What is vernacular architecture?

Vernacular architecture is a way of building that uses local materials, building methods and traditions, without the involvement of a professional architect. In Dutch it is also called volksarchitectuur. The form of such a building has grown over generations: whatever worked best in a region survived and was built the same way again and again.

Characteristics

• Local material: whatever is plentiful in the region, such as timber, reed, loam, natural stone, clay or sods.
• Easy to work with the tools and knowledge available locally.
• Adapted to the climate: thick walls and small windows in warm regions, steep roofs that shed rain quickly in wet regions.
• Suited to its use: for example living quarters and livestock under one roof, so the animals are sheltered in winter.
• Regional traditions in form, colour and decoration.

Examples

• Dutch farmhouse types, such as the Frisian stelp farmhouse, the hall house and the Zeeland barn, each with its own regional form.
• Sod huts made of peat and heath sods, built by poor land reclaimers.
• Timber-framed houses with a timber skeleton filled with loam.
• Log cabins in heavily wooded areas.
• Loam and natural stone houses, such as the trulli in southern Italy.
• Cave dwellings in soft rock.

Why it is interesting today

Many principles of vernacular architecture fit with sustainable building: short transport distances, renewable or bio-based materials, and passive solutions for coolness and shelter. Architects also use it as inspiration for regionally rooted new build that fits into the landscape.

Tips for altering regional buildings

• Check the local planning and design rules: in the Netherlands, the environmental plan (omgevingsplan) and municipal design review (welstand) rules often set requirements for form, roof and materials on farmhouses and village townscapes.
• Use compatible materials: a historic loam or lime-mortar wall reacts differently to moisture than cement-bound materials. Modern vapour-tight finishes can cause moisture problems.
• Document what is there beforehand: old details are often the result of centuries of experience with the local climate.

Related terms

• Farmhouse
• Timber framing
• Loam
• Reed (thatch)
• Hall house

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