 "Vernacular architecture can be said to be 'the architectural language of

the people' with its ethnic, regional and local 'dialects,'" writes Paul
Oliver, author of The Encyclopaedia of Vernacular Architecture of The
World’. Unfortunately, there has been a growing disregard for
traditional architectural language around the world due to modern
building technology quickly spreading a “loss of identity and cultural
vibrancy” through what the Architectural Review recently described as
“a global pandemic of generic buildings.” People have come to see steel,
concrete and glass as architecture of high quality, whereas a lot of
vernacular methods including adobe, reed or peat moss are often
associated with underdevelopment. Ironically, these local methods are
far more sustainable and contextually aware than much contemporary
architecture seen today, despite ongoing talks and debates about the
importance of sustainability. As a result of these trends, a tremendous
amount of architectural and cultural knowledge is being lost.
 Found in what is possibly the wettest human-inhabited place on
earth, during monsoon season in Meghalaya the rivers grow to
become far more violent and powerful than in the dry season. To
cross, the Khasi tribes that lived in the region would build
bamboo bridges, however they were not strong enough to last
the monsoon. Around 180 years ago they experimented with a
new technique, pulling the roots of a rubber tree across a river
the slowly grew into a bridge that is now capable of sustaining
the weight of 50 people. The living root bridges of Meghalaya
take around 25-30 years to grow, and they only grow stronger
with time. There are a few living bridges that have had enough
time to grow into fully functioning structures, but over the last
25 years this practice has begun to die out. Waiting decades for a
bridge to form is far too long in our modern day world, especially
when a steel or concrete alternative can be constructed in a
fraction of that time—although they certainly aren’t as magical.
 In Gurunsi the art of rock painting is still very much alive—
it has just been transferred from caves to buildings. The
mud huts are constructed, then covered in mud, cow dung,
soil, pulverised rock, clay and chalk to produce elaborate
geometric patterns on the facades of the houses. Gurunsi
women redecorate the buildings every 4-5 years with these
murals, which often consist of motifs associated with
specific meanings such as cultivated fields, rolled grass or
the pattern of a man’s woven shirt. Each building is
different, reflecting the personal taste of the inhabitants,
resulting in a village that is rich with a variety of artistic
and cultural expression.
 In the town of Harran in Southern Turkey, houses shaped a little like
beehives were once a popular housing structure, constructed out of
adobe, brick and stone found in the area. The domed shape can be
built quickly, making it a very practical construction for the nomadic
population to set up that is still resistant to heat and cold, unlike a
common tent for example. Ventilation holes on the sides provide
cooling air-circulation through cross-ventilation, and on top of the
dome one acts as a chimney. Their domed shapes also mean that there
is a low surface-to-volume ratio, meaning that there is very little heat
loss during the cold winter months. Due to the transition of their
nomadic culture into a more settled one, the beehive houses are no
longer used as homes but more as storage spaces or barns. This
declining importance and value of the buildings in their society mean
that they are no longer restored, resulting in a collection of houses in a
poor state. New housing units around the city lack also lack a
contextual relationship with the beehive houses, as knowledge of their
construction techniques diminishes.
 On the island of Læsø in northern Denmark there is a longstanding
tradition for seaweed roofs, made using eelgrass. A successful salt
industry on the island meant that most of the trees were used to power
kilns for salt refinement, leaving residents with little to construct their
homes. As a result, they used driftwood from shipwrecks and eelgrass
from the ocean that were able to withstand decay for hundreds of years,
thanks to the fact that they were impregnated with saltwater.
Unfortunately a fungal disease wiped out over 200 of the existing
buildings in the 1930s, leaving only 19. There is an ongoing attempt to
conserve the remaining buildings, however with 300 kilograms of
eelgrass required for every 1 square meter of roofing, restoring the
vernacular buildings on Læsø is not the simplest of tasks. The
reforestation of the the island has also contributed to the decay of the
roofs; surrounding trees now protect them from the salt laden winds
that once covered the eelgrass, allowing plants to take root in the
seaweed that then begins to rot. Fortunately Danish citizens have not
given up, and continue the effort to restore any buildings they can, even
building the first seaweed roof from scratch in over a century.
 The Ma’dan people, or Marsh Arabs as they are sometimes known,
inhabit the marshlands at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers in Iraq. Around the marshes grow a substantial amount of reeds
that the Ma’dan use to build with; wrapping them in bundles to create
columns, arches and walls, a reed house can be erected in just 3 days.
Sometimes they float on "islands" called "tuhul," and other times they
are moved depending on the rising and falling water levels, re-erected
in less than one day. These homes, though extremely simple in their
material and construction, can last up to 25 years with proper care.
Unfortunately, during the rule of Saddam Hussein the Marsh Arabs
were persecuted for housing people the government regarded as
terrorists or enemies of the state. The marshes were drained to the
point where much of the Ma’dan population had no choice but to move
in order to find adequate food, diminishing their population of half a
million down to around 1,600 at the turn of the century. Over a decade
later and after the fall of the regime, the dams were broken, restoring
the marshes to around 50% of their original size and opening up an
opportunity for the regrowth of the Ma’dan culture.
 Built by wine-makers in Haute-Loire, France, the chibotte
is a dry-stone hut that was used as a temporary, seasonal
dwelling in fields or vineyards. Owners of a vineyard would
typically live in their chibotte on Sundays or during the
summer, up until around the 1920s when the huts began to
be replaced with more comfortable pavilions. Due to the
volcanic plateaus of the Velay region in the Haute-Loire,
chibottes were usually constructed using volcanic rock
such as basalt that was removed from the earth when
planting a vineyard. The vaults were constructed with a
technique that included two layers: an inner arch whose
rocks were angled outwards, and an outer arch whose rocks
were angled inwards, hence supporting each other.
 Literally "water storage" in Persian, the ab-anbar used to be
the cistern systems that supplied water to Iranian cities.
The underground reservoirs sometimes descended as far as
20 meters below ground level, protected by a dome that
prevented evaporation and any contamination of the water.
They were constructed using bricks that contained a
mortar called "sarooj," considered to be impermeable to
water. Badgir, or wind-catchers, channelled air down into
the cistern to cool the water and prevent condensation on
the inside of the dome. In a desert, a structure as important
as this one was incredibly valuable, often integrated into
other highly-regarded structures such as mosques. With
the introduction of pipelines however, the ab-anbars have
started on their road to extinction. They are now, for the
most part, just tourist attractions.
 Vernacular architecture in the Southeast Asian regions is usually,
as with most vernacular building, built from local materials—in
this case, wood. Unfortunately wood rots easily in the humid
tropical climate, making it necessary to repair buildings on a
regular basis. To deal with the humidity and heat, traditional
Malay Houses were designed to be porous, allowing for cross
ventilation through the building to cool it down. Large
overhanging roofs allow for open windows in rain and sun, both
of which occur on nearly a daily basis. Building on stilts was
another way to increase airflow and prevent damage to the house
in the event of heavy downpours. However, this knowledge of
passive cooling systems seems to have been lost in the midst of
urbanization, being replaced by air conditioners that are
attached to buildings that were not well designed for the
Southeast Asian climate.
 Also known as the Land of the Dogons, 289 villages of earthen
buildings cover sandstone plateaus, escarpments and plains in
the landscape of Mali. The Dogon adapted to the hostile
environment, that in turn became a form of defense against any
potential attackers since the 15th Century. Despite the centuries-
old building knowledge of an unforgiving environment, socio-
economic and environmental factors have driven parts of the
Dogon population toward more urban surroundings. Not only
does this mean a reduced production of more vernacular
architecture and a loss of knowledge, but also a "contaminated"
resource, as the Land of the Dogons began to come into contact
with tourists and other value systems. In order to preserve the
existing sites, the Cliff of Bandiagara was designated a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1989.
 Geometrically arranged reeds are covered in mud to
produce the domestic mud huts of the Mugsum people.
The huts are built in the form of a catenary arch,
withstanding the maximum load with minimum material.
In order to construct the complete 9-meter-tall arch, as
well as to maintain it, the geometry of the facade creates
practical footholds, in addition to their aesthetic qualities.
Similarly to the Harran constructions in Turkey, the
Mugsum huts also have a hole in the ceiling, acting as a
chimney as well as an escape hatch in the event of a flood.
Before the discovery of cement constructions, Mugsum
mud huts were the most popular buildings due to their low
cost and high efficiency. Sadly this has changed, and the
mud huts are now seen as "outdated," resulting in a steep
decline in the construction method.
 “Africanpaper.pdf.” Accessed February 15, 2017.
 Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. “Cliff of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons).” UNESCO
World Heritage Centre. Accessed February 15, 2017.
 Miles, Paul. “The Danish Revival of Seaweed Thatching.” Financial Times, August 30,
2008.
 “Musgum Mud Huts.” Wikipedia, January 30, 2017.
 Özdeniz, Mesut B, Ayhan Bekleyen, I.A Gönül, and M Yildirim. “Vernacular Domed
Houses of Harran, Turkey (PDF Download Available).” ResearchGate, December 1998,
479–85.
 Puiu, Tibi. “The Mesopotamian Venice: The Lost Floating Homes of Iraq.” ZME Science,
December 16, 2014.
 Saeidian, Amin. “Ab-Anbar, Sustainable Traditional Water Supply System in Hot Arid
Regions, Remarkable Example of Iranian Vernacular Architecture.” Department of
Architecture, Mahshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahshahr Iran, March 20, 2013.
 “Chibotte.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, November 3, 2016.
 “Vernacular Architecture.” Comfort Futures. Accessed February 14, 2017.
 “Goahti.” Wikipedia, January 13, 2017.
 Vallangi, Neelima. “India’s Amazing Living Root Bridges,” April 13, 2015. Accessed
February 14, 2017.