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Can a house be modern, convenient and smart, and at the same time be energy-efficient, sustainable, environment-friendly with a touch of old-world grace and charm? The answer, in a word, is yes. Bring all the good elements of traditional local construction design to your brand-new house. Vernacular architecture, also known as regional architecture, refers to the designing of buildings using indigenous materials, taking the help of local workers and following local, traditional practices. Vernacular constructs are a result of a dialogue between the ecological, economic and social factors of a particular region. It is a knowledge bank that can trigger creativity in modern-day designers and professionals. Wondering how? Let’s dig a bit deeper and go through the many lessons this architectural style can teach us.

Vernacular architecture designs for the dwelling needs of the local people. Through the ages, effective use of available natural resources and local construction techniques have worked hand-in-hand to best serve the native communities. From the layout to architectural details of the home, vernacular design grew to be a sensitive response to the homeowners’ contextual surrounding, like topography, climate and so on, as well as their lifestyles.

This makes vernacular design a distinct approach in planning a contemporary home too, one that also fits in its immediate context.

Employ local materials
Use of indigenous and local materials directly reduces the need for transportation, cuts down costs, offers a resilient supply chain and limits energy usage in general.

For example, thatch is a waste material obtained from dry crops. It is biodegradable, highly economical and is proved to embody considerable insulating properties when used correctly. Rammed earth and adobe, primary materials of earth construction, are derivatives of the abundant organic soil. Timber is another readily-available biodegradable yet durable material with multiple, integral applications. Stone, bamboo, grass are other prominent materials particular to the vernacular of different regions of India.

Conventional ‘modern’ materials are often produced and applied involving ecologically harmful processes. Some continue to be potentially harmful to our health, when we live in houses that include those materials. On the other hand, using local organic materials will cut down harmful emissions in the home, making the structure a healthy place to live in.

Respond to the climate
Vernacular construction takes into account the orientation, planning and layout of the building in accordance with the sunlight, wind, rain and overall temperature profile of the locale. The correct combination of these passive design elements and the layout of the home results in high-performing, climate-conscious structures. Passive design enables human comfort inside the home by adjusting the heating, cooling and lighting levels with the help of non-mechanical techniques like conduction, convection, radiation and stack effect.

When a structure is responsive to the local climate, its thermal efficiency reduces utility and operation costs significantly.

Make it sustainable
The backbone of low-tech, environment-friendly processes and energy-efficient design principles makes vernacular architecture a good friend of sustainability. This design style imparts the structure with flexibility, a longer lifespan, energy conservation, waste minimisation, low-cost maintenance and more.

Be socially and economically sound
Historically, local workers and craftsmen built houses of their area with their available knowledge and skill sets. This turned out to be an economical and socially uplifting strategy of construction. Vernacular design and production not only generated employment for local craftsmen and professionals in the region, but also led to the development of specific styles of architecture according to the availability of skills and resources of that region. This further led to preservation of the local heritage and created a cultural legacy that we see in different areas today. This legacy can be continued to blend with modern techniques and designing processes to craft edgy, multi-faceted homes.