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Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Heritage Architecture XVII & Earthquake Resistant Engineering Structures XIII

Edited By: S. Hernández, University of A Coruña, Spain and member of WIT Board of Directors; G. Marseglia, Link Campus University, Italy

SOCIAL ROLE OF THE WALL: THE DOMESTIC VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE OF SOUTH INDIA

Price

Free (open access)

Transaction

WIT Transactions on The Built Environment

Volume

203

Pages

15

Page Range

311 - 325

Published

2021

Size

1,752 kb

Paper DOI

10.2495/STR210261

Copyright

Author(s)

ANJALI SADANAND, RAMASAMY VEERANASAMY NAGARAJAN, MONSINGH DEVADOSS

Abstract

Meaning and symbolism consecrate the vernacular house. The vernacular house is a response to the environment visible in the investment of knowledge systems imbedded in its architectural fabric. The house becomes an agency of socio-cultural norms through the architecture language and materiality of its spaces and elements and in doing so the domestic house acts as a repository of intangible and tangible cultural heritage. The objective of this paper is to explore the role walls play in conserving this heritage. The paper will study the manner in which walls construct social realities by looking at the different roles they play, through an exploration of their character, materiality spatial, structural and social function. Theoretical frameworks espoused by Simon Unwin, Yatin Pandya and Julienne Hanson will be used to support the discussion. In order to illustrate the context of the wall in domestic vernacular architecture. The discussion will focus on a comparison of walls across four typologies of vernacular houses of varying size, spatial organization and materiality from Tamil Nadu, South India. It will be argued that in cases where change is present, modern materials have shifted the emphasis of a value system based on the significance of socio-cultural norms to that of socio-economic considerations which have resulted in subtle transformations. In other situations vernacular traditions as architectural strategies and devices are repeated in modern houses with the intention of continuing tradition. The wall is objectivized and finds its way in contemporary architecture as an artefact which through memory of association assures identity and continuity.

Keywords

wall, vernacular, gender, status, symbolism, layering



Related Book

Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Heritage Architecture XVII & Earthquake Resistant Engineering Structures XIII

Edited By: S. Hernández, University of A Coruña, Spain and member of WIT Board of Directors; G. Marseglia, Link Campus University, Italy

Other papers in this volume

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Structural Studies, Repairs and Maintenance of Heritage Architecture XVII & Earthquake Resistant Engineering Structures XIII

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Other papers in this volume

GIUSEPPE VACCARO: AN “EXPERIMENTER” OF A CONSTRUCTIONAL MODERNITY

BUILDING RENEWAL: THE CENTRALITY OF EVENTUAL OCCUPANCY IN DESIGN DECISIONS

DELIBERATIONS ON CONSERVATION OF BUILT HERITAGE: PAYING HOMAGE TO A HISTORICAL PAST THROUGH ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION, LEARNING AND RESEARCH

ARCHIVE RESEARCH AS A DIAGNOSTIC AND COGNITIVE INVESTIGATIVE METHOD OF MEMORY OF THE MULTISTRATIFIED URBAN BUILT HERITAGE: A CASE OF URBAN ARCHEOLOGY

URBAN PLANNING AND ITS IMPACT ON THE CITY OF HEBRON, PALESTINE

EVOLUTION OF THE TRADITIONAL TURKISH HOUSE

WOODWORKING TRADE AT THE TURN OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES AND ITS PROTECTION

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