Throughout history, humans have used
all kinds of materials for buildings.
Broadly, these materials can be divided into two types:
natural or manufactured.
The use of natural materials such as mud,
clay, wood, stone, grass,
animal products and timber that are available locally
for constructing dwellings is the most natural
and direct form of vernacular architecture.
For example, archaeological discoveries in Banpo,
a site near Xi'an in China,
tells us that over 6,000 years ago
humans already knew how to dig for themselves
subterranean pit dwellings
of circular and rectangular shapes,
use tree trunks for erecting an umbrella-like structure
and spread on top of it
a layer of grass for protection.
All right, so let's move on to
looking at some of the examples,
like earth.
Very often we see
people making buildings with earth.
There are three ways, basically.
One is ram earth,
one is adobe brick,
and the other is living simply in an earth cave.
So, in your experience with Southeast Asia,
the people who make those earthen buildings -
are they ram earth or earth bricks?
Well, I've seen all kinds
but there's a fourth.
When you think about bricks,
there's unfired brick and fired brick.
And both of these need to be,
need to be thought about. Right.
Right, and the unfired brick is drying in the sun
but the fired brick is drying in a kiln,
and needs fuel in order to actually fire it.
And the use of these different things
really depends on what's available
in the particular place where it's actually being used.
The round structure in the center,
the one in front of the one with the roof,
is not a building, it's cow dung
that's being dried for use as fuel.
But the other buildings are
agricultural structures of different kinds
that are made out of the plants
that are growing in this place.
Agricultural structures of different kinds of
buildings to house animals,
and it's a hybrid between mud brick,
that's plastered over,
and straw and mud wall,
that's not plastered over.
As technology progresses,
new materials are being manufactured.
For instance, burned clay bricks,
clay roofing tiles,
lime and gypsum plastering used in decorations,
and lime mortar used in brick constructions
are only a few examples of
the many manufactured building materials
over the centuries.
Another example is glass,
which is an ancient material, probably 4,000 years old.
The first use of glass can be traced back
to Mesopotamia, in making beads and ornaments.
And later, in vessels.
But when it's rolled into sheets and plate glass,
it was then used in European church windows
in the 12th or 13th centuries.
This was followed by other manufactured materials
which became widely used,
such as cast iron, tin sheets,
corrugated metal sheets,
and, at one time, asbestos sheets.
One of the characteristics of vernacular architecture
is its ability to adapt to changes
in order to meet the needs of the people.
This is reflected in the incorporation
of new manufactured materials in vernacular buildings,
as they become economically available.
However, it is important to know that
the replacement of manufactured materials
over natural materials
does not necessarily diminish the cultural value
of the traditional built form.
Although, it often elevates
the status of the families who can afford it.
Take reinforced concrete, for example.
This 20th century invention was immediately adopted
by the villagers in a small rice paddy
farming community in Kaiping,
to construct a defensive building called Diaolou,
to protect the wealth and safety
of the clansmen from robbery and clan fights.
The funny thing is, however,
this ostentatious display of wealth
by using reinforced concrete
in the Diaolou immediately invited more attacks.