Conservation of Vernacular Dwellings. Matters of Authenticity and Sustainability

Abstract

Vernacular architecture has been growing over time, in response to actual needs, with the means available at each place. All forms of vernacular architecture intend to meet specific needs, accommodating the values, economies, and ways of life of the cultures that produce them. The use of traditional local materials and available resources, as well as the incorporation of many bioclimatic features in the design of traditional settlements, gives them a sustainable identity. The architecture of traditional settlements has been a living and invaluable testimony to the historic memory of each place. The rehabilitation of traditional dwellings is an environmentally friendly approach as this process involves the reuse of an existing non-renewable building stock. The value of vernacular architecture has always been connected with the material age, including the traces that time has left. According to the Nara Document, the meaning of authenticity has been recently expanded and includes not only material and form but also traditions and techniques and other intangible values that constitute very important aspects of vernacular architecture. In this framework, this paper discusses how authenticity and sustainability are involved in the process of conservation of vernacular architecture. With a view to enrich the methodology of conserving vernacular architecture, taking into account not only its aesthetic and historic values but also its sustainable features, the present study considers the vernacular architecture of Cyprus as an appropriate case study for an in-depth investigation. The remarks presented herein are derived from two extended multidisciplinary research programs that examine the bioclimatic design elements of urban and rural settlements in Cyprus. The main aim of this research work is to suggest new conservation and refurbished strategies of vernacular architecture with respect not only to the bioclimatic features of traditional dwellings but also to their aesthetic values and their authenticity (materiality and conception).