Learning from vernacular architecture in architectural education

Abstract

This study focuses on the potential for effectively using knowledge about vernacular architecture in programs of architectural education and it proposes a course as a mean of doing so. The first section emphasizes the importance of vernacular architecture in education through an extensive literature review. In the second section, the details of a course developed by the researchers called Learning from Vernacular Architecture (LF-VA), which consists of the components "learning,""internalization" and "interpretation," are examined along with the outcomes of a questionnaire-based survey that was administered to students who enrolled in the class. The primary aim of the questionnaire was to observe whether or to what extent the course and its methods attained their objectives. The questionnaire results demonstrated that LF-VA not only led to a significant increase in awareness among students about vernacular architecture but also showed that the course proved to be a useful and unique mean of transferring knowledge about how it can be applied.