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Architecture vocabulary · Styles, History and Conservation

Vernacular architecture

Meaning in architecture, with examples

nounCommon term

In architecture, vernacular architecture means: Traditional buildings made by local people with local materials and knowledge, shaped by climate, culture and everyday needs rather than by professional architects.

In Turkish: yerel mimari, geleneksel mimari, anonim mimari

How it is used

Studied as a source of climate-sensitive and sustainable ideas. Examples in Turkey include the timber-framed houses of Safranbolu, the stone houses of Mardin and the rock-cut dwellings of Cappadocia. Architects 'reinterpret' or 'draw on' the vernacular.

Example sentences

  1. The design draws on the vernacular architecture of the region: thick stone walls and small windows.

  2. Our studio studied vernacular architecture in hot, dry climates.

Common collocations

  • local vernacular
  • vernacular building traditions
  • reinterpret the vernacular
  • vernacular materials
  • courtyardAn open-air space surrounded fully or partly by walls or buildings, used to bring light, air and privacy into the heart of a building.
  • masonryConstruction made of separate units such as stone, brick or concrete blocks laid in mortar; also the units themselves as a building material.
  • passive designDesign that keeps a building comfortable using the sun, wind, shade and the building's own form and materials, so it needs little mechanical heating, cooling or lighting.
  • restorationWork that repairs a historic building and returns it to an earlier condition, based on careful research into its original form, materials and techniques.
  • precedentAn existing building or project that architects study to learn from its ideas, organisation or details and to support their own design decisions.

More terms: Styles, History and Conservation

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