In 192 9, a l so in h i s speech to enter the same Academia,
Teodoro de Anasaga sti stressed that the main characteristi cs of popu l ar
archi tecture were simpli city, adapting to the environm ent in whi ch it is found,
rati ona lity in us ing elements, honesty, tim e lessness, and its anonymous
character. On the other hand, his d i sciple, Fernando Garcí a M ercadal, in La Casa
Popular en España (1930), highlights the ‘ internal plan’ of the popular dwelling
as a synt hesis of the every day experience and, through the stud y of popu la r
constructi ons, he pr ese nts a new context for the debate on tradi tionalism
(Garci a Mercadal, 1930). The journeys made to see pop ular architectu re
provi ded a new learning process, which in turn al so created a new aw arenes s of
nati ona l arch i tectoni c cultu re. Studying vernacul ar architecture comes about as
an al ternative to the culturi st academi c path, findi ng the fund aments for the new
constructi ons in those popul ar forms, i n particular with regard to aff ordabl e
dwelli ngs. Josep Lluis Sert, parti c i pant in the II CIAM and foundi ng member of
the GATCPAC ( Grupo de Arquitect os Cata lanes para el Progresso de la
Arquitectur a Contemporânea ), upholder of the Mediter ranean roots of modern
Spani sh a rchitectur e, i n h i s tex t Arqui tectura sin “estilo” y sin “a rquitecto” says
that:

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In every country there is an architectur e for every period of t ime that is
usuall y ca ll ed popular – not popu l ar in the sense understo od at schools of
archi tecture, as in regional, but popula r as in comi ng from a small er class,
classi fying it for its economi c means. Thi s archi tecture elimi n ated the
whol e ornamental element and its interest derives from the co mbi nation
of simpl e and clean shapes, from a very free and sensibl e composition,
and from great variety, fr om correct human proporti on and an absol ute
la ck of ostentation judgements and false concepts created in academi c
envi ronments and archi tecture schools. This archi tecture, much older than
any school or academy, reached standard forms, forms dictated by the
clim ate and by rac ial characteristics at t he same time imposed by the
materi als that the b uil der had availabl e in each particular ca se! (Sert,
193 4).

In Ital y, architects Edoar do Persico and Giuseppe Pagano, uphold ers of a true
Itali an rationali sm and heedful of the hi story of local architecture, made
parall eli sms between th e rural construction and modern arch itectu re (F usco,
198 4, p.204-206 ). In 1936, they organized the VI Triennale in Milan, w ith the
ti tle Continuità-moder nità: exposizione internazionale delle arti decorative e
industr iali e dell’architettur a moderna . In order to be abl e to hold th e exhi bition
and publish the book Architettura Rurale Italiana, G iuseppe Pagano went on a
long journey throughout Ital y, taking a large num ber of photographs of rural
constructi ons in every region, there finding the pri mary sources of functi onal
archi tecture. Through these pictures you coul d f ind the source of moderni ty i n a
rural and anonym ous architectu re which Giuseppe Pagano called ‘the tru ly
autochthone tradi tion of archi tecture: clear, logi ca l, linear, morally and even
formall y, very c l ose to contemporary taste’ (Tala mona, 1997, 134 - 13 6). It was a
supra-hi storical architecture that responded to its geographi ca l location, to the
clim ate, to local material s and to economi c condi tioning factors in an absol ute ly
effi c ient and functi onal manner. According to G. Pagano, that r ural architecture
taught the contemporary architect that ‘moral habit of submitting h i s/her
personal imagi na tion to the laws of usefu lness, to the economy techni que
wi thout having to g i ve up the aestheti c aim of his/her work’ (Tal amona , 1 99 7,

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134 -136 ). In the same year in which Pagano publishes the catal ogue of Italian
rural architectu re with p i ctures of vernacula r archi tecture, the arc hitect and
hi storian Roberto Pane, from Napl es, published his Architettura Rurale Campana .
In his prologue he defends the relevance of studyi ng rural constructions and
argues that th e “f armer archi tect” has a lot to teach th e cont em porary ar chi tect
(Sabati no, 2010, p .135).
In the period under analy s is, the educati on al visits by architects, particularly to
Ital y, and Greece, and extendi ng to the whole of the Medi terranean, were not
only determinant, but fundamenta l. In this travelli ng realm, Le Corbusi er alw ays
sought to fi nd the principl es appli cable to contemp orary real ity since, in trut h, he
never really refused histor y and even less so, tradition; on the contrary, he used
them. Distant i s the journey rev eal ed th e other, the l ess on surpassed rega rdi ng
the ruin of the archae ologi cal tours, the Medi terranean journey i s set in the Gran
Tour of the 18 th century, where a ser ies of architects became i nterested in
popul ar architecture. Archi tects K. F. Sc hinkel, G. Semper. J. M . Ol brich, J.
Hoffma nn and Adolf Loos were active agents of ‘a latent fascinati on that
Mediterr anean architecture exerci sed on the adventur e of modern times’
(Gravag nuol o, 1994, p.8 ,9). Le Corbusi er’s journeys are fundament al in
understand ing his options and his deep rela tionship and admiration for popular
archi tecture and, in particular, the popu lar archi tecture of the Medi terranean.
After hi s f i rst contact wi th the Aegean i s lands, wh en he was w orking for Algeria
he had the opportuni ty to visit the people of the vall ey of M ’Zab, where his
dra wi ngs revealed his fasci nat i on for the geometry of those buil d ings and their
terraces. In France, the Exposition La Maison Rurale en France (June-
September, 1937) was integrated in the Exposition Internationa l de Paris of
193 7 i n one of the P al ais de Tokyo rooms overseen by geograp her Albert
Demangeon. The l’E nquête d’Architectu re Rurale (L’EAR 1425 ) took pl ace in
194 1, wh i ch came about based on an idea by Urbain Cassan and held until 1948
by a team of young archi tects dir ected by Georges Henri Rivi èr e, while dir ector
of the Musée National des Arts et Tradit ions Populaires , and the materia l of
whi ch is partially used once m ore in the Corpus d’Architecture Rurale conceived
by Jean Cuisenier (Chi va , 19 85, p. 7 6-83).

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In the summer of 1923, the Bauhaus Wee k takes place in Germany, where
Wal ter Gropi us speaks at the Art and Technique: a new unit, the title of which
became the slogan for the first Bauhaus Exhibi t ion i n Wei mar. The exhi bition
showed the new archi tecture marked by flat r oofed buil d i ngs, and whi ch included
works from professor s and students, model s and photogra phs of works by a
number of intern ati o nal architects. In 192 7, the Deutsch er Werkbund organized
the Die Wohnung / Weissenhof siedl ung exhi b ition in Stuttgart, overseen by Mi es
van der Rohe, which dealt with the constructi on of the Weissenhof
neig hbourhood, par adigm of the new architecture , showing 21 models of flat-
roofed houses for the modern man of the big c ities. The Weissenhof
neig hbourhood, criticised by th e Nazi s, consid ered to be a “disgrace” , a “subur b
of Jerusalem” or a “village of the Arabs”, would be considered by the
tradi tionali st mainst ream i n the Bau-ausstellu ng D eutsches Holz
exhi b iti on/ne ighb ourh ood, whi ch took p la ce in 1933, also in St uttg art, a imed at
the construction of the Kochenhof neighb ourhood . T he p rojects for this
neig hbourhood were drawn up by archi tects Paul Bonatz and Paul
Schmi tthenner, who used tradi t i onal rooftops, consid eri ng that the constructions
shoul d represent the urban wooden house, extending the house of Goethe’ s
good tradi t i on, built in the 18th century i n Weimar , and the bourg eois houses in
the German small to wns before the war in 1870 . In this way, they provi ded an
al ternative to intern ational architecture w hi ch was without roots and foreign-
looki ng.

Archi tect Friedri ch Sc hi nke l did not li mit himself to drawing the ruins of Rome;
he al so became interested in the anonymous vernacula r architectu re of the
Mediterr anean, looking i nto its logic and constructi ve system (Gr avagnuolo,
201 0, p.1 8). Confr onting hi s watercolour Farm in Ca pri (180 4) with a pi ctu re of
the Al garve centre of Aldeias Portuguesa s (Portuguese Vill ages) of the
Portuguese World Ex hibition (19 40), reveals the complexi ties and contradi ct ions
of the modern versus the verna cul ar versus the tradi tional. I n thi s exhi bition,
the Metropoli tan Ethnographi c Pavilion of the Popular Life Section was
transform ed into the Museu m of Popular Art , whereby it was expected that it

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woul d ‘exhibit the construction materi a ls used’ i n popular architecture, as well as
‘pla ns and projects, photogra phs of the houses’ exteri or’, and also the
‘topographi c plans of clusters of rustic dwelli ngs’ (Alves, 2007, p.158 ). The
Museum also showed ‘curi ous, lif e -size detail s of the regi onal archi tecture of the
houses, pati os and interio rs’ (Feyo, 1 944) and a ‘photogra phi c showcase of
typical rows of houses’ (Gui a, MCMXL).
Withi n a context where a nati onal sty l e is sought, each nation renews its
perspecti ve, focusi ng on the rural world and on vernacul ar archi tecture, as an
answer to the search for the national character and soul , and as an al ternativ e
to historic styles. A ccording to Carlos Sambricio, that which is na tional is
repl aced by the vern acul ar:
If tradi tion is the reference of those l onging for the lost dream, the myth
of nostalgia for the past – an archi tecture directly link ed to t ri umphant
moments of the past, - th e same voice is im mediately c l a im ed, both by a
pri or nationalism ( folklore bei ng identi fied wi th regionali sm) as well as by
those who later i dentify it w ith popular k nowl edge, with the v ernacul ar.
And this la st option is the one that more clearly criticizes and fails the two
previ ous ones because of thei r l ack of honesty, thei r manipul ation of
hi story (Sam br i cio, 2000 , p.21-44).
We understa nd vernacul ar architectu re as architectu re’ s atemporal continuum in
the search for the const ructi ve truth, where Clim ate and M edi t erranean are the
key words, bringi ng attenti on to the s ui tability of the territory ’s physical
envi ronment, to the topographi c natur e, to the materi als, and particul arly, to the
clim ate. Be ing adequ ate in terms of cli mate was th e argum ent used by both the
modern as well as th e tra ditional ma i nstream . Rec ourse to this argum ent had
long been effected, a nd was a rel evant vari able which focused on the culture of
the people wi thin a historic philosophy based on determi nism. Think of
Winck e lm ann and Goethe, for exampl e, who associated the value of Greek art to
the Greek climate. T he popular architecture of the Mediterranean was wid ely
divul ged in the pages of the magazine A.C. ( Documentos de Actividad
Contemporá nea ). Rig ht in i ts fi rst edi tion (1931), a gr oup of fishermen’s houses

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Kulter mann proposes var i ous character isti cs of thi s new architecture, and
adapti ng the physical e lem ents through the use of local source and sun
protecti on devices and ventila tion.
The i nnovati ve feature is the way to so lv e these probl ems, the new plasti c forms
give conti nuity to the vern acul ar in Afri ca.
The portuguese state begin a program of construction to the inhabi t ants in the
Portuguese coloni es, during the 1950s and 19 6 0s. During the 1950s, ‘ the Estado
Novo proposed to cover the cost of creating infrastr ucture that t hey woul d make
fe asibl e the presence of settlers’ in areas wi th favorable climates, especiall y i n
Angol a. T he a im wa s to strength en the presence of settl ers in the overseas
provi nces. This effort did not yield good results, and in the 1960s, a second
phase of this p roject included b l ack sett l ers. These projects were in charg e of
teams of architects of the Juntas de Fomento. These pl aned neighb orhoods,
expansi on of cities and homes for settlers and indi genous, often with the
purpose of establ ishing popul ations in th e fronti ers or to protected natural
resources.
A factor of the greatest import ance, in po liti ca l action, was the approval of Law
No. 4389 3 of September 6, 1961 , which puts an end to the status of nati ve
peopl e. Thi s created a l ega l form of the autochthonous coloni es, except i n Cabo
Verde, Port uguese India and Macau, whose i nhabita nts were already consi dered
portuguese citi zens. Other laws protect the same year the man ners and habits,
i.e., culture and religion, in the overseas provi nces. These la ws rai se all native to
citi zens, in purpose t o the myth of multiracial impir e, advocated by the Estado
Novo that decade. Thi s set of laws lead s to the creation of the Juntas de
Fomento and Bri gades de Povoamento, whi ch have the aim of providi n g housing
to people or regi ons, according to the need s of the Empi re. This law i s the offi c ial
act of a new era of thinki n g.

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Pancho G uedes
Pancho Guedes born of Al po im Amancio Guedes, to May 13 , 1925 , in L isbon .
Entered the Universi ty of Witwater srand in South Afri ca in 1945. In 1952 -53
makes a tour of souther n Europe. Just visi t Portugal in 1953, f or the Facul ty of
Fine Arts i n Oporto th e degr ee of equi va l en ce of the cour se in architectu re. It is
acti ve since that decade in Lourenço Marques, now Maputo and Li sbon. After the
decoloni zation process takes up resi dence in Johanne sburg and Li sbon. Pancho's
work is multifaceted, archi tecture, painting, sculp ture and writing are pro duced
in "personal styles 2 5 + 2, is deeply multi cultur al, a dim ension that goes beyond
the app li cation of d evices 'tropical ' modern archi tecture" (MILHEIRO ( 2007 ) p.6 ).
Kulter mann said ini tially th at the w ork of Pancho Guedes can b e consi dered "a s a
burl esque done in Africa of European modernism " and that these forms "are
nothi ng m ore than arti st ic visions that follow the tradi tion of m oderni sm." (
KULTERMA NN (19 63),p . XXXIX) T hi s vi e w of the f ormati on of decri es 19 63
Pancho in South Afri ca Other colleag ues Panch o al so take form s more expressi ve
in their projects. In the Witw atersrand , Pancho, was a student of Matienssen
di sciples, who lived wi th Corbusier. Visit the Unité de Marseill e (1953), La
Tourette (196 1) and Rochamp (199 4), and reproduces the pai nt ings of the
peri od purist Corbusier. There is a strong connecti on to Corbusi er, present in his
works through pil oti and p l astic forms for concrete, rather than the influence of
archi tecture in Brazil, which i s not the place of f ormation of P anc ho.
Instead, the school of South Afri ca i s akin to the Ang l o -Saxon architectu ral
cultu re. There is thi s culture, a space for ima gina tion and logic different from
Europe, which, like the tales of Lewi s Carr oll, not l ooki ng for a reason. Your logic
is the closest site, th e forms are African, that is, the architectur e of Pancho is
consistent wi t h th e architectu re, sculpture and painti ng tradi t ional African.
In 196 9 Kulterm ann says that Panch o projects are a synthesi s of spiritual
clim ate and geograp hi cal Mozamb i que. Pancho hi msel f identi f ies hi s i nfluence,
hi s muse is Africa, whi ch app ears represented i n paintings. This is not the
adopti on of regional expressions, though sometim es just happen, but the
"moti ves of universal primi t iv e."

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A Escola Clandesti ne no Cani ço , in Lourenço Marques, built in 1 96 8, follows the
order of "some ladies who wanted to help workers" who lived in the reeds,
where the bui ldings that had the roof and the structure c ompleted on weekend ,
could remain. The project consists of huts made of reeds, sticks and thatched
roofs, arrang ed on an organi c plant, forming several churchya rds that connect.
The school was done in self - constructi on a ssi sted by the architect.
The school plan has simil a rities w ith the project for the Amster dam Orphanage
by Aldo van Eyck. This project belongs to a modern arch i t ecture, which is
expressed i n local m aterial s.

Figure 1. The Cani ço Sc hool, at l eft, compared wi th the Amsterdam Orfan ate of Al do Va n
Eyck, 19 57-62. In GUED ES, P ed ro (2009). P ancho Gu edes: Vi truvius Mozambi canus .
Lisboa: Museu Colecção Berard o; CURT IS, William (1982).pp .548.

In th e 19 60's and 70 Pancho numerous photographs of Reed doors. In the reed
port is the on ly p l ace ornate. The patterns and colors that are re gistered i n the

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photos are then visibl e in the work of the archi tect, e lem ents like wall of the
buildi ng multifamily housing The Smiling Lion, w ith its intricate geometri c
patterns, the black line drawn and then painted the inside of d rawn shapes. Or
the wall of the ground floor of the House of the Dragon, a space shadowed by an
upper gallery, which i s an extens i on of the street, where m orale i s said to
represent the dragon in a mosaic of black and white stones, represented with
peaks al ong the coasts as i f it were a monster Afri ca.

Figure 2. An example of th e hundreds of reed d oors photograph y’s. In GUEDES( 2010).
The wall of the Dragon Hous e, AVM archi ve.

Thus we see two ways that link the work of the popular African Pancho: the us e
of technology and traditional materials, a nd the int roduction of works of art in
nature in African archi tecture. That is, by means of arti stry in which a work is
incl uded in another work (archi tecture), which space i s modern. So Pancho
"returns the 'primitivi sm' the avant-garde modern devoured and exposed as
hi s."(Jorge Fi gue i ra , coated by Milheiro (2009 ), p.71 .)

Simões Lopes de Carval h o
Archi tect Fernão Lopes Simões de Carval ho was born in Luanda in 192 9, coming
in 1943 to the metropolis in order to make the high school and study

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archi tecture in ESBAL, which concludes in 1955 . Grieved with the poor quality of
the workshop s wher e the int ernsh i p begins to present the final proof of the
course, decides to go to Paris, working with Le Corbusi er. Thus, between 1956
and 59 in the atelier of Wogensky matures, the rig ht arm of Le Corbusier, beside
whi ch someti mes appears in severa l works.
In 1960 he retur ned to Lua nda, where he created the Office of the Urban
Munici pa li ty of Lua nda.
The Distri ct F isherm en on the island of L uanda was commissioned by the
Admi n i strative Fund of Popular Neighborhoods of Angola , 5 00 dwelling units to
be buil t. The project wa s done in th e priv ate studio, whi ch had assembl ed for the
Master Pl an of Lua nda, with the collaborati on of the architect Pinto da Cunha.
The setti ng of inhabitants on the isl and da tes back to hi s discov ery, marked by
the construction of the Church of Our Lady of the Cape, in the fifteenth century,
founded by mercha nts. The popul ation in 1960 was composed of Afri cans and
Europeans (a minority). At the s i te existed, and the township, fields for sports
and som e support structures to the beach.
The plan for homes for the "econom ical ly disadvanta ged ” . It is a plan of
organi zation of the slums, with the aim to correct the major probl e ms without
removi ng the variety and specif i c ity of the slums. The neighborhood of Luanda
Island F isher men i n itially had a similar organi za tion.
He was made a "thor ough inv estigati on" to the fisher men of the three areas of
the isl an d: the Ass, th e ti p and Twill . The survey looked demogr aphic indices and
physi ca l factors, among others. The ar chitects conducted a pho tographi c survey
of the exteri or and interi or of houses, materi als, photographs of the day to day
fi shermen (as did the nets, their boats, etc..), Films and recordings of a survey
of pl ants and elevati ons of several homes.
The houses were raised rectangula r, with a l arger room in which you enter,
whi ch served as living room, and gi ving way to two smaller rooms, the rooms.
The kitchen was the site of the f i re in the courtyard. The building materi als were

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reeds, stick s, wood and sheet, which was found and serve the purpose. All had
division w ind ows.
The nei ghborhoods occupy the strip of land between the canal and the road that
runs through the i sland, the strip between the road and the ocean was reserved
for the beaches, which woul d be the "tourist center of Lu anda" and i s protected
by jetties erosi on. The organi zation of the three quarters followi ng the directi on
of prevaili ng w i nds, by the will of Pinto da Cunha, Sim õe s de Carvalho preferr ed
because th e plan was more organic. The archi tect complai ns a bout the difficulty
they encountered when speaki ng of ur bani sm w i th architects, whose lack of
lear ning in the ar ea do not perm it understand ing y our object i ves.
The houses were recta ngul a r, with a patio to occupy a portion of the rectangl e.
Only the room had a wind ow, the rooms had ventil ation arr ows as Sim õe s de
Carval ho lear ned to do when working with Le Corbusier, cheaper to make a
wi ndow, and because "only want to s leep in the bedrooms, just needs to be
dark. " The walls were of adobe blocks (blocks of earth and cement). The doors
could be pa i nted b y the inhabitant s. F ishermen were asked what type of
coverage wanted for houses - pref erred zinc. But the architect opted for cement,
so to not transmit solar radiati on, and could then be covered w ith palm leav es,
as the Ind ia ns used to do. The house s wer e built on a self-assi st ed constructi on.

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Figure 3. Pl an and section o f the D type, the largest one . At rig ht a photograph y taken
by Simões d e Carvalho d uring th e re s earch for t he project. T h e simil ar it ies are
remarkable.

We made several model homes for future residents to approve the bill. Sim ões
de Carval ho says he li ked it a lot, and shows a photograph of the model home,
now with wh i te kids and black front of the house as evi dence of the success of
the neighb orhood. In the houses were n ot only made the wardrobes t o the wall ,
because fi shermen woul d rather have m or e unoccupi ed area.
The project incorporated a neighborhood heal th center, shopping center, school
and cultural center, but only the houses were buil t . Residents pay a sma ll
incom e by building m ateri a l s, "may be tha t's why every thing was destroy ed."
The architect c onfirmed that Lopes app eal ed much to the constr ucti ons of the
indigenous by saying "and thi s was very much based on what I saw (i n slums)."

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Francisco Castro Ro drigues
Franci sco José Rodri gues Perei ra born in Lisbon, Grace, 21 October 19 20, where
he will live until 1954, when, at age 33 leav es for Angola. Did the course i n
archi tecture at the F aculty of Fine Arts in Li sbon, having been a student of
Mining Engineering at Insti tuto Superior Técni co. Growi n g up he lived w i th
"anarcho-sy ndi ca li st, Freemasons a nd Republi cans of various classes " and came
to bel ong to the Communi st Party.
The fir st project in Angola was the expansion of the Munici pality of Lobito, in
195 5. The one-store y buildi ng was expa nded to three, and was added to a
program hall. The project is not enti rely lost the appea rance beaux-arts, but
because of the colonnade that overshadows the facades won a tropical a ir. The
materi als used, wood and stones, were all o f Ang olan origin, location.
The Distri ct of Li ro si ts atop the escarpmen t bordering the east t he city of Lobi to,
a plateau with a marked topography of large furrows, caused by water erosion i n
the sandy soil. The Overseas War (19 61-197 4) brought the warlord s to use the
seaport of Lobi to as acce ss to the int erior of Angol a. This access was guarant ee d
by the constr ucti on of a road that acceded to the pl ateau. Due to the
constructi on of this road Francisco Rodriguez Castro was able to propose th e
expansi on of the city to the p lateau.
The Lobito lies betwee n wetla nds and a ravine, so it is not wholesome; the
pl ateau, due to the altitude, it is healthier. The Master Plan of Lobito, made by
Franci sco Castr o Rodr ig ues, located in the Bai rro Al to Liro and the Bela Vista
neig hborhood of thi s p la teau. T oday , both areas are joined by new construct ion.
The project was m arked out, as well as i ts construct ion dur i ng the 1960 s.

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Conferen ce Procee dings. Oporto, Ma y 17-19, 2 012
135

Figure 4.: Pl an of the Barrio Al to Liro, and relat ionship wit h the city.

Figure 5. Re constituti on, accordi ng to the archi te ct’s memo ries, of a house. Ente ring
theres the li ving room an d kitchen, two bedrom s and a bathr oom.
Alto do Liro

Lobito

Ma rcos Anselmo, Africa’s Vern acular Architectu r e: The Primi tive in the 196 0/7 0’s Archi tectural P roduction
136
The Bair ro Alto's Li ro i s designed for the economical ly disadvantaged, especially
Europeans, since the natives did not have high enough incomes to buy or rent
the housi ng.
The process of l evel based on the rid ge lines, whi ch are arranged perpendicul ar l y
to the plots of land. These plots are divided into lots for the constructi on of
singl e f amil y homes. The plan a l so incorporates apartment bu il d ing s. The
equi pment is at the h inge between the di strict and the route of connection to the
city.
The detached houses were built under the assisted self . Dur ing construction of
the nei ghborhood, a Bureau consisti ng of a technicia n and a master-buil der,
gave the necessary assistance. The project k i nd of house had to be followed by
the owners, but some have asked the archi tect who projectasse specif ically to
your hom e.
In the pl ateau not exist trees or reeds, so that the constructi on materi a l had to
be provided - brick or concrete blocks. A large yard w ith machinery to make
cement blocks, carpentry workshops and material s could be used by the
inh abitants. It was al so admi tted to the adobe, under the conditi on of the
techni cal mon i tor the process. The roof s were of tile. There were pott ery
factori es close in Catumbel a, so most of the bui ldi ngs in Lob ito were covered
wi th this m aterial.
About the pla n of the houses there is onl y the descripti on g i ven by the architect.
The dw ellings are compar tmentali zed in the kitchen and li ving room and to il et
rooms. T he kitch en and livi ng room, bot h compartm ents are united, are the
most important place in the house, the fire place, where the famil y gathers.
Some hom es hav e porch . The pro j ect p rovided for future expansi on by the
owners.

Surveys o n Verna cular Archit ectu r e. Their Significan ce in th e 20th Century A r chitect ural Cul ture
Conferen ce Procee dings. Oporto, Ma y 17-19, 2 012
143
others. The hyp othesi s i s that there i s an associati on between building materials
and constr ucti on techniques tha t dominate the l ocal building culture a nd peopl e’s
preferences i n wall b uilding materi als.

3. Method s
The ana ly s is i n thi s paper dra ws upon data from the SANPAD 1 research pr oject
enti tled “A South African Building Rena i ssance - Acceptabi lity of high quality,
earth constructed, publi c and private buildings to support sustai nable local
economi c devel opment”.
In coll aborati on with Dutch partners, the research team visited 16 towns in rur al
parts of centr al South Afri ca. Only fiv e locations were used for the current
analy sis, na mely:
 Botshabel o near Bl oe mfont ein i n the Fr ee State P rovince
 Bul fonte i n near Thaba N’chu i n the Free State Province
 Bank hara Budol ong near Kurum an in the Nort hern Ca pe Provi nce
 Magol okweng nea r Harri smith in the Free Sta te Prov i nce
 Mapoteng nea r Kuruma n in the Northern Cape P rovince
These l ocations were chos en on the basi s of (a) the pr esence of earth
constructed buil d i ngs and/or (b) the presence of small brickyard s, (c) the
willingness of communities or groups to take part in the project and ( d) the
different earth-building techni ques demonstra ted. These are as were furth er
divid ed into formal and inf ormal urban areas and rural areas. In each locati on,
the houses wer e counted and mapped.

1 This project was f unded by SANPAD (South Af rica – Netherlands Research Programme on
Alternatives in Development) an d conducted from 2004 to 2007 by the University of the Free S tate
in South Africa in collabo ra t ion with Th e Technische Universiteit Eindhoven in The Netherlands.

Gerhard Bo sman, Local Buil ding Culture s and Per cepti ons o f Wall Buildin g Mat erials
144

Figure 2. The five locat ions selected fo r the cur re nt anal ysis (au thor)

The sample size (n=1086 total) was calcul ated according to Stoker’s (1981:1 3)
method. It was decided that a systemati c sample would be used rather than a
stratifi ed random sampl e, as maps for some of the areas were not av ailabl e.
Each location was h omogene ous in terms of housing t ype, a nd every fourth
house was sel ected for the survey . Trai ned masters’ students we re contract ed as
int erviewers (Steÿn, 20 09, p. 62).
The next phase inv olved data collection from the sampli ng locations. Questions
were f ormul ated to gath er i n form ation pertaining to demograp hi cs, income,
present housing conditions, services availabl e, and preference s in respect of
buildi ng m aterial s and earth constructi on. The questionn aires were transla ted
int o Tswana, Engli sh and Afri kaans, the three ma in l anguages of the l ocations.
The SANPAD Survey I data set will be used in this paper to anal yse the
rela tionship between the predomina nt building materi a l / buildi ng cultur e and
the preferr ed materi al for new dwelling s. The current study (n= 1086) exami nes
responses to selected questions from respondents in Botshabel o (n=383),
MAPOTENGDG
G ME

BANKHARA
BODULONG

BULFONTEIN

BOTSHABELO SIA
ME

MAGOLOKWE NGGM
E

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145
Bul fontein (n=185), Bank hara Bodulong (n=22 8), Magolokweng (n=12 9) and
Mapoteng (n=1 61).
Botshabel o and Bul fontein are character ised as formal and informal urban areas .
Some hardwar e store s withi n a 5 – 10 km radius and many local small-scale bri ck
yards where bur nt bricks can be p urchased were observed during the sur vey.

Figure 3. The use of ad obe (sun -dried mud bricks) in Botshabelo (author)

Figure 4. The use of ce ment stabil ised blocks in Bankhara B odulong (author)

Bankha ra Bodul ong is in between a forma l and inform a l sem i-rural area. Some
hardware stores within a 15 -25 km radius and many l ocal sm all-scale cement
bl ock yards where wall building materi als can be obtained were observed duri ng
the surv ey.

Gerhard Bo sman, Local Buil ding Culture s and Per cepti ons o f Wall Buildin g Mat erials
146

Figure 5. The use of w attle en daub (t imber and straw cl ay) in Magolokweng (au thor)

Magolok weng is in a rura l a rea. No hardwar e stores wi thin a 25 -35 km radius
and very few sm all-scale concrete block yards where wall building materi als can
be bought were obser ved duri ng the su rvey.
Mapoteng is i n a rural area. Some hardware stores withi n a 25-35 km radius and
several small-scal e concrete bl ock yards where wall building material s can be
purchased were observed during the survey.

4. Findi ngs
The S ANPAD proje ct (n=1 790 ) concluded that traditional adobe bl ocks were
di sliked mainly due to the percepti on of poor structura l performance. The wall
buildi ng materials preferred in the survey were burnt bri cks and cement
stabiliz ed blocks (Steÿn, 2009 , p. 70 ).
Questi on 13 of survey 1 a sked respond ents about the curr ent wall building
materi al of the house in wh i ch they resided. 33.8% of the hous es were made of
corrugated iron, 23.9% with earth walls, 18.6% of cement stabili sed blocks or
bri cks , 1 5.8% of burnt bri cks, and 7.9 % of a combina t ion of materi a l s.
Also in survey 1, question 17a asked respondents which wall bui lding ma teri a l
they would prefer in a house that they wo ul d lik e to live in. The la rge majority
(69.9 %) preferred a burnt b ri ck house, 2 8.4% prefer red cem ent or com pressed
earth blocks or bricks and only 1.6% preferred traditi on al adobe or sundried

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bl ocks. The researchers expected this resul t after working in the fi eld of earth
constructi on i n central South Af rica si nce 1996 .

Frequency

Valid
Percentage

Vali d
Responses

Burned bri cks

1 233

69,9

Cement stabili zed
b l o ck s

502

28, 4

Earth

29

1,6

Total

1 764

100,0

Missi ng

26

Total

1 790

Table 1. P referred material for wall s in the nine locati ons (Steÿn, 200 9, p. 70)

A follow up question (Qu estion 17b) explored why part i cu la r material s were
preferred. Respondents were all owed to provid e multiple answers, whi ch were
then grouped i nto the foll ow ing categories: (a) Aestheti cs; (b) Strong & safe; (c)
Fewer problems; (d) Climate; (e) Quick b uil d ing process; (f) Finances; and (g)
Other. Tabl e 2 show s the score s in each category, grouped accord ing to wall
materi al preference.
The resul ts show that respondents preferri ng burned brick s or cement blocks
most often provid ed strength and safety as the reason. T h ose who preferred
earth or adobe mat eri als most often cited aestheti c qualities as the reas on
(Steÿn, 200 9, p. 70).

Gerhard Bo sman, Local Buil ding Culture s and Per cepti ons o f Wall Buildin g Mat erials
148

Burned bricks
n-1233

Compressed
earth blocks
n- 438

Earth
n- 29

Cement blocks
n- 64

[-]

[%]

[-]

[%]

[-]

[%]

[-]

[%]

Aesthetics

475

39.5

239

55.8

13

46.4

18

28.6

Strong & safe

730

60.6

180

42.1

8

28.6

29

46.0

Fewer pro blems

61

5.1

8

1.9

-

-

4

6.3

Climat e

84

7.0

11

2.6

5

17.9

-

-

Quick buil d ing
process

8

0.7

13

3.0

1

3.6

5

7.9

Finances

17

1.4

36

8.4

4

14.3

11

7.5

Other

71

5.9

14

3.3

-

-

5

7.9

Table 2. M otivati ons for material choices in the nin e l oca tions (Steÿn, 2009)

Respondents were then asked in question 18 to choose the two material s that
they preferr ed most for building walls. The intervi ewers showed the respondents
photos of stabili zed adobe (similar to cement blocks but with half the cement
stabili sation) an d cement stabilized compressed earth blocks ( si milar to cement
bl ocks but compacted and with half th e cement sta bili sa tion).
It was anti c i pated that there would be a s ocio-economi c progression f rom livi ng
in a corr ugated iron shack or traditional earth construct ed house (the traditi ona l
vernacul ar) to a cement stabiliz ed block or bri ck house, and fina lly to a burnt
bri ck (plastered or face bri ck) house. Thi s hypothesi s was tested by compari ng
the current wall material of the responde nts side by side with their preferred
wall b uildi ng materi a l (see Tabl e 3).

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Wall
material
of houses

Botshabelo

Bulfontein

Bankhar a
Bodulong

Magolokwe
ng

Mapoteng

(n=383)

(n=185)

(n=228)

(n=129)

(n=161)

Current
materia
l

Preferre
d
material

Current
materi al

Preferred
material

Current
material

Preferred
material

Current
material

Preferred
material

Current
material

Preferred
material

earth walls

12.8

1.3

21.0

0

13.4

1.7

62.3

3.1

41.8

3.6

brick wall s

19.5

75.6

41.9

77.4

5.6

64.9

1.5

63.8

15.8

61.2

cement block
walls

15.9

21.3

26.9

22.0

9.5

32.0

5.4

32.3

26.7

32.7

corrugated
iron wall s

49.2

0

8.6

0

66.2

0

28.5

0

7.9

0

other

2.1

0

0 .5

0

4.8

0

2.3

0

7.9

0

Total

99.5

98.2

98.9

99. 4

99. 5

98. 6

100.0

99.2

100. 1

97. 5

Missing

0.5

1.8

1.1

0. 6

0. 5

1. 4

0.8

2. 5

Total

100.
0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Table 3. Cur rent and pref erre d wal l building material s i n the five l ocations (auth or)

In Botshabel o, the m ajori ty of the respondents (49.2%) li ved i n informal shack s
wi th corrugated iron wall s . Mos t of them (75.6%) preferred burnt bricks wall s
and 21.3% preferr ed to live within cement stabilised walls. Only a small
percentage of respon dents (1.3%) preferred to live within earth walls. During
the survey it was observed that respondents lived next to an area where burnt
bri ck dwellings exi sted and there were multipl e local burnt brick yards that sell
di rectly to the publi c . The resi dents of Botshabelo therefore aspire towards a
local building cu l ture that i s burnt bri ck domina nt.
In Bul fontein, few respondents (8.6%) li v ed in inf ormal shacks with corrugated
ir on wall s , some respondents (26.9%) lived wi thin cement stabili sed block walls
and a rela tively h i gh percentage (41.9%) of respondents liv e withi n burnt bricks
wall. Most respondents (77. 4%) preferred burnt bri cks wall, whil e 22% preferred
cement stab ili sed walls. No respondents pr eferred earth w alls. S imilar to
Botshabel o, the survey location was near an area with many brunt brick
dwelli ngs, and the local burnt br i ck yards also sell directly to the publi c.

Gerhard Bo sman, Local Buil ding Culture s and Per cepti ons o f Wall Buildin g Mat erials
150
Bul fontein respondent s can thus also be described as aspiri ng towards a local
buildi ng cul ture d ominated by bur nt bricks.
In Bank hara Bodul on g, th e majority of the respondents (66 .2%) lived i n inf ormal
shacks with corrugated iron walls. Most of them prefer red b urnt bricks wall
(64.9 %), while 3 2. 0% preferred to live within cement stab ilised wall s. Only a
small percenta ge of respondents (1.7%) preferred to live within earth walls. This
semi -rural inf ormal location ha s no burnt b ri ck yard but does have several l oca l
busi nesses that sell stabilised cement bl ock s and compres sed earth bl ocks to the
publi c . The local building cu l ture of Bank hara Bodul ong is therefore perhaps
influenced by the lucrati ve manual cement block ind ustr y but resident s still
aspi re towards houses b uilt wi th burnt bricks.
In Magolok weng, the majori ty of the respond ents (62. 3%) lived i n tradi t ional
earth dwelli n gs, and 28. 5% lived in shacks with corrugated iron walls. Simil ar to
the other areas, most respondents preferred burnt bricks wall (63.8%), w i th
32. 3% preferring to live w ithi n cement stabili sed wa ll s. A bi gger percentage of
respondents (3.1%) stated a preferenc e for living within earth wall s (the
domi nant buildi ng materi a l ) than in the previ ous three areas di scussed. Thi s
rural location has no burnt bri ck yards and very few cem ent stabilised brick
yards that sell to the public. T he local building culture of Magolok weng can be
descri bed as earth bri ck dominant wi th the potenti al for a manual cement block
or burnt brick industry.
In Mapoteng, the highest numb er of respondents (41.8 %) lived in traditional
earth construct ed dwelli ngs, and only 7. 9 % li ved i n shacks with corrugated ir on
wall s . M ost preferred burnt bricks walls (61.2%), whil e 32.7% preferr ed to liv e
wi thin cement stabilised walls. Compared to the other areas, Mapoteng had the
la rgest percentage of respondents (3.6%) that preferred to liv e withi n earth
wall s (the dom i nant building material). T hi s sem i-rural location has no burnt
bri ck yar ds and very few cement stabili sed brick yard s that sell to the public.
The local building cultur e of Mapoteng can thus be descr i bed as earth brick
domi nant w i th the potential for a manual cement bl ock or burnt bri ck ind ustry.

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Conferen ce Procee dings. Oporto, Ma y 17-19, 2 012
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It is interesting to note that both Mapoteng and Mologok weng ha ve yards that
sell cement bl ocks, and these two locat ions have a hig her percentage of
respondents who st ated a preference for cement bl ock walls. No t a singl e
respondent in any of the five survey locati ons wanted to live w ithi n corrugated
ir on walls. The vast majority of respondents (from 61.2% to 77.4%) aspired to
live in dwe lli ngs with brick wall s.

5. D iscussion and concl usion
The measurab l e factors that seem to play a role in the preference of wall
buildi ng material are (a) the current wall bu il ding m at er i al of the respondents ’
houses, (b) the desire to progress from inform al to formal dwelling s, (c) the
domi nant material (most commonl y used) in the locati on and surroundi ng a reas,
and (d) the mater ial that is most readily available. Other factors that ma y play a
role in the preference of wall building material are (f) the overall quality of the
built environm ent and (g) the qua lity of local craftsma nship.
The noti on of “livi ng up to the Joneses” app ears to be alive and well in the study
locati ons. The vast majori ty of respondents expressed a desire to live in a burnt
bri ck dwelling like middl e and upper cl ass citizens, and they also see local brick
yards supplying the brick s for these dwelli n gs. Others look around and express a
preference for cemen t block dwellings. A l t hough a tiny minority, there are even
a few people who state a preference for earth constructi on, possibly because it
remai ns the domina nt construct ion method in some of the areas.
Good house construct ion depends upon the quality of the bu ilding materi a l s and
the proper building s kill s and techniques. Home dwell ers do not always have
knowl edge of the best building practices, and there is a wide range of sk ill
lev els, from self -help home bui l ders to the most skill ed workmen. Materi a l s
shoul d also be used in the proper manner in order to achi eve the best possi ble
performa nce. Training related to the different building trades in all types of built
envi ronments is vital for both suppli ers a nd end users. The housing sector
overall would benefit from further trai ning, eval uation, and contr ol. South Afr ica

Gerhard Bo sman, Local Buil ding Culture s and Per cepti ons o f Wall Buildin g Mat erials
152
requi res a var i ety of skills, f rom the bas i c to the speci alized, and from the
hi storical vernacul ar methods to more m odern techni ques.
If the commi tment t oward s sustainabl e development is to be taken seri ously,
the im portance of earth constructi on must not be overlooked. Earth constructi on
can be as effecti ve a nd versatil e as other forms of wall construction, if not more
so. It has the add ed advantag es of making use of readil y available resources,
consumi ng very littl e energy and produci ng very littl e waste products.
Several case studi es in southern Africa have documented sustaina ble and
acceptabl e earth con structed buil d i ngs (Steÿn, 2009: 96). The publi c needs to
be educated in the importance of preserv ing exi sting forms and methods of
earth construction in vernacul ar architecture and its useful appli cations in
contemporar y archi tecture. If this does not happen, our cultural her i tage may
soon be lost. It is time to turn earth constructi on from an ‘o ld fashioned’ buildi ng
method ‘for the poor’ to an innovati ve, sust ai nable and contemporary practi ce in
modern day South Afr ica.

Reference s
Ajzen, I & Fi shbein , M (1980). Un derstanding attitudes and predicti ng social b ehaviour.
Engl ewoo d Cli ffs, New Jersey: P renti ce-Hall, Inc. Corr ea, C. (2000) . Housing and
urbanisation . New York: Thomas and Hud son.
Fathy, H. C. (1973). A rchitecture for th e poor: An exp eriment in ru ral Egypt . Chi cago:
Uni versity of Chicago Press.
Fransen, H. & C ook, MA. (1965). Th e o ld houses of the Cap e: A survey of the existing
buildi ngs in the traditional style of architecture of the Dutch - settled regi ons of the Cape
of Good Hope . Cape To wn: Bal kema.
Frescura, F. (1985) . Maj or developments in th e rural ind igenous archi tecture of Sou thern
Africa of the p ost-difaqa ne period . Johannesbur g: Uni versity of the Witwatersrand.
Frescura, F. (1985) . Rur al shelter in South ern Africa. Johannesbu rg: Universi ty of th e
Witwat ersr an d.
Gerneke, G. (1992 ). “The return to Earth.” Archi tecture SA , March + April 1992 (part
1); May + June 1992 (p art 2); Jul y + August 1992 (part 3), pp. 40 - 44.
Greig, D. (1971 ). A gu ide to architectur e in Sout h Africa . Cape Town: Timmins.

Surveys on Vernacu lar A r chite cture. Their Signi ficanc e in th e 20th Cent ury Archi tectural Cu lture
Conferen ce Procee dings. Oporto, Ma y 17-19, 2 012
255

Figure 1. Poblenou d el Delta, aerial photo. Around 1964.
Source: INC

3.
The revi sion of the territory to be settled in b y the INC also i nvolved the
reconsid erati on of sizes of the plots of land , with the aim of incorporating plots
of land that were already be ing cultivated in a leasehol d agreement to the navy.
Finall y , the avera ge a rea of the plots of land to be cultiv ated was 3.8 hectare s, a
size th at did n’t facilitate the mechani zation i n the cultivati on of ri ce and oblig ed
the new farmers to maintain the traditional cu ltiva tion by hand. 10.4 hectares
were desti ned to the construct ion of th e town.
The work of the commi ss ion charged b y the INC wi th defining the area of action
and the characteristi c s of the work to be carri ed out, began in 1947 and lasted
two years. The dra wing up of the archi tectural project was charged to José
Borobi o, the architect of the Delegation of the Ebro of the INC, in co ll aborati on
wi th José Aragón Austri, agricultural engineer. T h e preli m inary archi tectural
project was del ivered in April 1 951, and after incorp orating some modifi cat i ons,
the defini t ive project was presented in August 195 2 and the constructi o n was

M. Ferrer, R . Mirall es, J . F. Ro denas, R. F aura, J. Roca, G. Fortun y, G. Zuazn abar, Poblen ou del Delta
(Villa franco del Delt a) 1947: Vernacular in th e new a gricultural sett lements o f th e Inc (Spain )
256
carri ed out between 1953 and 1 955. The fir st d welling s were offi c ially occup ie d
duri n g th e spring of 1956 .
The preli minary project contempl ated the constructi on of 115 dwellings, using
six different types. The defi nitive project ended up contem plating the
constructi on of 96 dwelli n gs, using three different types. The reduction in the
number of dwel li ngs was accompani ed by a more complex g eometry in the
la yout, with the incor porati on of four different gui de lines, so as to adapt better
to the access roads. The definiti ve project al so re locat ed the school buildi ng in
the central area of the town, along with the church and the town council. The
school had been located in the outskirts, in the southern corner, in the
preli m i nary pr oject of 19 51.

The nature of the land and its proximity to the sea obliged the carrying out of
civil wor ks that i ncluded the constructi on of a defence di ke a l ong the coast, the
constructi on of various access r oads and the necessary drainage system for the
provi s ion of water, bo th for wateri ng and fo r domesti c consumption. It was al so
essentia l the work of deliv er ing and compa cti ng earth so as to rai se the level of
the settl ement by 50cm and achieve the drai n ing of the surface ra inw ater, as
well as m i nimum s lopes for drai ning wa ste water and, above a ll , a greater
densi ty of the la nd for the f oundati ons of the new building s. All these items
reached 3 8% of the total cost of th e works.
The need to prepare the land of the town to be abl e to construct the bui l dings
and to ensure th e good functi oning of the hydra uli c mechanisms, the energy
suppli es and the drainag e, explains the compact nature of the town, and its
absol utely defined peri meter. The constructi on of this settl eme nt requi red works
of containm ent to tackl e the act i on of the seawater, and, as if it was an island,
the defi nition of a new pla n very c lose to t he surfa ce itself of the Medi terranea n.
Despite these sing ulari t i es, the project of Vill a franco del De lta shares a good
part of the criteria of the technici ans of the IN C with other settl ements. The
same organi sation of the layout of the town, wi th three geometri c guidelines, i t

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incor porates a certain compl ex i ty i n the visual effect, and fosters a certai n
humani sation in the percepti on of the g eneral di mens i ons.

The search for this u rban qualificati on of the towns can also be found in other
towns designed by J osé Borobi o, such as Alera . In th i s case, the curvilinear
geometry in the l ayout of the most important roads also favours this complexi ty
of the visi on that a walk along the streets facili tates and a closer perc epti on of
the tenant farmers of the g eneral dim ens ions of th e settl ement.
The study of the geom etry i n the l ayout of the streets and of the general
organi zation of the towns was produced i n parallel to the study of a hierarchy of
the roads, depend ing on the width and na ture of the road itself. Thus, i n
Vill afranco del Delta the foll ow i ng w idths of the roads was considered: streets 6
metres wi de for pedestrians, str eets 8 metres wi de wi thout trees and streets 1 1
metres wide with tr ees and pavem ents a bit wider. T hese are the most
im portant roads and that g i ve access to the publi c spa ces of the centre of the
town.
In the majori ty of th e projects of the INC, the segregation of the c ir culati on
between the pedestri ans and the pr i vate vehi c les and the access for cattl e and
carts was a topic of fundamental stu dy, b ecause it permi tted an organisati on of
the dwel lings with a backya rd where the access of the carts and agricul tural
machi nery didn’t interf ere wi th the circulati on of the ci tizens and, i n fact, in the
preli m i nary project of José Borobio of 1951 th i s segregation of circulation was
contempl ated. However, i t di sappears i n the defini t ive ar chitectur al pr oject.

M. Ferrer, R . Mirall es, J . F. Ro denas, R. F aura, J. Roca, G. Fortun y, G. Zuazn abar, Poblen ou del Delta
(Villa franco del Delt a) 1947: Vernacular in th e new a gricultural sett lements o f th e Inc (Spain )
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Figure 2. Poblenou d el Del ta, view of th e access str ee t
from Sant Ca rles de la Ràp ita. Around 195 6. Source: INC

The same concern for the qualificati on of the overall urban envi ronment of the
settl ement was what led to the use of different types of housi ng. T he use of
different building types achieved a genera l image of the town with a certai n
diversi t y and helped to solv e the problem of the corners of the blocks. These
different types also a ll owed f or a great er adapta tion for family groups th at were
to accomm odate the new housing . In this sense, the types of dwelli ngs that we
can fi nd in Villafranco del Delta are not very different from those used in the
majori ty of the projects of the IN C. The definitive project contempl ates the
constructi on of four different types: House type A, of jus t one floor, with a
kitchen-di ning room, two bedrooms, and pantry, used on the corn ers of the
bl ocks. House type B, a l so of just one floor, with a kitchen -dini ng room, three
bedrooms, and pantry. House type C, with two floors, with k i tchen, dining
room, and pantry on the ground floor, covered access to carts. On the fi rst floor
there were three bedroom s. House type D, also with two floors, has a simil ar
di stribution to type C, but wi th four bedrooms on th e first f l oor.
All the dwel lings have a backyar d whi ch l et s them hav e a vegetab l e gar den and
outbuil dings for livestock, a ll of which for th e con sumption of the famili es of the
tenant farmers, dependi ng on the will of each famil y. There were also
outbuil dings for storing to ols and agricultural machinery. The crops from the

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vegetabl e gardens themsel ves and the possible perform ance of the liv estock
were not consi dered in the exami ning of productivi t y and coul d be used for their
own consumpti on, outside the administr at ive control of the techni cal staff of th e
INC.

The change in the locati on of the school buildi ng of the prelim inary project of
Vill afranco del Delta to its def i nitiv e position, along with the rest of the pub li c
buildi ngs of the centr e of the town was no t something new co mpared w ith the
majori ty of the settlements of the INC. The locating of public buildings in the
town centre was a constant . As such, the chu rch, the town counci l, oth er
buildi ngs of collecti ve use, both soci al as well as admi n i strative, and the school,
were all located in c entral pos iti ons, along with the public sp aces of greate r
im portance.
Added to the benefi ts of th i s central position, it is worth mentioni ng the aim of
erecting something o f sym boli c reference of these elements, such as the bell
tower of the church. In other projects by the same archi tect, José Borobi o, such
as the town of Alera, the be ll tower of t he church was al so a reference point
from th e most important streets of the town.
The presence of this religi ous facility i n the majori ty of the settlements of the
Delega ti on of the Ebro shows us the i deological pos i tion from whi ch the p olitical
regi me aimed to fo und a new type of farm worker. Far from the urban
aggl omerations, that were examp les of collectiv es of social organi sation that the
procl amati on of the Re publi c and Civil war had showed, the new settl ers
responded to a type of farm worker who was health y, Catholic, a fo ll ower of
tradi tions, and far from the sociali st i deologies and liberta rian , typical of the
metropoli s.
The organi sat i on of the town around the Church ended up showi ng a lso that
foundati onal presence of the religi on i n the way of producti on of the farmers. It
is a constant that we can also find , curi ously, in Itali an towns from the same
peri od, such as La Martella , that Ludovico Quaroni sta rted to pl an in 1951, just

M. Ferrer, R . Mirall es, J . F. Ro denas, R. F aura, J. Roca, G. Fortun y, G. Zuazn abar, Poblen ou del Delta
(Villa franco del Delt a) 1947: Vernacular in th e new a gricultural sett lements o f th e Inc (Spain )
260
like Villafra nco de l Delta. It is a town pro moted by the IN A ( Instituto Nazionale
d’Urbani stica ), that s howed the same symboli c aim in terms of the location of
the Church, despite the fact that the tech ni c ians and the admini strat ions were
totally d i fferent in character compared wi th the Spani sh case we are studyi ng,
whi ch can be found in cul tural and political circum stances that are diametricall y
opposed to the Italian ones. In post-war Spa i n, the underlyi n g ideological
program me i n these settlements is one m ore exampl e of the sym b i osis between
the Catholi c Church and Franco’s State, engaged in achieving a popula tion tha t
was pur ified from any racial or i deologi ca l contam i nation.

4.
Despite these ideol o gical components of the new politi cal r egim e that were
materi alising in some settlements of the INC, there is conti nuity in the work of
the archi tects of thi s organi sm that link s with the proposals of the architectura l
vangua rd of the second Repu blic.
In the case of the GATEPAC, that gr ouped together the architects most
commi tted to the internati onal architectu ral vanguard bas ed around the
magazi ne AC, the fundament al concern was to find another type of residence for
the workers in the city. Projects such as the City of Rest and Hol idays proposed
new residenti a l groups linked to spaces for r elaxati on and leisure, healthy,
hygieni c, for the working c la ss, crowded together in the c ity centres 1 . The worry
of this collectiv e was focused on p roposi ng new types of sc hool s, hosp ital s,
heal th centres, and pl anning drainag e actions to i mprov e the hygiene of the
most degr aded areas of the centres of majo r cities.
In the pages of AC, Josep Llui s Sert vindicated as a reference for modern
archi tecture the “Mediterranea n nature” that we can find in the rural dwelling s
and some of the constr ucti ons of the isl and of Ibiz a. For Sert, th e character isti cs

1 About this project of the GATC P AC, it should be highlighted the unpublished doctora l thesis of
Roger Sauquet, “ La C iutat d e repòs i vacances del GATCPA C (1931-1 938). Un p aisatge pel
descans ” . Polytechnic Un iversi ty of C at alonia (UPC), 2011

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of th i s popula r architectu re are reveal ed as a determi ning factor that g i ve r i se to
new poets th at from th e centre of Europe p arti cipate in th e modern project:
“If, after examining various examples of popula r Mediterranea n construction s,
we compare them wi th the best creations of modern architectur e, we would be
unable to miss the com mon charact eristics, not in terms of detail, but in these
“constants” that give their spirit to the architectura l work.” (Sert, 1935, AC Nº
18, page 31)

The consi deration of the Mediter ranean vernacul ar as a “ myth ” that Sert
expl a ins, as a reference that lasts in tim e beyond the condi tions that it
conforms, we can conf irm because thi s same text could be commenti ng on the
works of another gr eat author, José Ant onio Coderch. Here we refer to two
housing projects that appear published in the Italian magazine Domus in
September 1950 (N º 25 0) and in November 1952 (Nº 27 5). In the pages of
number 2 50, the works of Coderch appear al ongs i de photographs of exampl es of
popul ar arch i tecture of the Ba leari c i slands.
In the Spanish Pavilion of the Trienni al of Milan of 1951, José Antonio Coderch
pl aces i n one of the display cases vari o us photographs of the work of Antoni o
Gaudí alongside photographs of rural churches of the Island of Majorca as a
reference of Spanish archi tecture. In an other of the displ a y cases th ere are
baked clay receptacl e s that are tradi t iona l from the isla nd of M ajorca, along with
other craftwork objects. The same ones that appear on the pages of AC referring
to popul ar housing.
The cont inui ty between the vi s ion of Mediter ranean vernacul ar that can be found
on the pages of AC and that which we can find in the elements incorporated in
the Spanish Pavili on of 1951, with the vernacul ar architecture of Ibiza as a
paradi gm, is clear and a ppreci ab l e 2 .

2 Even in one of the publicati ons of reference about the topic, the book by Carlos Flores, “Popular
Spanish architecture”, published in 1973, an e xtensive study of 5 volumes, the il lustrations an d
drawings that appear in the section dedicat ed to the arch itecture of Ibiza are those which are d one
by Erwin Bronner, as p ublished in the magazine AC 21, of 1936.

M. Ferrer, R . Mirall es, J . F. Ro denas, R. F aura, J. Roca, G. Fortun y, G. Zuazn abar, Poblen ou del Delta
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Figure 3. Pobl enou del Delta, vi ew of the insid e of th e
bl ock s of house s. Around 1956. Source: I NC

5.
Withi n th i s continuity that Coderch shows in hi s projects wi th Medi terranean
rural architecture we can also place the ar chitecture of Villa franco del Delta . In
thi s case, the presence of agri cu l ture as a productive factor show s with greater
clari t y the rel ation of this proposal of the INC wi th vernacul ar archi tecture,
above all i n the d wellings.
In reality, some techni c ia ns of the INC, such as José Borobio and many other
archi tects, a lr eady had a certa in knowledge of rural housing as they had trai ned
wi th José Fonseca in the Semina r of U rban Studi es of the Madrid School of
Archi tecture in the mid n i neteen thirties. In that sem i nar, t he study of rural
housing was a recurring topi c. The coll aboration of agri cu ltu ra l engi neers and th e
ai m of Fonseca himsel f to study rural h ousi ng as an element li nked to the

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characteri stics of the agraria n exploitati on in which i t was located, facilitated the
formi ng of a certain t heoreti cal body about the topi c 3 .

The admini strative r esponsi bility of Jo sé Fonseca after the Ci vil War as the
techni cian in charge of the National Housing Institute (I NV) and th e
incor poration of some of h i s students into the techni cal services of various
mi n istries, am ong them being José Borobi o i n the INC, provided a new vision
about the work of ar chitects in the settlement towns. The confl uence of the
work jointly with agricul tural experts in t he defi nition of new towns wi th the
updati ng of the theoreti cal work of the Seminars of Urban Studi es provoke the
fact th at v ernacula r did no t onl y appear as a mere ex ercise of styl e.
The constructiv e tradi tion that i s used in these settl ements due to lack of
resources and the need to contempl ate farm outbuildi ngs in the dwelli ngs
themsel ves obliged the archi tects to revise some of the project tool s. The
rela tion between rura l architecture with the way that farmers work ed impli ed a
di rect relati on with th e pl ace. In the M edi terranean, the houses and crop
terraces partici pate in the same process of constructi on, as we can well see in
the dra wi ngs of Edwi n Bronner th at a ppear publi shed in the pa ges of AC 4 .
The stones that the farm workers of Ibiz a or M all orca f i nd in t he farmi n g areas
and the make the ploughi ng and p la nting of the land diffi cult, a re placed at the
edge for the construct i on of wa ll s that allow, at t he same time, another
fl attening of the land with a more horiz ontal surface than the previ ous one. The
new pl atform form ed a cleaner surface and one that is easier to culti vate,
all owing a consolid ation of the l and that adapts very well to such an i rregul ar
rai n fall typical of the area. In one of these platf orms, the farm worker would
build h i s house with the same stones that had been used for constructing the
farmi ng areas.

3 About this topic, it is worth highlig hting the relevant contributions of Jo sé Luis Oyon in th e
majority of his stu dies and publicat ions.
4 Bronner is the surname ado pted by E rwin Heilbronner shortly after settling in Ibiza.

M. Ferrer, R . Mirall es, J . F. Ro denas, R. F aura, J. Roca, G. Fortun y, G. Zuazn abar, Poblen ou del Delta
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The use of local materi a l s and of the same construct ion technologi es used for
settli ng on the territory expl a ins why vernacular architecture has an absol ute
rela tion with the local characteristi cs and does no t depend so much on a
temporal component.
The dwel li ngs of the settl ement town of Delta del Ebro, that the INC started in
1947, do show us the adherenc e to verna cul ar that, from t he pages of the
magazi ne AC in the mi d nineteen thirties to the work of aut hors such as José
Antoni o Coderch at the begi nn ing of the nineteen fifties, aim to recogni se the
rural dwellings of Ibiza as a re ference of architectur al poetry of its time.
Alth ough it should perhaps be recognised that i t i s not w i th the same pure styl e
that these authors achi eved, it is however with the authenti city provok ed by the
incor poration of fa rming i n th e dwellings. The organi sation of the spa ces of the
different types of hou sing around the vegeta bl e garden, the space li nked to th e
daily productiv e li fe of the far mers, m akes us cont inu e to speak of a way of life
absol utely li n ked to t he pl ace, separate fr om the tim e facto r.

Reference s
Armesto, A. & Di ez, R. ( 2008), Jos é Antonio Co derch . Ba rcelona: Bel loch
Berger, J. (197 9). Pig e arth. London: Pan theon books
Bronner, E. (1936 ). Element os de la arquitectu ra rural en la isla d e Ibiza. AC
document os de a ctividad contempo ránea, 21, 1 5- 23
Centell as , M. (2010). Los pueblos de colonizaci ón de Fernández del Amo. A rte,
arquitectura y urban ism o. Barcel ona: fundaci ón caja de arqui tectos
Fabregat, E. & L ópez, A. (200 8). El Pobl e Nou: l a darrera colonitzaci ó del delta d e l’Ebre .
Benicarl ó: Onada Edici ons
Flores, C. (1973). Arqui tectura popular española (5 vol) . Madrid: Ag uilar
Flores, C. (1979). La Españ a popular: raí ces de u na arquitectura . Madrid: Ag uilar
Lejeune, J.F. (20 10). Th e Modern and the Medi terranean i n Spai n. I n Lejeune, J. F. &
Sabatin o, M. (Ed), Modern Archite cture and the Medit erranean. V er nacul ar dialogues
and contested id entities. London: Routl edge
Monclu s, F.J. & Oyón, J.L. (1988) . Políticas y técni cas en la ordenaci ón del espaci o rural.
Madrid: Centro de publicaci ones ( MOPU)

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The text is divi ded into two sections: the first part consi sts on a series of general
consid erations, by way of intr oduction. The second part i s a large block of
exampl es. The first three chapters of part one ar e actually thr ee different
int roductions from three different perspectives: the fi rst dea l s with the bas is of
primi tive architecture – rel ations with transhuma nce, sedent ary lifestyle,
agri cu lture, etc… The second talk s about cli mate and its influence on
archi tectural solutions to those probl ems studi ed in the previous secti on. T he
thi rd deals w i th the basic element s that make up the housi ng under the above ,
incl uding its practical and symb olic im portance.
After these considerati ons (only 3 0 pages out of 25 0) Sacriste focuses on th e
essentia ls. The fourth chapter is a claim of vernacul ar architecture as a
functi ona l standpoint, a prai se of the wisdom of traditions of different areas that
have been abl e to cho ose, through a com plex proces s of decanting (that Sacri ste
descri bes as a practical evolution) the best solution with the materials ava il ab l e.
Next, th e exampl es: 72 houses and 8 temples. The bul k comes f rom Asia ,
mai n ly from India (9 exampl es) but al so from Indonesia and Borneo (5), Chi na
(3) and Nepal (2). Simil arly numerous exampl es come from the M edi terranean
area, many in the African coast (8 between Egypt and T uni sia, and 3 more i n
Morocco) and others i n Eur ope, being Spain (7) Ital y (4) and France (4) are the
most studi ed. South America is represented by Argentina, Colombia and Mexico,
wi th 3 bu ildi ngs per country. Other areas are less well represented, as there’s
only one buil d i ng in large ar eas such as C entral Afri ca, Japan, the U.S., Canada
or Russia. T hese buil dings are precisely detail ed with f l oo r plans, elevati ons,
sections and often photogra phs of both the i nhabited house and the constructi on
process – th is bei ng an issue to which he devotes many schol ar ly not es.

Examples i n Egyp t and Indi a
To understand the way Sacriste focuses his studies we should go into detail of
some of them. The case of mud houses of Aswan ( Sacriste 1986 , p. 126), in
southern Egypt, is among the most interesti ng ones. Sa cri ste pl aces it, in his
handbook , imm ediately after a house in C am berai, in the Mediterranean island

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272
of Ibiza, about which he emp hasi zes that the wall structure supports " a f lat roof
on wooden beams " (Sacriste 1986 , p. 124). The house bears a certain kinship
wi th the houses of Aswan, al though these are cover ed with vaulted ceiling s –
Sacri ste’s i ntention i s obvi ous l y to com pare the two.

Figure 2. Bu ildin g a vaul t. (Sacriste 198 6, p. 126. Ori ginal
by H. Fathy)

The inf ormation Sacriste giv es on the building of the vaul ts of these houses is
al most enough to b uil d them: " These a dobe vaults are built without using
formwork. [...] The mixture is of soil and straw, and both the walls and the
vaults are fin ished in plaster. [.. .] The thic kness of the do me is 20 cm. at least,
and it is supported by walls of 50 to 60 c m . wide”. He also states that “v aults
are of par abolic sha pe. The vaul t begin s on a h eader wall, where the first
courses ar e placed inclined to improve adh erence, since the mix ture employed is
clay " (Sacriste 1986, p. 126 ) . T he i mages accom panying this descrip tion a re, i n
additi on to those of the house studied, t he ones Hassan Fath y took while his
Gourna market was built. It is, moreover, im ages and stud i es that had already
incl uded i n Sacri ste vaul ted Housing , published in 1977.

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Figure 3. A ti le vault in a building i ncluded in Sa criste’s
“Viviend as con bóvedas ”: the Wrigh t House ( M. Goldman , H.
Ramos and J. Erbin. Buenos Ai res, 1971)

Figure 4. Keral a Houses. (Sacri ste 1986 , p. 13 5)

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Another i nteresting example i s the one of the vernacula r houses of Kerala, a
provi nce in southern India. Sacriste locates his analy sis immedi ately after the
one of the Bal inese v ill age, whose houses are somehow simila r to those i n
Keral a: light we ight st ructur es, leaf and str aw covers, etc. The two cases differ in
several point s, from their strategies for natur al ventilati on to their structural
systems, of which Sacriste states, in the case of Bali , that bam boo is used and
" tied and held by palm fiber, discarding all kinds of nails " (Sacri ste 1986 , p.
132 ), while in Keral a larg e Jackfruit Tree timber trusses ar e used to cover the
buildi ng, with " all connections m ad e with vine f iber " (Sacriste 1 9 86 , p. 1 34).

Figure 5. Traditi onal timber roof in K erala.

In addi tion to inf ormati on on geometry or constr ucti on Sacriste incl udes here, as
in many other cases, data on ritual uses, always wi th the intenti on of justifyi n g
the solutions seen in plans and elevations. On the gabl es he stands, for
exampl e, that " the o ne that faces the street is covered with an elaborate grid,
while the symmetrica l, on the west, doesn ’t " ( Sacri ste 1986, p. 134 ), implyi n g
that this elaborati on i s representati ve ra ther than str ictl y functional. O n the
desig n of the plant he states that " only peop le from the same socia l stratu m can

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sit in the central roo m . All oth er visitors ha ve to wait in the gall ery, m ostly when
it comes to m er chants who are on busines s " (Sacriste 1986, p. 134), willing to
give an expl anation to the d istr ibution that goes beyond the m ere hyg rotherm al
buildi ng perf ormance.
Sacri ste is highlighting, w i th these notes, several aspects that appeared in his
int roductions, wh i ch are essential to the way he underst ood vernacul ar
archi tecture. On one hand there is the fact that the separati on, in these
archi tectures, betw een ri tual functi on, constructi ve function and architectural
functi on is practicall y im poss ibl e to make. Cultu re and space form a whole that
can ha rdly be justified only from a techn ical po i nt of view. T o underst and the
enti re bui lding i t i s n ecessary then, using Cassirer’s expression, to "get other
eyes to look." And secondl y, Sacriste shows that vernacula r archi tecture can
respond to simil ar environm ents and similar probl ems with d ifferent solut ions –
that is, although these architectur es resp ond adequatel y to the demands of a
pl ace and cu lture, many oth er sol utions can wor k simil arly well.
In what comes to history and anthropology , it i s very i nteresting to evalua te the
di stance Sacriste established w i th the subject of study. Obvi ousl y he not a
theoreti cal anthropologist, as he personall y visited the sites, and even used the
soluti ons he studied, rai sing buildings inspi red in vern acular architectures. But
he does not feel obligated to fully integrate into th e societi e s he visited t o
understand some deep details of buildi ng s, preferring to set his focus from a
di stance technique, p erformi ng a neutral f i eld work focused on th e practi cal
condi tion of the bu ildings, but explaining some of its solutions, where necessary,
from th e perspectiv e of society or hi story.

3. Conclu sions. A rchitect ure, history a n d soci ety
The interfa ces between di sc ipli nes are often fertile areas. Architectu re, history
and anthropology, areas of knowledg e that rarely come i nto contact, share a
common interest in v ernacul ar a rchitectu re, a field wh i ch i s enhanced when
these disci p li nes they l eave thei r independence and al low contact between th e

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approaches of different scholar s. Works on vernacul a r architecture are always
more interesti ng whe n the authors are aware of all these d isci plines, and are
therefore able to understand the architectu re (their locati on, shape,
constructi on) in rel ation to hi story and socia l structur es.
Studi es on vernacul ar architectu re are so more int eresting the more they mak e
us understand the import ance of social organization in the producti on of
materi als, and of those materi als i n the constructi on of a building; the more they
are able to detect the influence of certain histori ca l events in the design of a
facade; the more the y can understand that architectur e can also strik e back and
modi f y soc i a l structures; that archi tecture can, to some ext ent, also mould
hi story, and not only exist a s an effect of it (Ol iv er 2 003). Anglo-Saxon studi es,
generall y very connected wi th anthropology (in which the knowl edge of history
and cultu re is as important as it is the object studi ed, archi tecture in this case)
are the best exam ples of thi s form of add ressing v ernacular archi tecture.
Houses and templ es is not exactly a canoni ca l mu l t idi sc ipli na ry study. It is more
the manual a practical architect; practical but also travell er , educated, ab l e to
understand that the li mits of the fi e ld he studied go beyo nd the scope of
archi tecture. But a rchitect in the end, offering h i s own view on some
paradi gmatic cases of worldwi de vernacula r architecture. The emphasis of
Houses and Templ es is in architectural plants, elevati ons and sections, whi ch
Sacri ste alm ost al ways explai ns from a technical point of v i ew: it i s the static
probl ems, the protection against moisture or the cross ventila t ion systems what
justif y many of the solutions studied. However, histor y and s ociety are very
present in h i s speech. M any of the soluti ons he refers to allude to historical or
cultu ra l reasons that may justify many architectu ral dec isions: " Given that
negative spirits travel in straight lines into the house, as in China , a low wall is
placed in front to prevent direct entry " (Sacriste 1986 , p. 132), says in h is study
of the h ouses i n Bali .

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So, what kin d of book i s House s and Tem ples?
Beyond its rela tionship with other disci plines, it is c l ear that Houses and Temples
is, a s m enti oned a bove, a hand book designed for teachi ng. Its ma in intention i s
to display and make availabl e to students and professi onals the huge catalogu e
of technical solutions provid ed by vernacular architectu re. Sacriste himsel f used,
as mentioned, many of these solut i ons i n hi s building s. The i nt enti on of those
notes on hi storical or anthr opological a spects accomp anyi ng plans and el evations
is to m ake c l ear which are the el ements of housi ng or tem pl es plants a nd
eleva tions that do not answer to the logi c of architecture, urban pla nning or
constructi on. These are not just schol arly notes on remote cultu res, but also a
way of keeping distance with the reasons for building certain architectural
element s.
However, Sacriste’s intenti on includin g these notes on hi story and anthropol ogy,
these reading s that go beyond the strictly archi tectural, is twofold. On the one
hand, he wishes to make clear wh i ch elements or soluti ons h ave a technical
justifi cat i on; to c l ean, somehow, the magic, religion or tradi tion included in the
buildi ng. But, no l ess patent, he wishes to clarify that alth ough most vernacul ar
archi tectures fi t suitably to the envir onment, there is no such thi ng as a list of
uni que id eal solutions, but many options that can be successfully combined ; that
there are many archi t ectural variants that can be i mplemented in one ar ea, and
that histori cal and cultura l factors can’t help being involved, along with technical
ones, i n that variety .

Reference s
Dieste, E. (200 5) Técni ca y subdesarrol lo. Eladio Dieste 143-1996 , p. 259 - 266 . Sevill e,
Consejería de obras públ icas y transport es.
Kal emker ian , M. (1976) Nueva s instal aciones para el Arsenal de la Armad a. Informes d e
la Construcci ón 284, p. 91- 98 . Madri d, CSIC- IETCC.
Larran, E. (2007) Eduard o Larran: Arquitectura Moderna en el Noroeste Argent ino .
Buenos Ai res, Cedoal.
Mani aque, C. (2009) Le Corbusier and the Maison s Jaoul . Nueva York , Princeton
Archit ectural Press.

Juli án García, Houses and T empl es: A us ef ul su rvey
278
Marigl iano, F. (2003) El Institu to de Arquitectura y Urbani smo de Tu cumán . Madrid.
Escuela Té cnica Superi or de Arquitectura d e la Uni versidad Politécni ca de Madrid.
Oliver, P. (2003) Dwelli ngs. The vernacula r house wo rldwide . London, Phai don Press.
Sacriste, E. ( 1961) Char las a principian tes . Bu enos Aires, Edi torial Uni versitari a.
Sacriste, E. ( 1962) Hu ellas de edifi cios . Bu enos Ai res, Edi torial Universitari a.
Sacriste, E. Ke chichi an, P. y Macki ntosh, G. ( 1977) Viviend as con bóvedas . Buenos Ai res,
G7 .
Sacriste, E. ( 1986) Casas y t emplos . Bu enos Ai res, Secreta ría de Extensi ón Uni versitaria
de la Uni versidad de Buenos Ai res.
Tomlow, J. (199 9) La bóveda tabi cada y el nacimient o de la cerámi ca armada. Las
bóvedas de Guastavino en América , 209 - 221 . Madri d, I nsti tuto Juan de Herrera.
Vásquez, C. (20 01) La Casa Erráruri z de Le Corbu si er. Cronologí a del proyecto. AR Q
num. 49, Diciemb re 200 1, 66- 69 . San tiago, Uni versidad Católi ca de Chil e.

Author id entificati o n
Julián Garcí a Muñoz , B.S. Univ ersidad Politéc nica de Madri d, 1994 , B.A. Unive rsidad
Autónoma de Madrid , 200 3 , Ph.D. Un iversidad Politécnica de Mad rid, 2009 . Professor
García is a bu ilding engin eer and historian of c onstruction. Sinc e 2000 he has been an
associate pr ofessor of Constructi on at IE Unive rsity. He con ducts resear ch on the
mechanics and behavior of hi storical structur es, with a prima ry focus on the collapse of
masonry structu res. Since 2002 professor García co operates with a Spanish NG O,
Fundación V icente Ferrer, in thei r building s under constructi on in Indi a. His teaching
interests include globaliz ation of construction in dustry, structu ral design , history of
construction and sustainab le construction. Selected Pub lications : 1. García, J. Grau, J. y
Martín, C. “La bóv eda del aljibe d el castillo de J adraqu e”. In Acta s del Sépt imo Congres o
Nacional d e Historia de la Const rucción. Instit uto Juan de H errera. Madr id, 2011. 2.
García, J. y Lo sada, J.C. “Mod ern Shastras”. In Proceedings of th e Third International
Congress on C onstruction History. Cottbu s Universi ty. Cottbus, 2009 . 3 . Diez-Past or, C;
Arroba, M; Alañ ón, P; García, J. y Grau, J. “Ligh t as a Symbolic Definer of Space s in
Romanesqu e Architecture”. In LichtKonzepte In der vormodernen A rchitektu r. Deut sches
Archäologisch es Institut . Berlin, 2009. 4. Garc í a, J. y Grau, J. “Technolo gical and
Industrial Col onisation”. In Pr oceedings of the S econd International Congress on
Construction Hi story. Qu ee ns’ C ollage. Cambrid ge University, 2006. 5. García, J.
Maderas – Apunt es de Construc ción. Editorial Vi sión Net. Mad rid, 2003.

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UNDAGI’S SUSTAIN ABLE ARCHITEC TURE
Yenny Gu nawan
Universi tas Katolik Parahy angan, Parahy an gan Catholi c Uni versity, Bandung,
Indonesia

Abstract
In In donesia, t he f oundation of archite ctural edu cation is d etached f rom the v ernacular
tradition. As a resu lt, this paper puts forw ard th at t he archi tecture bu ilt are n ot
sustainabl e, esp ecially if we d efined th e w ord sustainabl e not o nly the ren ewable
resources or the conti nuity of the envi ronment in the realm of t echnology, bu t als o as
the continuit y of a cul ture. Hence, this p aper p roposes t hat it is important to lea rn
vernacular tr adition of a pl ace an d adap t it t o t he contemporary wor ld. This stu dy
analyzes how an un dagi – a Balin ese master builder- b uilt in the past and in t he p resent.
An interview with the Balinese u ndagi is condu cted to show hi s v ernacular kn owledge
and h ow he sees the chan ging world of Bali. T h e r esult of the i nterview is exa mined in
conjunction with lit erature research on t he vernacul ar t radition in Bali which sees
buildi ng as an extensi on of man a s well as a mic rocosm of p art of th e whol e
environment. In th e en d, case study of a h otel in Bali, designed by th is Balin ese un dagi,
will be evaluat ed to sho w the sustai nability of how h e thinks about Balinese ar chitectur e
in the d eveloping world . Eventually, this pap er demonstrat es that sustainable
architecture can be c re ated by continuin g the verna cular knowled ge of ‘making ’
architecture. In the end , hopefully this paper will contribute to t he u nderstanding of
sustainabl e architectu re that is a chieved by designing relations between v ernacular
tradition, the d eveloping envir onment and the changin g culture.

Keywords: ve rnacu lar tradi tion, sustai nable culture, undagi

Introductio n
In Indonesia, the first school of archi tecture was De T echnich e Hoogeschool te
Bandung (now known as Bandung ’s Insitute of Technol ogy) i n West Java. It is
b uilt in 1 92 0’s by the Dutch government due to the incr easing needs of engineer
in Indonesia . Hence, the education model or the curr i cu lum was derived from

Yenny Gunawan , U ndagi’s sust ainable architecture
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the European knowl edge of archi tecture 1 , not from Indonesia’s vernacul ar know-
ledg e of archi tecture . Few of Indonesi an finest young man lear ned archi tecture
at that school . E ventuall y, after Indonesi a’s independence in 1945, they became
archi tects and/or l ect urer of architecture. As a result, the architecture built (be-
fore and after indepe ndence) were Europe an buil dings – brick, thick walls w ith
small w indows openings-, and not vernacul ar archi tecture of Indonesia – wood,
thi n walls, sometimes, no walls- . Through the e merg ence of archi tecture schools
across Indonesi a, th e European education model spreads until now. These
schools a dopt th e curriculum, enhanc i ng the gap (Fig .1).

Figure 1. Medit er ani an style h ouse built next to Rumah
Gadang in Padang Pariaman, West Su matra. Ironical y, th e
constructi on workers were proud to say that th e d rawings
came from Java Island . Source: Gun awan, Y. 2 008.

The ph enomenon above occurs i n ma ny parts of Indonesi a. As a resul t, Indone-
sia’s vernacular architecture is i n the edge of extincti on. Eventually , this pro-
bl em draws attenti on to some archi tecture academicia ns and practiti oners i n In -

1 The knowledge derived from its history an d theory of Greek and Rome architecture, to Re-
naissance, Baroque, Modern movements, etc. as well as B eaux Arts and Bauhaus education model.

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envi ronment and the spati a l orientati on , th e North South orientati on a lso appa-
rent in the construction stages of the resor t, stage 1 is the devel opment of the
North lobb y, restaurant and villas (compl eted), and stage 2 is the devel opment
of the South lobby , restaurant and v illas (now conducted). In doing so, the
undagi sustai ned Balinese culture i n Royal PitaMaha resort.

Figure 3. Mai n ci rcu lation th at d ivides the Nort h and South
vill as, and th e nat ah i n the mi ddle, acti ng as entran ce .
Source: R oyal Pita Maha si te plan, 2010 .

Furtherm ore, in the natah, he places huge statue of Goddess (see Fig 4). The
statue not only emphasis the main entrance for the visitors/guests but also re -
presents the story of the place. The local peopl e believ ed that ‘many centuri es
ago, a holy man called Maharsi M ark andhy a embarked upon a spi ritual journey
of enlig htenment that led h im to Mount Agung in Bali… Further expl oration of
thi s v i cinity led M ahar si to the villag e of Kedewatan, a name origi nating from the
Bali nese words Dewa meaning the God. It is an area greatl y revered by local s as
it is believed to be blessed by the Gods’ (from the int erview). Furthermore, when
the Maharsi found a river, he sees Goddesses of great beauty and he named the
river, Ayung r iver ( the river of beauty). T he story is also carved in the walls of
the North Lobby and Restaurant (see Fig. 4). In thi s way , the undagi skill fu lly
combi nes two important identity of the site, as well as the unique atmosphere of
the touri st that stayed i n the resort.
North Villas

South Villas

natah

Yenny Gunawan , U ndagi’s sust ainable architecture
288

Figure 4. (l eft) carved story of Maha rsi an d (right) the natah
wit h Goddess statue. So urce : Gunawan, Y. 2010.

The third aspect of sustai nable architecture is economy. To enhance people’s
economy, th e undagi did three things. T he first is creating connections w ith the
surroundi ng villages by designing three street juncti ons between mai n
circul at i ons of the resort and the roads to t he Bali nese villages (see Fig. 5). By
creati ng thi s infrastructure, the undagi allows easi er access to the vi llage, and
eventuall y, it will affect th e devel opment of vilager’s econom y. The second on e is
rela ted to the constructi on workers whom are al so the peopl e from surroundi ng
villag es, except the workers for th e thatch roofs wh i ch requi re greater sk ill s.

Figure 5. St reet jun ctions between ma in ci rcul ation to the
resort and to th e vill ages. : Gunawan, Y. 2010 .

And last but not least are the hotel worker s. T he main principle of recrui tment of
the resort is the peopl e surrounding the resort. Instead of one mont h usual
trai n ing for professional , they conduct five-months traini ng for the people,
whether they are element ary graduates, a high schoo l graduate s or holds a
to village

to resort

to village

to resort

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bachel or degree. Each degree will be given a suitable positi on in the resort. As a
resul t, becaus e many hotels’ workers are Balinese, then the ritu als of Balinese
everyday li fe are conducted in the resort. It can be seen in the offering s i n fr ont
of each villa s’ main d oor. In this way, the undagi participates in the creation of
sustai nable architecture in the economic health and v iability in the rea lm of
touri sm.

Conclusio n
From the results and discussion above, this paper shows that the undagi
successful ly achieves the goal of Tri Hita Kara na : th e hap pi ness, by keepi ng the
bal ance between God, the environment, and the people inv o lved: the
constructi on work ers, the hotel workers, the vill agers, and the tourist. And
furtherm ore, by keeping the bal ance, the undagi has contr i buted to a susta i nabi-
lity i n the Balinese cultur e throug h architectu re.
Thus, this paper puts forward that it is import ant to ‘teach’ verna cul ar
knowl edge of architecture in the education of an architect . By continuing
vernacul ar knowledg e of making a rchitectur e, an archi tect can contrib ute to the
creati on of a sustai ned envi ronment and culture; a balance between
envi ronment, human cultu re and eco no mi c system in this developi n g and
gl obalizing world.

Acknowledgem ent
The author would li k e to thank Ir. Wy Alit – the project archi tect of Royal Pita
Maha hotel - for sharing the drawi ngs, ex p lai n ing the materi als’ chosen, and th e
constructi on process of the hotel. T he author also woul d like t o thank Mr. Ida
Bagus Al it who had ca refully expl a ined the genera l concept of managem ent and
operati on of the hotel . T he author would like to give a special thank s to the
undagi : Drs. Tjokorda Gde Raka Sukawat i, Ec. MM for the hospi tality and the

Yenny Gunawan , U ndagi’s sust ainable architecture
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willingness to share the thoughts. And last but not least, tha nks to Ir. Alwin
Sombu S. , MT. f or hi s network to Royal Pita Maha resort.

Reference s
Ali t, I Ketut i n Jurnal Permuki man Natah vol. 1 no. 2. (Ju ne 2003). Kinerja Undag i dalam
Pembangun an Rumah . Udayan a University; ejournal .unud.ac.i d , accessed Jul y 2011.
Davison, Juli an & Bruce Granqu ist (1999) . Balin ese Architectu re . Hongk ong: Peripl us
Editi ons Ltd.
He ath, K ingston, W.M. (2 009). Verna cular Archi tecture and R egional Design: Cultural
Processes and Envi ronmental Response . UK and USA: Elsevier Ltd.
Oliver, Paul (2003). D wellings: The Verna cular House World Wide . London an d New
York: Phai don Press.
Oliver, P au l (2006) . Built to Meet N eeds: Cultu ral Issues in V ernacular Archit ecture .
Oxford : Archit ectural Press, an El sevier i mprint .
Ramseyer, Urs and Tisna, I Gusti Raka Panj i (ed.)(2001 ). Bali Living in Two Worlds .
Basel: Museum d er Kul ture n and V erlag Schwa b e & Co. AG, Bas el.
Eisemen, Fr ed B., Jr. (199 5). Bali: Sekala an d Niskala: Volu me II: Es says on Society ,
Tradition and C raft (3 rd editions) . H ongkong: Peri plus Edi tions Ltd.
Sassy, Paol a (2006). St rategies for Sustainab le Architectu re . London and Ne w York:
Taylor & Fran cis.
Steele, James (2 005). Ecological Ar chitecture: a Critical History . London : Thames &
Hudson Ltd.
Willi amson, Terry, Radf or d, Ant ony, and Bennet s, Helen (2003). Un derstan ding
Sustainab le Architecture. London an d New York: Tayl or & Franci s.

Author id entificati o n
Yenny Gu nawan , Gained Bach elor Degr ee in Architecture i n 200 0. Worked at
architecture pu blishing company from 2000 -20 02 due to hig h interests in archite ctural
research and writi ng. D ecided to pu rsue an MA in International Stu dies on Vernacular
Architectu re at Oxfo rd Brookes University , UK , under sup ervision Prof. P aul Oliver, and
graduated on 2004 . On returning to Ind onesia, together with 3 other friends, established
her own archit ecture firm from 2004 - 2008 , and actively r esearch and write on
architectural is sues . B ecome a freelanc e architect and a full time lecturer in architecture
department sinc e 2008 till now . Has present ed papers in some national and int ernational
seminars.

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THE SIGNIFI CANCE OF SURVEYS IN TH E PRESERVATION AND
RESTORATION OF THE VERNA C ULAR A RCHITECT URE. THE CASE OF
CYPRUS
Elena Lim bouri Kozakou , Independent Researcher , Cy prus
Maria Philokyprou , Department of Arch itecture, Uni versity of Cyprus

Abstract
In 196 4, The Chart er o f V enice launch ed a g reat in terest in ve rnacular ar chitecture i n
many European countr ies as i n Article 1 the concept o f an h istoric monu ment was
expanded not only to t he single architectural work but also t o ru ral s ettings. In Cyprus,
th is interest was proven by the i nitiation of surveys on th e v ernacular architectu re of th e
island. The first one wa s carried out i n 1966, when a specialist from Gr eece was call ed to
carry out a surv ey of tr aditional building s and proposals for thei r preserv ation . She spent
a month in th e villages of Cyp rus inventoryin g characteristic typ es of rural traditi onal
dwellings. In 19 72, an other mi ssion from Athens P olytechnic came t o Cyprus to stud y
the island ’s vernacula r archit ecture. Thi s was r epeated in 19 73, b ut a year late r thi s
mission was int errupted b ecause of the T urkish invasion of Cyp rus. Afte r the
establishm ent of an i ndependent sect or re spon sible for the protecti on of folk a rt wi thin
the fram ework of t he D epartment of A ntiquiti es in 1982, an d the enact ment of th e Town
Plannin g Law of 19 72, many vernacular bu ildings in rural settlements we re d eclared as
monuments or listed b uilding s. Ad ditionally, traditional settlements were charact erised
as ar eas of particular interest, and th e necessity for su rveying these buildi ngs was
imperative. Recently the importanc e of identif ying vernacular bui ldings has increased
and this ident ification n ecessitates knowledge n ot onl y of the architectural value s an d
the fabric of the struc tures but also of their role and contri bu tion t o the history of
society. Thus, the meth odology of surveying verna cular dwellings and the concept for
their study h ave been chang ed with the use o f more sophisticat ed m ethods and at t he
same time with th e c onsideration of t hese buildin gs as part of th e livin g heritage and an
important facto r towards the future sustainabl e development.

Keywords: Ve rnacular Archi tecture, Surv eys, Cyprus

Elena Li mbouri-Kozak o u, M aria Philoky prou, The signi f icanc e of surveys in the preservati on and
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292

Introductio n
What could be consid ered an architectura l monument had different
int erpretati ons through time. It could mean a pil e of stones, a bu il d ing, a
structur e, a site of excepti onal beauty, and so o n. As Aloi s R iegl defined it “I n its
oldest and most original sense a monum ent is a work of ma n erected for the
specifi c purpose of k eeping particular hu man deeds o r desti nies (or a complex
accumul ation thereof) aliv e and present in the consciousness of future
ge nerati ons (Ri egl, 1996 , p.69).
The i nterest i n monuments goes very far back in t ime. It can be said that it
began as soon as the conceptions of past and future became clear to human
int elligence (Brown, 190 5, p.12). In some cases, such as in t he case of
deli berate monument s, it is easier to identify a structure as a monument since
its commemora tive value is pointed out to us by its former creator (Riegl, 1996 ,
p.72 ). What happens, thoug h, in the c ase of the str uctures th at were not
desig ned by the ir c reator to commemo rate somethi ng in particular? Such
structur es were sim ply erected to fulfil some parti cular needs of their own, and
were not int ended to leave their artistic or cultu ra l value to future generati ons
such as i n the case of vernacula r architectur e.
It is generally accepted that the Charter of Venice in 1964 launched a great
int erest i n vernacular archi tecture in many European countries. This resul ted
from th e im pact of Arti c l e 1 that extended the concept of a monument not onl y
to a single architectu ral work, but also to t he urban or rural sett i ng in wh i ch the
evi dence of a particular civiliza tion, a significan t deve l opment or a historic event
can be identifi ed. Article 1 also states that the concept of a monum ent d oes not
embrace only great works of art but also more modest works of the past that
have g ained cultural s ig nificance wit h the passi ng of time.
The rapid developm ent wh i ch Cyprus experienced a fter the Second World War
and the economi c boost which the isla nd had since its independence in 19 60,
brought rapid changes in the countrysi de. The i ntroduction of electri c ity, new
means of transport and the faciliti es of modern life had a radical change in the
tradi tional archi tectur e and the tradi t i onal way of life. In a short peri od of time

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new constructi on ma teri als and techni que s have shaped to day’s imag e of our
towns, wh ich is so different from the pa st.
Sim ultaneousl y, w i th all these rapi d changes in Cyprus, the interest in
vernacul ar architecture was also launched. Thi s is evident by the ini tiation of
surveys of the vernacular archi tecture of the island . In order to app recia te
somethi ng, the first s tep i s to understand it . When i t com es to architecture, the
best way to understand a buildi ng is to survey it. In th i s way, one understand s
how its e lement s bond together, what purpose it serves, why it was erected in
the parti cu lar location, how an indivi du al building is related to the rest of the
envi ronment.

Surveying i n C yprus
The fir st survey of the vernacul ar architecture of Cy prus was carried out by the
archi tect Vanna Ch adj i m i chali. She cam e from Greece in 1966 within the
fram ework of the programm e for offeri ng techni ca l support from the Greek
Ministr y of Foreign Af fair s to the Department of Antiqui ties of Cyprus. She spent
a month in the vill a ges of Cy prus inventory i ng char acteristic typ es of rur al
tradi tional dwellings. The drawi ngs that she prepared were most ly p lans because
her major interest was to analyse the typology of the Cypriot traditi ona l
dwelli ngs since this subject had not been inv est ig ated in detail before. Her
inv entor i es are kept in the Photogr aphi c Archiv e of the Department of Antiquiti es
of Cyp rus.
In an arti cle that she wr ote whil e she was i n Cypr us, publi shed i n the Report of
the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus in 1967, she expressed her own opini on
about th e significance of the sur vey of the verna cul ar architectu re:
The benefits from surveyi n g a bu il d i ng are not only restri cted to th e
understand ing of the buildi ng itself. The survey of the vernacula r
archi tecture and through it the identifi c ati on of the typol ogies within
certai n geographi c r egi ons, the i r comparison with typologies in other
locati ons and the detection of relations between them, can reveal

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inv a luabl e inf ormation about the ori gin of a race, its history and the
evoluti on of its ar chitectural des i gns.
The survey and the study of the vernacula r architecture of a countr y
becomes mor e vital in the case where its ori g ins are lost through time and
the remai ns that have survived do not allow us to restore the evoluti onary
conti nuity of the various types of housing, or interpr et its or igin and the
int eractions. When di scussi ng Greek architectu re, including the
archi tecture of Cypr us, due to the conservati ve attitud e of the people, the
hi storical and g eographi cal fa ctors contr ibute to the p erpetuati on of types
of constructi on, then the study and the survey of the vernacul ar
archi tecture i s i nvaluabl e for i nterpreting and re stori ng th e history of
housing and architectur e in general, since the em ergence of the first
buildi ng up to current forms ( Ch adj imi chali 196 7, p.87).
The fact that the Cypr iot house is an evolution of the anci ent Greek house with
the subsequent amendm ents and additions for bett er li ving condi tions of i ts
resid ents, is a concl u si on that George Papacha raram bous, a Cy pri ot teacher an d
folkl or i st, tried to present in his book titled “T he Cypriot house”, the f i rst book
on th e vern acular architecture of the i sland publi shed i n 1968. In th is book, the
pl ans of d ifferent types of houses from several villages are being presented
(Fig. 1). As Papacha ralambous stated (Papacha ral a mbous, 2001, p.1) he tried
not to giv e a descr iption of the hous e with regards to its typology or
constructi onal materials, but he intend ed to investig ate the house from a
sociol og i cal aspect, trying to exa mine its evolution and sym bo lism .
The surveys showe d that the basic type of house in Cypri ot vernacul ar
archi tecture is the m akryna ri (Cha dj imicha li 1967, p.91, Papachara l ambous
200 1, p.23, Ionas 2003, p.47 ), an e l ongated rectangul ar space (Fig.2 ), that its
wi dth wou l d not exceed three meters due to techni cal reasons, s ince the
avail able wooden beams ( volitzia ) were up to three meters long (NTUA 2003
Vol. 2, p17). In the co urse of time, a secon d volume identi ca l to th e original one
was added next to it. Openi ngs were created on the intermedia te wall so that

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the two spaces woul d communi cate, until the wall was eventually replaced by
two wooden posts tha t woul d carry a principal b eam.
The n ew type of h ousi ng which is created b y the consoli dation of two macrynari
and the abo li tion of the intermedi ate wall i s the so called dichoro
(Papacha ral a mbous 2001, p.26) . In some areas, the need for the creation of a
la rge un i f ied space a s well as the lack of timber, led to the repl acement of the
int ermedia te wa ll by a singl e stone arch ( kamara ) (F i g.2 ). T hi s type of dichoro is
al so known as a pala ti . Usually , the makry nari is covered by a flat roof and the
dichoro by a slightly incli ned roof.

Fig.1. Pl an of a Cypri ot h ouse i n th e vill age of Lemyth ou.
Source: Papacha ralambous 1968, pic.XXVI.

Elena Li mbouri-Kozak o u, M aria Philoky prou, The signi f icanc e of surveys in the preservati on and
restoration of th e verna cular archit ecture. The cas e of C ypru s.

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Fig.2. The ba sic typol ogies of Cyp riot houses. A. Macri nari,
B.Dichoro wi th wooden posts, C. Di choro wi th an arch &
pa rallel facade, D. Dic horo wi th an arch & perdendicul ar
facade. Sourc e: Ionas 2003, p.46.

In th e year s af ter 197 0, several m i ssions f rom the Nati onal Techni cal Universi ty
of Athens after the request of the Departm ent of Antiq ui ties came to Cyprus to
survey the vernacul ar architecture of the isl and. The first mission in 1973, was
led by the head of the School of Architecture, Prof. Demetris Konstanti n idi s. In
197 4, Prof. Stefanos Sinos led another mission which came to survey the
vernacul ar architecture of the island . Th i s was the chance for him to get
acquai nted w i th it, a nd in 1 97 6 he published the book ti tl ed “Review of the
Vernacul ar A rchitecture of Cyprus” (Si nos 1976).
Whil e carrying out the localisation, descripti on, preparation of plans and
classi ficati on of existi ng materi al, it was possible for Stefanos Sinos to put
forward proposal s for the preservati on of certain bu ildi ngs and complex es (Sinos
198 4, p.360). At the first stage, the Department of Antiqui t ies of Cyprus
concentrated all i ts efforts on the restorati on of indi vidual buil di ngs as we ll as
compl exes. At a second stage, the attenti on was shifted to the restorati on of

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received a Eu ropa Nostra award. Her mai n research int erests lie in the an alysis of the
vernacular a rchitecture, in sustainable dev elopment with r egard to buil ding materials
and bioclimati c design p rinciples of vernacula r architectu re and revitalizati on of building
environment.

Plácido Lizancos Mora, Evarist o Zas G ó mez, Lessons from two (contemporar y ) wide surveys on v ern acular
architectu r e an d tradit ional se ttlemen ts in Galici a and Astu rias (Spai n)
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TO BE CO NTINUED
LESSONS FRO M TWO (CON TEMPORAR Y) WIDE SURVE YS ON
VERNA CULAR ARCH ITECTURE AND TRAD ITIONAL SE TTLEMENTS IN
GALICIA AND ASTURIA S (SP AIN)
Pláci do Lizancos Mora, Evaristo Zas Gómez
Escola T écni ca Superi or de Ar qui tectura da Coruña / School of Architecture,
Corunna, Spain

Abstract
For a long time , managin g vernacular archit e cture has been a cul tural goal.
Just cultural reason s m ove d p eople t o tak e care of our vernacular ar chitecture. Now on ,
in Europe, econ omical crisis al so reinforces the nece ssity of reb uilding , i nstead of
buildi ng new dwellings. So a str ong effort is expected t o be develop ed in the next future
to implement sur veys to id entify, protect, pr eserve and share built herit age.
We p retend to e xpose i n our p aper how w e ma naged Geogra phical In formation Syst ems
(GIS) tools to make pos sible aff ording large scale surv eys an d what they can offer to its
users and the s ociety as a whol e regarding th e futre of our past.
Our surv eys Catál ogo d e los Núcl eos Ru rales d e Asturia s (2007) [Inve ntor y of A sturian
Rural Settlem ents] and Estudio do Habitat Rural de Galicia ( 2009) [Survey of Galician
Rural Habit at] we re b oth built over a databas e relat ed to m ore than 5,000 settl ements
each. This GIS su rveys, for the u se of A sturias and Galician governmen ts, ar e able to b e
explored in a lot of differe nt way s as we coul d imagine related to the presence of
vernacular archi tectures in th e territo ry: promotin g tourism activit ies, manag ing
ecological agricul ture, actin g in degraded areas , reusing tradit ional vi lla ges, etc.
Motivations b ehind these studies could seem differe nt, but as far as w e know, we
recognize th e same wo rkflow: a survey stage, an an alysis stage, and a pu blication stag e.
Data collecto rs start ed th e surv ey gathering t ogether inf ormation and co mpil e it in an
data sheet, u sing mobile devi ces. In th e an alysis stag e, a d omain expert examin es all
the informati on c ollected. Final ly, d uring the pub lication stage, the r esults of the stud y
are pu blished in in terfaces th at computers pr oduce automaticall y upon reque st of each
different “expl orer”.
Using GIS to survey vernacular archite cture and rural hamlets has allowed us
successfully to improve a wide variety of particul ar studies as i t is easy to overlap and
compare data with any other digit al informati on. In this way, an alysis process es and i ts
rich an d clea r visualiza tion help to fin d and un derstand dynam ics t hat wou ld not be
discovered usin g non GIS tools.

Keywords: ve rnacu lar archit ecture, rural settlements , GIS, Gal icia, Asturi as.

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1. Introduc tion
The terri tor i es of the n orthwest of the Iber ia n Peni nsula evoke bucoli c images.
Cosy vill ages in green meadows locat ed besid e a huge Atlant ic or at the feet of
beauti ful mountains are understood as part of our identi ty. But reality is not so
poeti c.
The countrysi de is actually under press ure. And this pressure , due to the
incr easing of popul ation or on the other hand because of depop ul ation , changes
the l andscape shape and threats vernacul ar architectu re.
In th is context, performing a cr iti ca l and speci a li zed research on verna cul ar
archi tecture must begin w i th a quest i on: WHAT ’S THE POINT NOWADAYS T O
SURVEY VERN ACULAR ARCHI TECTURE?
The answer is: to introduce int o a new rationali ty the components that today
draw the transform ations of the b uil t envir onmen t.
And know i ng this, we start sur veying .

2. Defi n ition and aims
The rati onalisation of the territory requires in f i rst term , knowl edge and
quantifi cation.
In this way, the survey of the rural habitat will look for the strengths that hurt
the countrysi de and its hamlets. A l so the survey will be able to look for still
avail able opportunities. And surely our research will advance which ways are
opened by these opportun ities. After th is research, authori ties, with the data
obtai ned, w ill have to defi ne the st rategy, the program m i ng and finally, the way
to act i n rural ar eas of the countr y.
In thi s way the informati on that we l ook for i s:
-To ident if y , evaluate and locate in the space the phenomen a due to habi tat
constructi on.

Plácido Lizancos Mora, Evarist o Zas G ó mez, Lessons from two (contemporar y ) wide surveys on v ern acular
architectu r e an d tradit ional se ttlemen ts in Galici a and Astu rias (Spai n)
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-To defi ne those sensations transmitted by buildings (vernacul ar or
contemporar y) to t he envi ronment in function of i ts characteri stics.
-Detecti on and location of the state of us e of the vernacula r real-estate park and
contemporar y constructi ons, identifyi ng abandonment , absence of use,
substand ard hou sing or bui lding s under process.
-Locati on of homogeneous zones in function of parameters such as: potent ial of
transform at i on, p ermanence of th e verna cul ar architecture, f armi ng activity,
accessib ility to a particul ar type of services, landscapes of outsta ndi n g natu ra l
beauty… wh i ch a ll ow imp lem ent ing actions.
-To draw conclusi o ns that convey s di agnostics and clearly spells out
recommend ati ons for the admi n i strations. Or open a proposal to make speci fic
studi es in areas or subjects rel ated to the identi f i ed aspects.

3. The Inv entory of Asturian Rural Settlements, IARS 1
Asturi as, with a total surface area of 10,60 3 .57 square kilom etres, is
characteri sed by the presenc e of hi gh mountai n s c lose to the coast and by a
la ndscape typical of the Atlanti c bioclimatic region. Admini strativel y it is divid ed
int o seventy-ei ght concejos which are subdivi ded i nto parroquias with its barrios
and aldeas , from now on haml ets.
This terr i tory, at the same ti me diff erentiated and diverse, is the raw materi a l of
the Asturias Natural Para dise, Asturias Para íso Natural , successful campai gn of
external promoti on of the Princip ado . Therefore, the para di se exi sts and is
inh abited by li ttle more than one mi llion peopl e (1,081 , 487 peopl e in 201 1), with
a density of 102 inhabitants by square k il ometre, s lightl y above the Spani sh
average.

1 Catálogo de los Núcleos Ru ral es de Asturias. Technical directors: José Antonio Fran co Taboada
and José González-Cebrián Tello, PhD architects. Coordinators: Plácido Lizancos Mora, PhD
architect, and Ev aristo Zas Gómez, architect. Budget: 240, 000 euros. Commissioned by Consejería
de Medio Ambiente, Ordenación del Territorio e Infraestructuras, Principado de Asturias [Ministry
of Environment, Regional Planning an d Infrastructure, Asturian Government]. Dat e of start: April
2006. Date of completion: January 2007.

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Figure 1. Detai l of Asturi as l andscape from t he ai r. Artedo
beach. ‘Th e authors’

3.1 The comm issi on
The pr oposal of the IARS, Inventory of Asturian Rural Sett l ements, i s a legal
manda te of the Asturi an P l anning and Land Act 2002 2 and is commi ss i oned to
the School of Architecture in Corunna 3 by the Asturian government 4 , signed in
April 20 06.
Every rural sett l ement i n Asturia s, altogether 5, 199 haml ets, is object of this
inv entory if recorded in th e l ocal land-use pl an.
The magni tude of the work and the urgency imposed by the comi ssioner, just
ni ne months, represent an unprecedent ed challenge for the School of
Archi tecture i n Corunna, a ll a terri tor i al pr egnancy.

2 Ley 3/2002 de Régimen de Suelo y Ordenación Urbanística del Principado de A sturias.
3 The only school of arch i tecture in the northwest of the Iberian Pen insula, http://www.etsa.udc.es
4 Special acknowledgement to Manu e l Carrero de Roa 4 , PhD archite ct an d coordinator of the
Inv ento ry on the part of the Asturian Govern ment as Jefe de Servicio de Ordenación Territorial y
Planeamiento del Gobierno del Principado de Asturias .

Plácido Lizancos Mora, Evarist o Zas G ó mez, Lessons from two (contemporar y ) wide surveys on v ern acular
architectu r e an d tradit ional se ttlemen ts in Galici a and Astu rias (Spai n)
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3.2 The Methodol ogy
We foll ow the compulsory instructi ons set by the Asturian gover nment in a legal
regul at i on 5 developi ng the criteri a, requir ements and condi t i ons for the invent ory
of the rural sett l ements as part of our methodology. This unusual document is
characteri sed by his ameni ty, rigour from the scienti fic po int of view, balanced
consid eration of la ndscape elements, cri tical approach, pedagogi cal vocation and
besid es it i ncorporates graphi c examples, a ra rity in the Spa nish l egal contex t.
The LARS has to tackl e the protection of the rural settlements as heritage
element s of the Asturia n cu l tural identity. The key objective is to preserve the
tradi tional morphol og ical characteristi cs of the habi tat, the formal structur es of
the tradi tional space, both buil t and empty, the la ndscape of the imm ed ia te
surroundi ngs and the environm ental quality of the rural areas. This protect i on
must be an efficient tool to add value to the hamlets i n Asturi as. The
devel opment has not necessaril y to do with their phys ical expansion. This was
im portant th en and even m ore now in thi s context of generalised economic
crisi s.
So four d ifferent l eve ls of pr otecti on are set to li st the r ural settlements:
-Grade 1: Those li ste d with the hi ghest level of protection. It appli es exc l usively
to the b est r ural se ttl ements since they present an intact archi tecture and
la ndscape framework or very mildly a ffected by buildings or other elements
erected si nce 1950 6 .
-Grade 2: To be listed w i th a high or medium protection. Grade 2A1 settlements
are those of high value, mildly altered and with reversibl e impacts. Grade 2A2
ones are those whos e values are merely environm enta l . And finally Grade 2B
appli es to settlem ents with rural conditions to be protected by the l ocal l and -use
pl an, as haml ets that lost its environment al value, have got architecture or other
element s of i nterest.

5 Resolución de la Consejería de Infraestructu ra y Política Territo rial April 30, 2003. BOPA June 04,
2003.
6 This date marks the end of the autarchy in Spain and the slight beginning of a period of
development that is going to leave a deep print in th e traditional rural territory.

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-Grade 3: To be consid ered by the local l and-use pla n, w ith some areas subject
to specifi c p reservati on. It i s of application to th ose haml ets whose i nterest
circum scr i bes to j ust a part of it or to well preserved ones wh ose surroundi ngs
or la ndscape framework have been i rrepara bly transformed by contemporary
buildi ngs or remark ab l e infrastr uctures buil t up since 1 950.
-Grade 4: Not to be listed and as ir reparably damag ed sett l ements mus t be
regul ated by the local land-use plan. It applies to new hamlets or those whose
origi na l conditions have been seriousl y transform ed in terms of dom inant
economi c acti v ity, morphol ogy or landscap e.

3.3 The executi on
A professi onal and efficient team is needed in accordance with the complexit y of
the work: sixty - fiv e 7 professors and schol arship students at the School of
Archi tecture i n Corunna.
The Governm ent of Asturias facili tates stati st ical data, 1:25000 maps and
1:500 0 aerial views that allow us to identify all the rural sett l ements and begin
the fir st and decisiv e phase of the i nventory, th e field wor k. At c oncentrati ng this
part of the work i n onl y two m onths, we get a valua b le overvi ew a nd an
unknown snapshot of the Ast urian r ural world in the summer of 20 06.
It is necess ary to take decisions on the diverse approach to the deli mitation
criteri a of rural settlements establi shed in the l ocal land-use p la ns. An extra
probl em turns up since statistical data do not necess ari ly correspond with these
deli mitations.
To tackl e the complexi t y of the field work, the territor y is divided into four zones
based in the logic of the muni c ipal limi t s: western, western-centre, eastern-
centre and eastern. In such a way that each one of these zones had a sim ilar
number of haml ets to study , affordable for two profess ors and twel ve students.

7 Four professors as directors an d coordinato rs, eight p rofessors as tutors, f orty -eight scholar
students for the field work, four scholarship students for the techn i cal office and a clerk.

Plácido Lizancos Mora, Evarist o Zas G ó mez, Lessons from two (contemporar y ) wide surveys on v ern acular
architectu r e an d tradit ional se ttlemen ts in Galici a and Astu rias (Spai n)
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And this is a necessary di vision of the terri tory according to dimensi on,
operati ng capacity and contr ol.
In order to guar antee the homogeneity of approach these work zones are
desig ned fr om the coa st to th e interior of the region, facing diverse contexts.
Of the pr evious ref lecti on on the r equirements of the regulati ons ari ses the
desig n of a data sheet, key element f or the success of th e fiel d work.
The data sheet i ncorporates i nputs giv en by the regi ona l administrati on and th e
ones to be f ill ed during the fi eld work such as:
-The id enti ficati on: The toponymy and the reference.
-The geography: Site coordinates, alt itu de , morphological unit, territorial unit,
orient ation, location, su rfa ce area, evol ut i on of the popul ation, dynamics of the
resid ential act i vity, a ppearance of the eco nomi c sector, l and -use regul ations and
envi ronmentally protected areas.
-The morphol ogy: nucl ear or multinuclear , radial physical structure, alveola r or
lin ear and i n term s of densi ty compact or open.
-The element s of the site: predominant materi a ls, typology of the domi nant
house, exi stence of public spaces, network of paths and roads, architectur es of
author, sing u lar trees and gardens, hórreos or paner as 8 and other ethnographi c
element s.
-The assessm ent of the b uil t areas and th e immedi ate l andscap e.
The data sheet i s complemented by pictures of the ha ml et and its surroundi ngs
taken from the outside and oth ers ta ken from the i nterior w i th speci al attention
to the si ngular elem e nts.
A first reflecti on, almost im medi a te, will a ward the rural settlement to be li sted
as a p roposed gra de.

8 Typical barns or granaries in Asturias.

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The resul ts of the field work are processed in the techn ical office where a GIS is
im p lem ented w ith th e maps, the database with the inputs from the data sheets
and th e photogr aphic materi al.
And this is a process subjected to an iterativ e check. We are speak ing of an
average of 60 alpha n umeri c data and 1 5 images b y each one of th e 5, 199 rural
settl ements to be consi dered.
Finall y , the dir ection and coordinati on of the work subjects the i nventory as a
whol e to a detailed revi ew in order to g uarantee the uniformi ty of appr oach and
the achievement of t he objectives. As a r esul t of th i s final and comprehensi ve
vi ew some r ural settlements are ei ther upgraded or downgraded.

3.4 The resul ts
The GIS, because of his numerous functi onalities, allows us to mana ge an
enormous vol ume of inf ormat i on, opening new ways of knowl edge on the rural
settl ements and the habitat of Astur i as.
Just wi th a click yo u can have al l the inform ation associated to a parti cular
haml et. Data and im ages can be obtai ned from the 1:25 000 maps or the 1:5 000
aeri al views.
We will be able to al s o have them ati c maps which enabl e us to vi ew the spatial
di stribution of the rural settlements w i th specifi c features or obtai n tables in
whi ch we r elate, for exampl e, the altitude and the di fferent grades of pr otecti on.
The proporti on of the ham lets listed by gra de is clear. Around 10 % of the
Asturi an rural settlements form part of the Grades 1, 2A1 an d 2A2. These are
the ones tha t ha ve preserv ed its rur ality in a better cond ition.
The largest group of hamlets, Grades 2B and 3, has imp ortant transform ati ons
but still preserve some i nterest and stands for 6 0% of the total .
The remaini ng 30% listed Grade 4 are t he rural settlements with no evident
vernacul ar features.

Plácido Lizancos Mora, Evarist o Zas G ó mez, Lessons from two (contemporar y ) wide surveys on v ern acular
architectu r e an d tradit ional se ttlemen ts in Galici a and Astu rias (Spai n)
312
The identifi cation of homogenous areas where several rural sett l ements of
int erest are concent rated has to b e consi dered as a n ad ded val u e.

Figure 2. IARS, Synt heti c map of the resul ts showin g rural
settlements l ocations an d its categori es.

These results show the transf ormati on of the terri tory accelerated by the
exti nct i on of the econom ic system that gave ori gi n to the traditional habitat, the
effects of the i ncreasing spra wl and suburbs and th e impa cts of new acti vities.

4. The Sur vey of G al icia n Rural Hab itat, SGRH 9
4.1 The backgr ound
The ini t ia tive to rea lise this work rises in 2006 from a group o f arch i tects and
computi ng 10 experts, all of them professors at Un iversidade da Coruña , that
propose to the Galician government surveying a territori al analysis focused in
determi n i ng the state of the G ALICIAN RURAL HABI TAT.
This i s an unprecedented investigativ e work in Galic i a. All pr i o r approach es to

9 Estudio do Habitat Rural de Galicia . Technical directors: Plácido Lizancos M ora, Xosé Lois
Martínez Suárez, PhD arch i tect s. B udge t: 320,000 euros. C o mmissioned by Consellería de
Vivenda. Xunta de Galicia [Ministry of Hou sing, Galician Government]. Date of start: Octo ber
2006. Date of completion: Jan uar y, 2009.
10 Th e group, headed by Nieves Rodríguez Brisaboa, has research interests in digital libraries, text
retrieval, compressed text retrieval, deductive databases an d spatial databases. Reference:
http://lbd.udc.es/ShowResearcherIn formation.do?lang=en_US&id =12

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- The apath y and i nd i fference aren’t the ri g ht ways of doing . Haml ets don´t draw
spontaneousl y to the best of possi ble desti nations, as in the past due to the
work of anony mous people. Today others are th e dy nami c vectors who are
responsi bl e of the ini tiative of the d evelopment .
- It’s worth less to turn to hyp er tradi tion to obtain right responses. The
appli ca tion of strategies, refractory to the contempora ry and g lobali sation
usuall y dr aws th e vernacul ar to Di sney l and. And that shou ld be the worst end.

Figure 5. Vi ew o f Ba rxa d e Lor (Monforte). An aban doned
settlement i n a marvellous l andscape. ‘The aut hors’.

Society must assume that now on we are going to live in the stage of the end of
the traditi on. So we must recognize the evidence of the loss of the vernacul ar
inh eritance.
In a Europe runni ng processes of inhuma n and unsustai nable urbani sat i on w i th
the built environment (and even wi th the people), surveying the vernacul ar
settl ements has gi ve n us the necessary keys to set th e q uali ty of lif e that
citi zens requi re today and ensure s our vernacul ar architecture TO BE
CONTINUED.

Plácido Lizancos Mora, Evarist o Zas G ó mez, Lessons from two (contemporar y ) wide surveys on v ern acular
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320

Author id entificati o n
Plácido Liz ancos Mor a (placid o.lizancos@udc .es), Ven ezuela, 1962 , PhD Architect , PhD
dissertation (2001) : Con temporary transfo rmation s of th e Galician vern acular house ,
Universidad e da Coruña, Spain . Postgraduat e on Architectu re for Developing Countries;
Universidad Politécnica de Mad rid, Spain . Senio r Professor on A rchitectural Theory and
Architectu ral Design since 1993 . S econd head o f A Coruña Ar chitecture School (2005 - )
Escola Técnica Su perior de Arquite ctura da Coru ña . www .udc.es/etsa

Evaristo Zas Gómez ( evaristo.zas@udc .es), Galicia, Spain , 1963 , A rchitect , Deg ree in
Architectu re , Sch ool of Architecture, A C oruña, Spain , 1991 . Po stgraduate on Regional
Plannin g, Universidad de Valen cia, 1993 . Postgrad uate on Regional and Urban Plann ing,
Universidad Carlos III, Madrid , Spain , 1994 . Pr ofessor on Archite ctural Theory an d
Architectu ral Design, Sch ool of Architecture, A Coruña, Spain, sin ce 1995 .

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ACTIVISM AND A GENDAS :
Rural ho using i n Portugal fr om t he 1930’s to t he 1950’s as s een by
architect s and a gronom ers
Madal en a Cunha M atos
Facul dade d e Arqui tectura - U n iv ersidad e Técnica de Lisboa. CIAUD / Fa cul ty of
Archi tecture – Technical U niversity of Lisbon. CIAUD, Li sbon , Portugal

Abstract
In t he inter-war period, a series o f studie s on r ural h ousing were undertaken in Italy, in
France and the UK , as well as by th e Society of Nat ions. From t he late 20’s, and
particularly in the 30’s, pub lic health officials, economist s, geograph ers an d pl anners
conducted sur veys and assessments of the rural habitat situation. In parall el, and
already since the lat e 19t h century, architects, histo rians, ethnographe rs,
anthropologi sts and a n umber of engineers h ad ta ken an acute in terest in th e formal an d
social sig nificance of bu ildings in rural settings. In this very rough cognitive an d
perceptual divide, betw een the more reformist and the more analytical or c ontemplative
professions, architecture occupies a singu la r positi on. It particip ates in b oth endeavour s ,
to transform an d advance t he wo rld and to appreciate and understa nd the world. Th is
paper’s subj ect is the contra sting n ature of the surv eys ar chitects an d agron omers
undertook in Portugal in t he core peri od of Salaz ar’s dictat orship. Th ey r eflect very
different points of vie w on the vanishi ng rurality of mid 20t h century in Portug al, ev en
though their ment ors b roadly sha re a political common ground . The p aper attempts to
pinpoint the simil arities an d the disp arities of th e 19 34-19 36 surveys realiz ed by
professors of agronomy of the Techni cal University o f Lisbon and the 1 955 -1960 surv ey
realized by a rchitects as sociated in thei r professional Un ion and under it s promotion.

Keywords: ve rnacular archi tecture, p rofessional bodi es, uni versity roles, ru ral habi tat

Two Survey s
In the signi f i cant part II of his knowl edgeable Etnografias Portuguesas (18 70-
197 0). Cultura Popular e Identidade Nacional , and in order to present a large
panoram a on the relati onsh i p between popul ar culture national identity in
Portugal , João Leal rightly uses the lens of the house, its i deal and its concrete

Madalen a Cunha M atos, Acti vism an d ag endas
322
situ ation. In fact, the concept of ‘Casa Portuguesa’ has permeated the
archi tectural debate of more than fifty years, from the last d e cades of the 19 th
century up to the 50’s; in fact, outs id e the professi ona l c i rcle it is still a powerful
model , a lb eit not subject to debate. The other two occurrences of the built world
gai n ing momentum in th e auto-imag e of the national community and in its
rela tion w ith the vernacula r are ini tiatives coveri ng the whol e of the country’s
terri tory i n m ainland Europe - continental Portugal - , and are i n i t ia tives of
specifi c group of pr ofessional s seek i ng a parti cular knowl edge.
In 1934, Professor Lima Basto and his substitu te and l ater to be foll ower,
Professor Henrique de Barros, published the first of a sequence of three volum es
dedi cated to a particular survey of buil t s tructur es, that of rural houses in the
whol e of conti nental Portugal . It was the Nor thern Portuga l ’s part of th e Survey
on Rura l Dwelli ngs ( Inquérito à Ha bitação Rural).
In 19 61, the SNA ( the Port uguese Archi tects' Union, S indi c ato Naci onal de
Arqui tectos) publi she d a two -vol ume work – Arquitectura Popular em Portugal
( Popular Architecture in Portugal) 1 - mainly organized by the archi tect Ke il do
Amaral comprising a survey on regional ar chi tecture located as well in the whol e
of conti nental Portug a l.
Both works were the result of many individual s’ work. The fir st one – the
Inquéri to à Habi tação Rural- counted on a team of roughl y twelv e i ndividual s
composed of Lima Basto, Henrique de Barros and a group of gradua te students
and recently gradua ted agronomers: Ca stro Calda s, Fonseca George, Laborde
Basto, Lobo M arti ns, Flávi o Martins, Franc isco Rosa, Simões Pontes, António de
Fari a e Silva, Rodrigues Pereira and Carl os Silva. T he second one – the
Arqui tectura Popul ar em Port ugal – counted on a team of eight een i ndivi duals
that incl uded Fernand o T ávora , Rui Pi mentel and Antóni o Meneres ( 1 st zone);
Li xa F ilguei ras, Arnaldo Araújo and Carv al ho Dias (2 nd zone); Keil do Amaral,
Huertas Lob o and Jo ão Mal ato (3 rd zone); Nuno Teotóni o Pereira , Pinto de Freit as
and Franci sco Silva D ias (4 th zone); Frederico George, Azevedo Gomes and Mata

1 The w ork started off as a Survey on Portugu ese Regional Architecture , but ended up as a book
tellingly named Popular Architecture in Portugal. The essentialism as applied to the nation as a
unified and permanent en ti ty had to be expurgated . The adjective ‘Portuguese’ implied that
essentialism , whereas ‘in Portugal’ den ied it , or at l e ast ignored it.

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Antunes (5 th zone); and Pi res Martins, Ce lesti no de Castro and Fernando Torre s
(6 th zone).
If we consider the A gronomers’ enqui ry and the A rchitects’ enquiry i nto the rural
worl d made in the 20 th century in Portugal, we come upon dissimil ar
perspecti ves 2 . Havi ng the same subject-m a tter - rural constructions, even if the
agronomers dealt onl y with the hous i ng stock and the archi t ects compri sed
some urban buildings as well - the glances cast upon it are different, even
divergent .
The agronomers ’ démarche was built upon a will to prospect and ameliora te th e
producti on of farmi n g uni ts – as was overt ly assum ed. On the oth er hand,
archi tects sought to discover the true nature of the rural landscape as it was
embodi ed i n the built structur es.
The prospe ct of the ag ronomers is built upon a threefol d bench: a politi cal/civi c
stand, an epistemological foundati on of a discipli nary d evelopment a nd the
creati on of a brand new institutional archi tecture.
Both the main author Lima Basto and th e co -author and foll ower of his work ,
after Li ma’s death in 1942, Henrique de Barros, we re commi tted to the civ ic
endeavour of social transf ormati on of the country .
Eduard o Alberto Lima Basto ( 1875 - 1942 ) was an agr onomer and a politi cian,
taught in Co im b ra a nd i n various H i gher Education Schools in Lisbon and was
ul timately fu ll professor at the Superior I nsti tute of Agronomy. His activi ty in
poli tics was i ntense: for four short per iods, he was Minister of National
Developm ent, of Labour, of Business and Communi cations and of Fina nce during
the 1 st Republic (19 10-19 26) and Pres i dent of the Municipality of Lisbon and
exerted a vast num ber of poli tical and institutional offices. As ma ny other 1 st
Republi can politicia ns, he was a free-mason. He was also a researcher i n h i s f i eld
and wrote profusely on his vari ous topics; his political v i ews seem rather
puzzli ng, with overt praise gi ven to Mussolini in hi s prefa ce to the Surv ey.

2 Ethnologists were a third main professional group who got interested i n the subject of ru ral
housing Veiga de Oliveira and Jorge Dias were the most well-known; L. Leal describes in dept h
their work and progressio n .

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Henri que Teixeira de Quei rós de Barros ( 1904 -2000) was the son of the p oe t,
pedagogue , journali st and politi c ian João de Barros (1881-19 60), who devoted
hi s life to the ideal of a Republi can Educati on and served for a brief per i od of
three months as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1924-1925 . Henrique de Barros
was an engineer-a gronomer and a resear cher, and from 194 4 full Professor at
the Superior Institute of Agronomy. His anti-Salaz ar regime acti vism and h i s
bondage with the Socialist Party led h im to important posts in the afterma th of
the 25 th April Revoluti on: he was Pres i dent of the Consti tuti ona l Assembly
member of the Stat e’s Council from 1974 to 197 7 , State Mini ster in the 1 st
Consti tutional Government and Deputy Prime Minister in 1976-1977 .
Notwith standing h i s close family ties with t he later Prime-Mini ster of the r egime,
Marcelo Caetano, his wa s a l eading r ole i n the creation of MUD – the Mov ement
de Democratic Unity – and i t did not prevent his elder Pro fessor Mário de
Azevedo G omes (1885-196 5), to wh om he wa s a close col la borator, to be
expell ed from teachi ng at the Superior Institute of Agronomy from 1946 to 1951
on ground s of poli tical opi nion; and he hi mself to be suspen ded.
Eugéni o Castro Ca l das (1914-1999 ) was to be later a professor of the same
insti tut i on – the ISA – and an advocate of an agr ari an reform in the 50’s and
60’s.
These individual s had i n var i ous degrees an active voice in soc iety – oppos ing
Sal azar’s regime - and produced l egi slation, journals and newspapers’
inf ormat ion and research. All d id the i r te achi ng in a School of the Technical
Universi ty of Lisbon. Soon after the Republi can reg i me was overthrown in a
milit ary upheaval in 1926, a new University was established in Lisbon- the
Technical Universi ty of Lisbon - and when work started on the se rural realities,
the commi tment to d eal w ith the knowl edge and transf ormation of the situ ation
was al ways present.
The second support for the A gr onomers’ survey was an intri ns i c sc ientifi c
di sciplinary development. The formati on of an epistemol ogical foundati on for
rural studies had been influenced by P i erre- Guill aume-Frédéri c Le Play ( 1806 -
188 2), a French reformer who addressed not the indi vidual but the famil y as a

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social unit, stud ying typ es of famili es and appl y i ng a method of di rect and
extensi ve observati o n and comparing livi ng conditions of traders, workmen,
owners, and peasa nts i n a comparativ e way across Europe. (Catholi c
Encycl oped ia , 1913) He stud ied in particular the budgets of typical famili es. His
sort of appli ed sociology enjoyed a huge intellectual success in 19 th century
knowl edgeable circles, although h i s conclusions led him in an opposite direction
to the Enl ightenment as regard s i nherita nce laws and the rol e of religion.
In his wa ke, the rural wor l d s ince th e end of the 1 9 th century em erged i n
Portugal as a subject-matter for research, with author s such as Oliv eira Marti ns
wri t ing extensi ve ly on the subje ct. Mari a Inês Mansinh o and Luí sa Schmidt point
out the emergence of a fiel d of rural studies as seen through the lens of social
sciences (1994 : 445- 452), in which agronomers and foresters are at the
frontli ne - Lima Basto, Azevedo Gomes, Henrique de Barr os, Castro Cal das are
cases in point. Using modern social sciences methods, were incl uded in these
inv est ig ations agrari an systems, studi es on the l andscap e and on the living
envi ronment of the rural population: this would u lti ma tely be the target of the
Rural Housing Surv ey. A v ast number of monographi es d i rect ly in fl uenced by Le
Pl ay emerged in the framework of the Superi or School of Agron omy dealing with
the regional and local s i tuation and development. T he peasant question was a
special concern.
The foundi ng of the Technical Univ ersity of Lisbon in 193 0 incorporated four pre-
exi sting higher education instituti ons: the Schools of Economi cs, of Engineering,
of Veterinary Medicine and of Agronom y; it later took i n other pre-existi ng
Schools, in a process that lasted fifty years. It was founded as an entirely new
Universi ty – separate from the existi ng University of Lisbon, in place with the
Universi ty of Porto sh ortl y after the outset of the Republi can regime in 1911 – in
part due to the d i f ficulty that this classi cal studies ’ University 3 had i n welcom ing
the technical knowledge and practi cal skills of fi elds such as Veteri nary M edicine
or Engineeri ng. The overt aim of the foundi ng of the U ni vers i ty was a
sati sfactory functioning and developm ent of the appa ratus of both the State and

3 In fact, i t is the ‘University of Lisbon’. ‘Classical University of Lisbon’ is the expression by which it
is know in the city an d in the country, even by the most cult ivated individuals.

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priva te organizations. T he state’s role and performance was then a param ount
objectiv e for this ne w institution, located in the capital of the nation, which at
the time incorp orated a hu ge overseas empi re. In the first years, the Senate of
thi s new instituti on propose d to foster every year a research into the economi c
and social bas i s of th e Portuguese society. Lim a Basto and Hen ri que de Barros
extensi ve work was a product of th is Univ ersity policy .
On the other ha nd, the prospect of the archi tects has a different stand-poi nt: it
deal s with an essential trait of the profes si ona l practice in those years, th at of
the State-l ed stylisti c determi nation for th i s p rofessi onal’s body producti on. It
ai ms to contradict the unwri tten law of solely applying a ‘Portuguese’ style to
certai n k inds of b uildings, of respecti ng a correspondence betwe en provi ncial or
regi onal architectu re and th at of the new buil dings. For the ar chitects, thi s main
objectiv e converged wi th a m uch more dif fuse but nonetheless p resent and
genui ne desire of coming to terms with the somehow mysterious nature of non-
erudi te architectur e i n the country, of the rur al constr ucti ons, of th e di versity of
archi tectural and constructive styles. Not f or nothing had the main propagand ist
of the ‘ Portug uese H ouse’ , Raul Lino, wr i tten and publi shed with huge success
hi s first study on the m atter organized into book form: the A Nossa Casa (Lino,
1918) ; nor had ethnographer s, engineers and other architects dealt with the
matter since the last decades of the 19 th century. This Survey was conducte d
not by a Higher Educati on insti tut i on , but by the professional associ ation: the
Sindicato Nacional dos Arq uitectos .

The la ck or diminished status of the tim e dim ension reuni tes both Surv eys, a s no
enqui ry was made either to the parents’ anteri or li ving arrangements prior to
thei r move into the house or the use mad e of the house by anterior residents, in
the one case; in the oth er, almost no sig ns of the passage of ti me appear, in the
sense of i t destroyi ng the pristine purity of the rura l constructi on .
Even star ted at the outbreak of Worl d War II and publi shed during t he war’s
peri od, and notwithstandi ng the l ow prior expectati ons, the Agronomers’ Sur ve y
encountered a si tuation of total d i smay, of hung er, thirst, co ld and i nnumera b le

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hardshi ps from lack of basic infrastr ucture and fittings as much as the
insu fferabl e co nditions of the housi ng stock . The mi serabl e situati on in urban
contexts at the end of the 40’s decad e, as seen by a forei gn visitor, i s also to be
seen in certain quarters of Portug uese towns. When Lu cio Costa repeatedly
vi sited Portug al to make his IPHAN ’s funded survey s probi ng into the roots of
Brazilia n archi tecture, he states the appalling hygieni c conditi on s of streets and
buildi ngs and the general p overty of th e people (Matos & Ram os, 2010).
The selecti on was done on the basi s of capturi ng typi cal c ase studi es throughout
the country whi ch would be subject to a m inu te and th orough inventory of fixed
and movabl e contents, of prices and of a n estim ate as to the ameliora tion or
rebuil d i ng of the house. It meant an ethnographic survey w i th a practical en d on
vi ew. The success of its publication was contr adi ctory: the last vol ume was
never published, the peasant’s houses were never rebuilt, and its minutia e and
scandal ous level living conditions served t he poli t ical agenda of the c l andesti ne
Commun ist Party and other reformers. The regim e withdrew from the knowl edge
of the f acts.
The Architect’s Surv ey was a promotion of the SNA – the professiona l
associa ti on of the archi tects - under the ini tiative which Keil do Amaral put
forward in 1947, anteceded by an article by Ferna ndo Távora i n 1945 ; to whi ch
we sh ould add the essenti al contributi on of the i ll ustrious Brazilian architect,
Luci o Costa: in accordance to him, professor Carlos Ramos gav e him cred it for
the idea of the l aunching of the Survey by the articl e of 1937 “Documentação
Necessári a” (Matos & Ramos, 2007). T he cases were selected on the basis of a
comprehensi ve picture of the bui lt structures found i n Portugal, but in rea li t y
many of them wer e chosen for their adequacy to the architectur e pri nc ipl es of
the Modern M ovem ent. The adhesi on of the Survey’s agents to the new
archi tecture, meanwhil e totally dominant after WW II throug hout the Western
worl d, meant that the opportun ity had to be taken advanta ge of from presenting
only those building s that were in consonance with the architecture they built or
aspi red to build. It resulted in an extremely valuable work with a repositor y of
soluti ons and an analysi s of hundreds of small and medium s i zed buildi ngs, all
commented or dra wn or photographed or then re gi stered i n all those way s. The

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mai n i ssue is the operation of selection: an interesti ng question to dev elop
woul d be the cr i ter ia for selection, between the Agronomers ’ an d the Architects’,
and sub mit them to a comparati ve analysis.
An outcome was the delight some of the powerful, c lear an d solid soluti ons the y
found caused in the minds of these young architects; it ant eceded by some
years the im pact that the Rudovsky exhibiti on and book would ha ve in the
archi tectural c ir cles around the worl d. The separati on from the countrysi de of
these young urbani tes was very clear-cut: they i n truth had to discov er their
country. Due to th e few and winding roads i n a mountai nous coun try and to th e
scarci ty of conveni en t hosting facilities, journeys across the country s id e were
diffi cult, tim e-consuming and sometimes pain-stak ing. The expressi on
‘discov ery’ they use to characteri ze their adventur e is appropriate: nothing close
to the vernacul ar ev er entered the curricul um of the two ex isti ng Schools o f
Archi tecture b y th at period.
The outstandi ng quality of the photogra phs contr ibuted to the S urveys’ suc cess,
both from the general publi c and in the archi tectural offices, where it was a daily
re source in the foll owing years. The lack of a precise map hindered a revi s it by
the many students of archi tecture that in later periods would b e abl e to foster
some protecti on measures. A l arge percentag e of th e buildi n gs shown i n the final
vol umes have probably disapp eared; only the quasi or monumental struct ures
are still i n place, if only i n rui ns in some ca ses.

What is uncanny is the relative infl uen ce that the romantic or even the
essentia li sm doctrine still had in some of the work: it sometimes overtones their
text. T he poli tical sta nd that some of these professiona ls had taken , or would be
taking in the futur e, pl aces them in a roughl y opposi t i ona l posi t i on to th e
regi me. N everthel ess, none of the b itterness sua vel y convey ed i n the
Agronomers ’ Survey surfaces in these texts: the outlook is appreci at ive,
positi ve, and frequently overly admirative; in th is instance, not so far removed
from the enchantm ent Raul Lino feels i n h is travel s i n the countryside. His books
and doctrine in favour of a ‘Por tuguese House’ were th e es sential ba ckdrop

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subject to eventual incompati b iliti es at the time of constructi o n, or later, with
the app earance of different degrees of p ath ologies.
Citi es, and mainly peri pheral cities and /o r the tr ansi t ion between a growing city
an d an established city with p l ans and regul at i ons, which generally h ave their
prohi b i tions, and the pa rts of a ci ty in “spontaneous forma ti on” and/or un stabl e
due to their condi t ion of “expectant”, are generally experimental terri tory where
all t ypes of knowledge connected to constructi on, architecture and technology
are fused. In most cases, scienti f i c know ledge is acceptabl e, being exerc ised
empi r ically and a l so being superficial at a cultural level . These actors are moved
and are motiva ted in conceptual p rocesses of fragm ented co ll age or copy, with
no intell ectual structure or p roces s. They are disconnected and decontextuali zed
from ancestral procedures within the ambi t of practices and professi onal codes.
Consequentl y, they are th en subject to a vulnerabili ty that rarely produces
excepti onal results. Simil ar to a long laboratori a l process, they persi stently
experi ment in the hope of achieving somethi ng innovati ve or unusual .
Vernacul ar architecture, more preci sely that which is designated as urban, or
peri -urban associated to current housing, is what comes closest to thi s
descri ption, comf orta bly li ving in harmony with th e “m ode ls” of the erudi te city,
mai n ly on the frontier of the established city and stands out due to the
“sim p lifi ed” architectures that t end to be in rup ture with conservative canons.
The exampl es that a re see n to be truly exceptional, a lthough they are rare,
show truly ref i ned sy ntheses withi n the spatial / functional pers pecti ve, as well
as presenti ng a supression of “excesses” of archite ctonic mannerism s and
arti st i c compositi on and often introducing a type of neo -classism whose metri cs,
proporti ons, rhythms and scal es resul t in t he permanen ce of th e origi na l matrix
that is of an erudite c oncepti on, that is uncorrupted i n its essence. The se models
are thus reconfi gured, cited and/or copi ed as reint erpretations that are al most
al ways “forced” by a lack of resources, wi th th e planned aim of f ina nc ial
returns.
Popul ar architectur es, i nherent of a construction tradition of a certai n region
based on the ma terials, techniq ues and the repetition of ancestral cu l tural

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