Lessons from Vernacular Architecture ─ Achieving Climatic Buildings by Studying the Past

The architectural community has had a strong and continuing interest in traditional and vernacular architecture. This has been rekindled by the need to develop an architecture that works with climate, rather than against it, to create more sustainable buildings. Most earlier research and existing publications on traditional or vernacular architecture have followed an anthropological or archaeological approach, whereas books on climatic design and sustainable architecture tend to refer to contemporary principles and built precedents without direct reference to past experience.

Lessons from Traditional Architecture takes lessons directly from traditional and vernacular architecture and offers them to the reader as guidance and inspiration for new buildings. The appropriate technical and social solutions provided by vernacular and traditional architecture are analysed in detail. International case studies focus on environmental design aspects of traditional architecture in a broad range of climatic conditions and building types.

Simos Yannas is the Director of the Environment & Energy Studies Programme at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London where he is responsible for the Master of Science and Master of Architecture in Sustainable Environmental Design and is the Academic Coordinator of the AA School's PhD Programme. Willi Weber is a fully qualified architect. He is Professor of Building Physics at the Institute of Environmental Sciences of the University of Geneva. During 10 years he was the Director of the University Centre for the Study of Energy Problems (CUEPE) where he directed a research group involved in expert appraisals in the field of energy and environment in architecture.