Hebridean Black House
The Black House located on the Hebridean islands of Scotland’s west coast stand for one of the earliest type of house forms of this region. This entire region has substantially high levels of humidity as a result of the maritime climate. Although the temperature in winter is generally moderate, the moisture in the air and the mist give the impression of cold weather. However, the predominant climatic factor are the prevailing westerly winds, influenced by the Atlantic ocean. Most exposed coastal areas can encounter force 8 winds for most of the winter season and therefore heavy solid materials are promoted in such climates, stone being the commonly accepted choice. Due to its durability, most vernacular buildings which are constructed of stone managed to live through these harsh conditions till this day.
The Black house’s basic form is that of a long and narrow rectangular room with two separate levels. The higher elevated end serves as the living space for the family while the lower area is used to shelter the owner’s cow. This difference in level, along with the slight incline of the floor, ensure that any rain water or animal manure drain outwards and away from the living quarters. The division of the areas was merely made by a low stone wall. The entrance of the black house is through one low door, which opens into the area reserved for the cow. These dwellings do not contain any windows or chimneys, but light penetrates inside the house through two small holes at the bottom of the roof. The door is used simultaneously with these small apertures to allow a small amount of ventilation to fuel the fire which lies at the centre of the room.
In this region, builders are quite limited on resources since ...
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...rom http://www.nickladd.com/downloads/Essays_on_the_vernacular.pdf
Little, B., & Morton, T. (2001). Building with earth in scotland : Innovative design and sustainability. Retrieved from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/156686/0042109.pdf
Ministry of Tourism of Mongolia. (2002). Mongolia information. Retrieved from http://www.asia-planet.net/mongolia/culture.htm
Ness Historical Society. (n.d.). The ‘Blackhouse’. Retrieved from http://www.c-e-n.org/blackhouse.htm
Oliver, P. (Ed.). (1997). Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World (Vols. 1 - 3). New York, NY : Cambridge University Press.
The Drachman Institute. (2008). House form and culture. Retrieved from http://www.drachmaninstitute.org/sites/default/files/House_Form&Culture.pdf
Wright, K. (2005). Traditional Mongolian ger. Retrieved from http://www.bioregions.org/pdfs/GerOwnersPamphlet.pdf
James F. O'Gorman, Dennis E. McGrath. ABC of Architecture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998. Document. October 2013.
“Various animals build shelters but only humans built homes. (Pg. 1)” The word home evokes so many emotions and mental image of past and future. At the end of the day there is no greater comfort then going home. Yet in our daily hustle and bustle and hectic schedule we seldom take time to appreciate the most age old technology that keep us safe and provide comfort. From the basic shelter and cave dwelling of the earliest humans to the modern concrete jungle of the present, humans have move past the simple shelter. Technology has allowed us to build modern homes in various shapes and sizes but this technology follows thousands of years of footstep. The author did not just catalog different structures and domicile of human history but told a story of what these structure means to us. Moore starts off on a dig site searching for archaic structures. Moore explains how humans just don’t build shelter like most animals, human homes signifies social status, comfort, shelter and creativity. Moore uses the famous multimillion dollar house of Aaron Spelling in Hollywood as an example of how extravagant our humble dwelling can be. Human homes are different shapes and sizes and often build with different material and standard based on geographical location. I believe A Prehistory of Homes is a book about the history of technology because it is written about one of the most essential invention of human evolution. Human went from caves to build our own shelter. It allowed us to be mobile and become a foraging creature. The author addresses the most commonly shared interest and provides knowledge, history and relation to past and future of our homes.
Hitchcock, Henry Russell. Early Victorian Architecture in Britain Volumes I and II. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954.
Dell Upton is a historian and renowned professor of architecture and Urbanism at the University of California. He has published several books on architecture; one of them is “Architecture in the United States”, published in 1998. In this book, Upton analyzes the architecture of the United States in different aspects, such as nature, money and art, thus depicting the great variety in architectural forms, and how throughout the decades, different interests have lead communities to different ways of building, different purposes and materials, thus reflecting their way of thinking and their relationship with the environment. By exploring so many different architectural styles, Upton reveals the great diversity and richness that has always, and continues to characterize American architecture.
To of the most striking descriptions used to portray the house are those of the windows and the fissure. He describes the windows as “vacant [and] eye-like.” With this description the narrator effectively anthropomorphizes the house. Thus he almost gives the status of character to the house. The other outstanding description is that of the fissure. It is described as “a barely perceptible fissure, which [extends] from the roof of the building in front, [making] its way down the wall in a zigzag direction, until it [becomes] lost in the sullen waters of the tarn.” It is interesting to note that the narrator spends so much time describing a feature that he describes as barely perceptible.
Thus, Mark Z. Danieleski's House of Leaves contains many gothic elements. It has family secrets, sexual deviance, architecture, and death and decay present in the different layers of the story. Just as the story has many layers so does the house. It appears idyllic and serene on the outside, but on the inside is a den of darkness and death. Perhaps as someone in the book has claimed, it is the collective product of every inhabitant's agonies. Whatever the cause of the house, it remains an enigma.
middle of paper ... ... Bolton, Arthur T. The architecture of Robert & James Adam. London, Country Life. 1922.
The relatives must have a sharp thought of the existing climate conditions and they ought to have an arrangement to empty the building in most exceedingly terrible cases. They must be given a fitting direction when such circumstance happens. Typically the children in the house must be given legitimate guidelines for their survival and
Charles Jencks in his book “The Language of Post-Modern Architecture “shows various similarities architecture shares with language, reflecting about the semiotic rules of architecture and wanting to communicate architecture to a broader public. The book differentiates post-modern architecture from architectural modernism in terms of cultural and architectural history by transferring the term post-modernism from the study of literature to architecture.
In conclusion, Wright had successfully break through his vision of destructing a rigid boxy style of 19th century architecture and refined his idea of what a house should look like; to be in a harmony with nature. As been described earlier, with plenty of technical problems, he acknowledged young architects; even a house needs constant attentions (Stungo, N., 1999). Wright’s ideal of bringing human closer to the nature had inspired many architects until today, Wright to his students “Falling water is one of the great blessing to be experienced”. In point of fact, admirers of him never stop praised of his works; Cliff Hickman passionately said “I had never before seen anything so beautiful … Over and over I came back to look at the photograph of Fallingwater, the most illustrious of all Frank Lloyd Wright architectural masterpieces” (Hickman, C., n.d).
Yan, J. & Plainiotis, S. (2006): Design for Sustainability. Beijing, China: Architecture and Building Press.
To understand the role of place in architecture, the author compares architecture to language. Language has patterns and arrangements, architecture relates directly to what humans do. It changes or evolves as
The beginnings of today's green revolution can be traced back to the environmental awareness of the 1960s and European design. New construction techniques have lead to the development of innovative materials and design concepts. Green buildings are designed, constructed and commissioned to ensure they are healthy for their occupants. Successfully designed green projects can involve an extensive array of factors, ranging from the resourceful use of materials, to careful consideration of function, climate, and location.
"A Renewed Commitment to Buildings and Their Social Benefits." U.S. Green Building Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.