Topic
category of architecture based on local needs, construction materials and reflecting local traditions
Vernacular architecture is building done outside any academic tradition, and without the involvement of professional designers and architects. Vernacular architecture is not a particular architectural movement or style. Rather, it is a broad category, encompassing a wide range and variety of building types; with differing methods of construction from around the world, including historical and extant, classical and modern examples. In 1995, Amos Rapoport estimated that vernacular architecture constitutes 95% of the world's built environment, as measured against the small percentage of new buildings every year designed by architects and built by engineers. Vernacular architecture directly influences traditional architecture, a professional and academic practice deliberately and explicitly referencing and continuing local historical traditions and vernacular.
