34 C O N T E X T 1 4 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 6 early field houses (in the mosses) were ‘clam-staff and daub’. Roof covering was rushed grass sods, which was replaced with corrugated sheeting, and later with tiles and slates. The typical Fylde longhouse plan form developed into three bays, with a fire place, baffle entry, pantry and buttery. Surviving features tended to be the plan forms, rather than traditional materials. Jasmin Eastwood and Astley Petitt of APA Architects discussed ‘Traditional dwellings, contemporary design’. In the Isle of Man Planning Circular 3/91 there was an attempt to protect vernacular buildings and stop the spread of bungalows. But the circular recognised only two housing types. This had led to poor location and detailing, and problems of scale, resulting in pastiche buildings. In Skye the climate and landscape were similar, but different styles of contemporary architecture were evident. The vernacular Skye house was the black-house: a thatched house with stone walls. Designers were developing contemporary interpretations. Today’s ‘local’ covered a larger geographical area and little employment was agricultural. Contemporary houses’ siting stood out in the landscape. They were robust, to avoid failure, with less external detail. They had large glazed windows and ‘feature interiors’. Jerry Spencer spoke about ‘Vernacular urban form and the Eden Design Guide’. ‘Vernacular’ described the way places evolved when their design and layout was controlled by the community. Urban form was more significant than the form of most buildings, being influenced by available materials, climate and the need for security. Buildings were tightly clustered, which helped define communal open space. Although there was little variation in building typology, the buildings were adaptable and they were often personalised. The whole was almost always greater than the sum of the parts, whereas in modern mixed-use developments there was often sporadic design, widely spaced dwellings, buildings which failed to enclose space, and no sense of connection. The Eden Design Guide, from Cumbria, sought to understand vernacular buildings and urban form. Buildings enclosing space had led to central spaces such as market squares. Buildings addressed the space, which became an outside room. Modern developments should integrate with existing urban form and link into existing routes. The guide recommended car parking in undercrofts; water features not being culverted; and buildings addressing each other. Urban form should address the needs of a wider range of household types, including lowerincome households and increasing numbers of elderly households. Three tours of Manchester’s lost vernacular looked at Chethams School and Library; surviving vernacular in the Northern Quarter; and exploring vernacular in the Greater Manchester archive. Afterwards the IHBC/RTPI NW Conservation Award 2015 was presented to the Northern Warehouse/Titanic Hotel at Stanley Dock, Liverpool. The materials and design session started with Richard Harris of the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum discussing timber. Eighteenthcentury vernacular was mainly primitive huts and the spirit of the place, whereas in the 19th it was linked to the picturesque. The arts and crafts movement provided 20th century context, and in the 21st century it was eco homes and sustainability. Culture was the determining factor in the construction of buildings and how the vernacular had developed. Harris’s Grammar of English Building had four rules: the tie beam lap dovetail joint; the bay system; the direction of the upper face; and converting trees into beams, beams into frames and frames into the hierarchy of spaces. These rules were arbitrary. The first two had different versions in other countries, while the fourth rule was common across Europe and North America. David Grech of Historic England discussed ‘Contemporary architecture in a vernacular context’. This context was rural/agrarian, with a village setting. It could be urban or industrial as well. Replicating vernacular cottages had a long tradition, but it made no contribution to vernacular architecture’s evolution. Today’s buildings were not vernacular as they were all professionally designed. The important elements were the urban grain; siting; scale, form and massing; window-to-wall ratio; and the colour and texture of materials. Post-war attempts to ‘fit in’ with vernacular context and the English Heritage/CABE Building in Context Toolkit were cited. The challenge of resolving the conflict between the wide frontages and shallow plans of traditional buildings and modern deep plans was highlighted. Maria Yioutani-Iacovides discussed earthen architecture, which was indigenous, economic and ecological; it had thermal mass, sound insulation and seismic attributes; it was fireproof; and it had structural equilibrium and cohesion. Examples of contemporary earthen construction were identified. Finally Clara Willett of Historic England focused on the Strategic Stone Study, which aimed to improve understanding of indigenous stones in England, their availability and use in historic building. Repairs required matching aesthetics, mineral content and durability. Identifying stone types was the problem. A data spreadsheet and Building Stone Atlas was now available for each county to ensure that the correct stone was used when working on listed buildings. Keith Parsons, principal lecturer in the school of art, design and fashion, University of Central Lancashire In the village of Carno, mid-Wales Galleting in Hampshire
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=