VERSUS HERITAGE FOR TOMORROW Vernacular Knowledge for Sustainable Architecture
• Fig. 4 ‘Cabane de Gardian’, Camargue, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (photo: T. Joffroy). Fig. 5 Shepered’s shelter at Farinole, Corsica, France (photo: E. Sevillano). Fig.6 Rammed earth Barn roofed with scale-shaped tiles, Rhone-Alps region, France (photo: P. Doat).
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tion from the mid 19th Century that spread worldwide; and finally and more recently, corrugated iron (which frequently covers vernacular mountain dwellings). Thus from a particular point of view, the local and regional natures of building cultures, that contribute to the visual identity of the morphology of vernacular building in various regions from north to south and east to west, have a direct impact on the shape of roofs.
Roof shaping and contribution to sustainability Such well-reasoned and very local utilisation of resources for building both the walls and roofs of vernacular houses responds to several principles of sustainability now being promoted as the most efficient system possible in terms of environmental life cycle analysis and carbon footprint. This use of resources also makes a better social, cultural and economic impact (fig. 7). From an environmental standpoint, the use of local resources for building walls and roofs aids integration into the site, respects the environment and enables the recovery and recycling of local ‘natural’ materials (earth, stone and wood) from ruined or deteriorated buildings – which themselves become resources – reducing the use of industrial materials and various forms of ‘incoming’ external pollution. From a social and cultural standpoint, such use of local resources contributes to the preservation of a continuum of the identity of a landscape within a territory and of its building culture – still frequently visible in the aesthetics of roofs standing out in built-up areas – but also to the transmission of material and immaterial values that are part of its heritage and maintained by the handing down of traditional knowledge and know-how, or by small enterprises specializing in structures and roofing. Finally, from a social and economical standpoint, such use of local resources contributes to sustainability by enabling considerable saving of the embodied energy necessary for transformation and production, the materials most frequently being used in their original state or barely transformed, as well as to economy in transportation energy since the materials are collected on-site and only transported over short distances. This topos logic is also beneficial from an economical standpoint. It contributes to the development of local and regional sectors for the production of materials and the maintaining of artisanal professions and small and medium-sized spe-