ABPL30057 Final report - An elite vernaular?

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An elite vernacular?

Who are the users of vernacular architecture today?

Name: Manasi Chopdekar Student number: 935401 Subject code: ABPL30057 Tutor: Prof. Anoma Pieris Tutorial: Tuesday/ 1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Assignment 3: Essay

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‘An elite vernacular?’

Vernacular architecture reads traditionally and functionally to its area’s local population1. It exudes familiarity and meaning to its inhabitants by incorporating traditional construction techniques, building materials and local labor sources. The primary function of vernacular architecture is to address the needs of its local inhabitants2. Commodification of these vernacular styles to meet the demands of the more privileged local and foreign population has redefined its use and changed its perception from an architecture of ordinary people to an architecture of the elite. This can be observed in certain corporate buildings, private dwellings and businesses which appropriate and abstract aspects of vernacular forms to cater to the comforts of its wealthy audience while denying access and affordability to primary users of the vernacular – the local dwellers.

Vernacular architecture reflects local culture through its form and aesthetic3 and its egalitarian function4 and use makes it more affordable and accessible to the local dwellers. It is also designed intuitively around the local climate and landscape5 to provide maximum utility and comfort to its users.

Architect Kerry Hill’s Datai Langkawi (1993), Charles Correa’s Cidade de Goa (1982) and Tay Kheng Soon’s Kampong Bugis master plan (1989) will be analyzed as case studies to discuss three aspects of vernacular architecture that have been altered to suit elite demands and comfort, namely ‘aesthetic’, ‘public function’ and ‘climate’.

1

Kingston Wm. Heath, "Defining the Nature of Vernacular." Material Culture 35, no. 2 (2003): 50.

http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/29764189 2

Henry Glassie, "Vernacular Architecture and Society." Material Culture 16, no. 1 (1984): 11.

http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41784816.

3

Heath, "Defining the Nature of Vernacular,” 49.

4

Glassie, "Vernacular Architecture and Society,” 11.

5

Heath, "Defining the Nature of Vernacular,” 51-52.

Page |3 Case study 1: The Datai Langkawi, Malaysia Aesthetic in vernacular architecture can convey its user’s ideas and way of living6. It is not meant for decoration, and works logically to predict the plan and movement within the structure7.

For example, the Malay vernacular longhouse form in Kelabit, Malaysian Borneo, is characterized by its open public spaces and long open passageways called ‘tawa’8 (see Fig. 1. in appendix for plan view).

The interior passageway serves as a common hall for different families that live behind its “central fulllength wall”9, and facilitates public interaction, storage and other shared activities.

Its exterior in contrast appears closed off and is roofed with thick thatch (see Fig. 2. in appendix) that extends almost to ground level, giving it an imposing appearance10. It serves to lead the human eye to the entrance and interior functional spaces of the longhouse, and thereby accentuates the main function of vernacular architecture – to cater to the needs of its local users.

This vernacular form can be observed in Australian architect Kerry Hill’s five-star luxury resort, ‘The Datai Langkawi’ which was opened in 1993 in Langkawi, Malaysia11. To create a sense of harmony with the surrounding rainforest and provide a natural retreat, the resort uses local construction techniques and traditional materials similar to the Malay vernacular longhouse. This can be observed

6

Glassie, "Vernacular Architecture and Society,” 7.

7

Glassie, "Vernacular Architecture and Society,” 14.

8

Ian J. Ewart, "Social and Material Influences on the Kelabit Dwelt Environment." Traditional Dwellings and

Settlements Review 23, no. 2 (2012): 73. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41758896.

9

Ewart, "Social and Material Influences on the Kelabit Dwelt Environment," 73.

10

Ewart, "Social and Material Influences on the Kelabit Dwelt Environment," 71.

11

“The Datai Langkawi,” The Datai, accessed November 4 2019, https://www.thedatai.com/about-us/the-datai-

langkawi/

Page |4 in its low and imposing shingled roofing constructed from Sarawak’s Belian wood12 and open courtyard, which celebrate the local Malay culture (see Fig. 3 in appendix).

The resort’s individual villas incorporate the form of the traditional Malay longhouse in its long walkways which connect its private spaces to public facilities like dining rooms, lobby lounge and restaurant pavilions13 (see Fig. 4 in appendix). Similar to the Malay vernacular longhouse, these villas are elevated above the ground and use local hardwood for furniture and interior paneling14. However, the local materials are used in such a way that it gives these spaces a more sophisticated and extravagant appearance (see Fig. 5 in appendix) of the vernacular form in order to appeal to and meet the needs and comforts of its elite tourist customers.

Passageways in the Malay vernacular longhouse are used as a place of activity and engagement among different residents. However, in the case of the Datai Langkawi, these passageways are either restricted to individual dwellings by serving as verandahs (See Fig. 6 in appendix), or they are used as movement spaces to direct tourists to other places in the resort.

Adding that to its exaggerated styling and design, it alters the original function of the incorporated vernacular form and gives its elite tourists a different, more formalized experience of what is actually vernacular to the area’s local dwellers. Its unaffordability by the area’s local inhabitants further raises question on its incorporated vernacular forms’ egalitarian function.

12

Hock-Beng Tan, "(Re)presenting the vernacular/(Re)inventing authenticity: Resort architecture in Southeast

Asia." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review 6, no. 2 (1995): 31. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41757182.

13

Tan, "(Re)presenting the vernacular/(Re)inventing authenticity: Resort architecture in Southeast Asia," 31.

14

Tan, "(Re)presenting the vernacular/(Re)inventing authenticity: Resort architecture in Southeast Asia," 31.

Page |5 Case study 2: Cidade de Goa, Goa, India The egalitarian function of vernacular architecture also extends to the design and use of everyday public spaces. Public vernacular architecture is characterized by its ease of accessibility and its effortless integration into the area’s streetscape and its local community. Traditional streetscapes of Goa in India and Lisbon in Portugal, for example, contain ornamented gateways and arches that act as portals to other parts of the street and are easily accessible by general public throughout the day.

Streetscape vernacular architecture in Goa has been largely influenced by its colonization under the Portuguese. The notable Viceroy’s Arch built in 1599 by Viceroy Francisco De Gama is one of the few remaining colonial buildings in Old Goa15. At its day it was given ceremonial importance with the arch being the place where the keys to Old Goa would be handed to every new viceroy of the city16. Today it gives a visual reference to Old Goa’s colonial history and has seamlessly blended into its urban fabric by accommodating everyday pedestrians and vehicles (see Fig. 7 in appendix).

Portuguese traditional villages are another example of vernacular architecture that is democratic in its urban accessibility (see Fig. 8 in appendix). Its architecture adapts to the local climate and it caters functionally to the agrarian livelihood of its inhabitants17. As a village, it creates lively spaces for public interaction and such spaces have been designed in its colony, Goa, as well.

15

Joao Ramires Fernandes, Portuguese influence on the secular and religious architecture of Goa (Goa:

Institute Cultural de Macau, 1990), 2, https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledge-bankarticle/portuguese_influence_of_the_secular_and.pdf 16

Indrajit Roy Choudhury, “Goa | Viceroy’s Arch,” Indrosphere, published October 27, 2018,

https://indroyc.com/2018/10/27/viceroys-arch-old-goa/ 17

Fernando Cerqueira Barros, et al., “Vernacular Architecture in Portugal: Regional Variations,” ResearchGate,

published May 14, 2019, pg. 3 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324439249_Vernacular_Architecture_in_Portugal_Regional_Variatio ns

Page |6 These vernacular forms can be observed in Indian architect and urban planner Charles Correa’s fivestar luxury beach resort, ‘Cidade de Goa’ which opened in 1982 in Panaji in Goa, India18. It was designed with the intent of giving its elite tourists the experience of living in a “Portuguese hamlet”19 with some characteristics of a Goan colonial era town.

The Cidade de Goa gateway (see Fig. 9 in appendix), similar in function to the Viceroy’s Arch in Old Goa, serves as an entry portal into the resort, but its position in contrast to the Viceroy’s Arch is off to the side of the road and it bars entry to everyone except the resort’s staff, visitors and residents. Within the resort, visual imagery like the trompe l’oeil at the drop off and the arch design at the restaurant (see Fig. 10 in appendix) serve to create the ambience of a traditional village20. The plan of the resort (see Fig. 11 in appendix) buildings is designed and arranged to mimic the Goan streetscape experience21.

However, while this promotes the vernacular architecture and history of its region, it turns what is essentially public space that can be generally accessible by the ordinary people into private space that can only be accessed by the resort’s elite residents and thereby excludes the primary users of such spaces, the local inhabitants, who cannot afford it.

Case study 3: Kampong Bugis master plan, Singapore Vernacular architecture incorporates an in-depth understanding of the area’s local climate and landscape. Its structures are built in accordance to climatic control, such as using appropriate building materials, planning an efficient building layout, ensuring adequate ventilation and using effective

18

Lester Silveira, “Cidade de Goa : Charles Correa’s iconic entrance gateway is no more,” The Balcao,

published May 27, 2018, https://thebalcao.com/cidade-de-goa-entrance-gateway-demolished/ 19

Silveira, “Cidade de Goa: Charles Correa’s iconic entrance gateway is no more.”

20

Silveira, “Cidade de Goa: Charles Correa’s iconic entrance gateway is no more.”

21

Cidade de Goa. In Mimar 5: Architecture in Development, edited by Hasan-Uddin Khan. Singapore: Concept

Media Ltd., 1982, 46, https://archnet.org/publications/2843

Page |7 vegetation to allow for shade and wind protection22. All these aspects involve working with the existing ground and climatic conditions in order to design structures that meet the local inhabitant’s needs and comfort.

For example, the traditional Malay Kampung house uses large eaves, ventilated roofs, open plan, lightweight construction materials and stilts to raise the house slightly higher than ground plane (see Fig. 12 in appendix) in order to provide shade, weather protection and cooling to its inhabitants23. Its open plan, full height windows and minimal interior partitions allow for air to enter the interior and keep its inhabitants cool in the warm climate (see Fig. 13 in appendix). Later shophouses in Singapore have used a similar style of architecture with verandahs for better ventilation.

This style of Malay Kampung house and Singapore shophouses has been reinterpreted in Malaysian architect and planner Tay Kheng Soon’s Kampong Bugis master plan which he proposed for Kampong Bugis, Singapore in 198924. This project was never actually built but it explores his idea of creating an “intelligent tropical city”25 and proposes a plan containing a compact arrangement of mixed-use highrise buildings which would be detached from the ground plane (see Fig. 14 in appendix). This mixeduse feature of every building would allow for a variety of activities that would thereby enable people to stay within one building and limit contact with the outdoor tropical climate26. Green vertical gardens on

22

Kamarul Syahril Kamal et al., “Climatic design of the traditional Malay house to meet

the requirements of modern living,” Contexts of architecture, the 38th International Conference of Architectural Science Association ANZAScA, Launceston: Tasmania (2004): 177. http://anzasca.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ANZAScA2004_Kamal.pdf 23

Kamal et al., “Climatic design of the traditional Malay house to meet

the requirements of modern living,” 177-178 24

Rutger Roodt, Contextualizing the Tropics (University of Melbourne, Australia, 2013), 15,

https://www.academia.edu/22927891/Contextualizing_the_Tropics_Essay_on_Tay_Kheng_Soon 25

Roodt, Contextualizing the Tropics, 11.

26

Roodt, Contextualizing the Tropics, 13.

Page |8 traditional shophouse-inspired verandahs and balconies would generate cool air and provide ventilation to the buildings.

The Kampong Bugis master plan reintroduces elements of the Malay Kampung house, like the verandahs and the idea of natural ventilation, and creates a certain nostalgia to identify with Malay heritage in Singapore, but in a new radical way that no longer serves the purpose it used to for the local people as vernacular architecture.

Its use of modern materials, disengagement with the ground plane and local climate, and placement of people from kampung style dwelling into a high-rise building alters its egalitarian function as a vernacular Kampung housing-inspired plan and can be alternatively interpreted as a recreation of the vernacular style for easier consumption by the modern elite. The use of vernacular architecture in this way, as an appropriation and abstraction, changes its original function and use.

Each of the projects discussed as here case studies provides a wider recognition and awareness for vernacular architecture forms and responds to the needs of modern-day society. However, when looked at from the lens of vernacular architecture, the extravagance, unaffordability and inaccessibility by local people, of these projects raises question on who these projects are being designed for and whether that reflects the basic characteristic of vernacular architecture, which is, an architecture for ordinary people.

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Appendix

Figure 1 Robert Lian-Saging, Pre 1945 Kelabit longhouse, 2012

Figure 2 Sarawak Museum, A traditional Kelabit longhouse, c. 1940.

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Figure 3 XO Private, The Datai Langkawi - thatched roof and courtyard, 2019

Figure 4 Kerry Hill Architects, Section through the main public spaces of The Datai, 1995

Figure 5 XO Private, The Datai Langkawi, 2019

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Figure 6 XO Private, The Datai Langkawi - private verandah, 2019

Figure 7 Prajakt Kamulkar, Arch of Viceroy, Old Goa, 2017

Figure 8 AAP, Traditional Portuguese village, 1961

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Figure 9 Lester Silveira, Cidade de Goa gateway, 2018

Figure 10 Lester Silveira, Street arches design in Cidade de Goa restaurant, 2018

Figure 11 Joseph St. Anne., Site plan of Cidade de Goa, 1982

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Figure 12 Yuan, The external environment of the traditional Malay house, 1987

Figure 13 Yuan, Climatic design of the traditional Malay house, 1987

Figure 14 Rutger Roodt, Kampong Bugis section view, 2013

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References Barros, Fernando Cerqueira, et al., “Vernacular Architecture in Portugal: Regional Variations,” ResearchGate, published May 14, 2019. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324439249_Vernacular_Architecture_in_Portugal_Regional _Variations Choudhury, Indrajit Roy. “Goa | Viceroy’s Arch,” Indrosphere, published October 27, 2018, https://indroyc.com/2018/10/27/viceroys-arch-old-goa/ Cidade de Goa. In Mimar 5: Architecture in Development, edited by Hasan-Uddin Khan. Singapore: Concept Media Ltd., 1982. https://archnet.org/publications/2843 Ewart, Ian J. "Social and Material Influences on the Kelabit Dwelt Environment." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review 23, no. 2 (2012): 69-82. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41758896.

Fernandes, Joao Ramires. Portuguese influence on the secular and religious architecture of Goa (Goa: Institute Cultural de Macau, 1990) https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/knowledgebank-article/portuguese_influence_of_the_secular_and.pdf Glassie, Henry. "Vernacular Architecture and Society." Material Culture 16, no. 1 (1984): 4-24. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41784816.

Heath, Kingston Wm. "Defining the Nature of Vernacular." Material Culture 35, no. 2 (2003): 4854. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/29764189 Kamal, Kamarul Syahril, et al., “Climatic design of the traditional Malay house to meet the requirements of modern living,” Contexts of architecture, the 38th International Conference of Architectural Science Association ANZAScA, Launceston: Tasmania (2004): 175-179. http://anzasca.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ANZAScA2004_Kamal.pdf Roodt, Rutger. Contextualizing the Tropics (University of Melbourne, Australia, 2013) https://www.academia.edu/22927891/Contextualizing_the_Tropics_Essay_on_Tay_Kheng_Soon

P a g e | 15 Silveira, Lester. “Cidade de Goa: Charles Correa’s iconic entrance gateway is no more,” The Balcao, published May 27, 2018. https://thebalcao.com/cidade-de-goa-entrance-gateway-demolished/ Tan, Hock-Beng. "(Re)presenting the vernacular/(Re)inventing authenticity: Resort architecture in Southeast Asia." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review 6, no. 2 (1995): 25-36. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41757182.

The Datai. “The Datai Langkawi.” Accessed November 4 2019. https://www.thedatai.com/aboutus/the-datai-langkawi/

Image sources Figure 1. Lian-Saging, Robert. “Pre 1945 Kelabit longhouse.” In Ewart, Ian J. "Social and Material Influences on the Kelabit Dwelt Environment." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review 23, no.

2 (2012): 72. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41758896.

Figure 2. Sarawak Museum. “A traditional Kelabit longhouse.” In Ewart, Ian J. "Social and Material Influences on the Kelabit Dwelt Environment." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review 23, no.

2 (2012): 72. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41758896.

Figure 3. XO Private, The Datai Langkawi - thatched roof and courtyard. 2019, photograph.

Accessed November 4, 2019. https://www.xoprivate.com/suite-masters/the-datai-langkawi/ Figure 4. Kerry Hill Architects, “Section through the main public spaces of The Datai.” In Tan, Hock-Beng. "(Re)presenting the vernacular/(Re)inventing authenticity: Resort architecture in Southeast Asia." Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review 6, no. 2 (1995): 31. http://www.jstor.org.ezp.lib.unimelb.edu.au/stable/41757182.

Figure 5. XO Private, The Datai Langkawi. 2019, photograph. Accessed November 4, 2019. https://www.xoprivate.com/suite-masters/the-datai-langkawi/

P a g e | 16 Figure 6. XO Private, The Datai Langkawi - private verandah. 2019, photograph. Accessed November 4, 2019. https://www.xoprivate.com/suite-masters/the-datai-langkawi/ Figure 7. Kamulkar, Prajakt. Arch of Viceroy, Old Goa. 2017, photograph. Accessed November 5 2019, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arch_of_Viceroy,_Old_Goa.jpg Figure 8. AAP. “Traditional Portuguese village.” In Barros, Fernando Cerqueira, et al., “Vernacular Architecture in Portugal: Regional Variations,” ResearchGate, 12, published May 14, 2019. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324439249_Vernacular_Architecture_in_Portugal_Regional _Variations Figure 9. Silveira, Lester. Cidade de Goa gateway. 2018, photograph. Accessed November 5 2019, https://thebalcao.com/cidade-de-goa-entrance-gateway-demolished/ Figure 10. Silveira, Lester. Street arches design in Cidade de Goa restaurant. 2018, photograph.

Accessed November 5 2019, https://thebalcao.com/cidade-de-goa-entrance-gateway-demolished/ Figure 11. Anne, Joseph St., “Site plan of Cidade de Goa.” In Cidade de Goa, Mimar 5: Architecture in Development, edited by Hasan-Uddin Khan. Singapore: Concept Media Ltd., 1982, 46. Accessed November 6 2019, https://archnet.org/publications/2843 Figure 12. Yuan, “The external environment of the traditional Malay house,” In Kamal, Kamarul Syahril, et al., “Climatic design of the traditional Malay house to meet the requirements of modern living,” Contexts of architecture, the 38th International Conference of Architectural Science Association ANZAScA, Launceston: Tasmania (2004): 176. Accessed November 6, 2019. http://anzasca.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/ANZAScA2004_Kamal.pdf Figure 13. Yuan, “Climatic design of the traditional Malay house,” In Kamal, Kamarul Syahril, et al., “Climatic design of the traditional Malay house to meet the requirements of modern living,” Contexts of architecture, the 38th International Conference of Architectural Science Association ANZAScA, Launceston: Tasmania (2004): 177. Accessed November 6, 2019. http://anzasca.net/wpcontent/uploads/2014/08/ANZAScA2004_Kamal.pdf

P a g e | 17 Figure 14. Roodt, Rutger. Kampong Bugis section view. In Contextualizing the Tropics (University of Melbourne, Australia, 2013), 14. Accessed November 6 2019, https://www.academia.edu/22927891/Contextualizing_the_Tropics_Essay_on_Tay_Kheng_Soon