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Vernacular Architecture

Vernacular architecture refers to structures built of local materials in a functional style devised to meet the needs of common people in their time and place. It is sometimes called folk architecture. Vernacular structures were built by people not schooled in any kind of formal architectural design. The anonymously-built log cabins, barns, and farm outbuildings that can be seen in rural areas are good examples of vernacular architecture.

Historically, worldwide, most buildings were built by people without benefit of plans by an architect. It is thought that up to 90% of all buildings have been vernacular---they were built for every day use by ordinary people.

Sample the following internet sites and complete the activities for each one to learn more about hogans, dog-trot houses, and sod homes.

Using the resources listed below, choose 2 Native American tribes. Describe their vernacular homes. Example : Navajo (hogans), Iroquois (longhouses), different Plains tribes (teepees), etc. Include how the building materials of their homes were reflective of their individual cultures and geographic locations.

Sod Houses
http://websteader.com/wbstdsd1.htm

Sod was the main building material on the Great Plains in the early days of America because trees were scarce. Settlers cut the sod into blocks that were used as bricks. Some sod houses were dugouts; only the front wall was made out of sod and the rest of the house was dug into the bank of a ravine.

  1. What held the bricks of sod together?
  2. How was the sod cut?
  3. What were the roofs of most sod homes made from?
  4. Look at the cross-section photo of sod. Why do you think that the loss of sod on the Great Plains contributed to the phenomenon known as the Dust Bowl in the 1920s?
  5. How were the plows that cut prairie sod powered?
  6. What were the interior walls of sod homes sometimes covered with?
  7. According to this site, settlers sometimes watered the floor of sod homes. Why?
  8. How could cows be an enemy to sod homes?
  9. Was fire a worry for inhabitants of sod homes? Why or why not?
  10. According to this site, would could be troublesome to people in sod homes in the winter time?
  11. In later years, how were sod homes sometimes enhanced to make them better?
  12. How did wide walls in sod homes that were "2 stacks deep" benefit the people who lived there?

Vernacular Architecture of the World
http://www.GreatBuildings.com/types/styles/vernacular.html

From this list choose a vernacular building style. Using the information from this Great Buildings site and the resources from SIRS Discoverer, SIRS Researcher, Infotrac, or World Book Encylopedia Online, write a one page summary of the type of structure. Include such details as:

If one of the above online resources includes a photo or illustration of the building style, print it out and include it with the summary.

The Barn Journal Online
http://www.thebarnjournal.org/

  1. Barns, silos, and farm outbuildings are also considered to be vernacular buildings. Browse through these photos of American barns and explain how they fit into the definition of vernacular architecture.

World's Largest Roadside Attractions
http://www.infomagic.net/~martince/

  1. From this site, find 2 vernacular structures. Describe how they fit into the definition of vernacular and tell where they are located.

Teacher Resources

Teaching With Historic Places
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/
From the National Register of Historic Places, you'll find lesson plans and educational materials to teach about America's past as it relates to its historic places.

Author: LINDA MOSBACKER - Email linda.mosbacker@slc.k12.ut.us