Date:
Location: CEPT University; Ahmedabad, IndiaContact: Saman Quraishi
Email: saman.quraishi@cept.ac.in
Vernacular architecture is broadly defined as encompassing dwellings and structures built by a community, using local materials and traditional techniques, to meet their specific needs and reflect their environment and way of life. It is often, quite uncritically, described as architecture produced by ‘natives’, or emerging from the practical needs and traditions of a community, rather than being a result of a systematic design thinking process. However, examples of ‘vernacular architecture’ from across the world have demonstrated that this kind of built environment is often the result of the amalgamation of various cultural influences and emerges from the sophisticated understanding of materials, structure, and craft. The domestic nature of much of this architecture, coupled with a colonial gaze, has historically Othered it and overlooked the valuable lessons it may provide in the fragile and unpredictable world we live in.
This conference, jointly hosted by Oxford Brookes University, UK, and CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India, seeks to explore and rethink the meaning of vernacular architecture in a decolonised world. The conference is expected to produce a critical publication on the subject that will be edited by experts appointed by both organising institutions.
For more information, visit the CEPT Research and Development Foundation website.
