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from vernacular to world heritage • l. dipasquale, s. mecca, m. correia
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Traditional trades interpret the needs of the place and solve them by using the materials available nearby (© F. Vegas, C. Mileto, 2017)
suffice it to think of the prevalence of the positions on the right-hand, rather than on the ill-omened left, writing from left to right (rather than the opposite or vertically as in other cultures), the frequent crossshaped layout of Catholic churches or their orientation to the east, to name but a few examples. These components are easier to perceive and identify the further the distance of the observer from foreign cultures, although in some cases these have seemingly disappeared. Occasionally, this cosmogonic vision even outlives the disappearance or complete transformation of the original architecture, as it is the case of the current vernacular habitat and its forms of grouping in Mexico (Torres Zárate, 2000), or the current concept of plaza (Wagner et al., 2013), which have been shown to have inherited the cultural interpretation of the pre-Columbian peoples, as shown recently by these authors. The outline of the streets is also largely a response to the needs for daylight and ventilation, as well as a desire for protection from excessive solar exposure and the shifting winds. The layout of streets, levels and slopes are often the result of a need to organise the runoffs for collecting water for consumption, or to allow it to run off with the least possible damage to constructions. The climatic conditions combined with local ancestral culture – also often defined by the climate – result in the existence of filter locations, in-between spaces usually associated with the need for shade in warm locations (Vegas et al., 2014a). These in-between spaces can take on different forms: courtyards, porches, pergolas, gazebos, verandas, awnings, the shade of large trees, etc. This intangible knowledge of the weather conditions also makes up and shapes urban design in its transition to the architectural scale. Local culture, with its conception and abrupt or progressive delimiting of the private and public spheres, also configures the urban design of cities. In the Islamic city for instance there is a veritable transition between openly public space and completely private space in five or six degrees of in-between space, which can be observed in the decreasing width of branching streets, morphological characteristics of urban space, architectural elements, the treatment of paving and the use of light, water and filters (Mileto, Vegas, 2003). These hybrid semipublic or semiprivate spaces can coincide with the in-between spaces mentioned above (Vegas, Mileto, 2013).