Traditional designs, construction techniques and building materials
Traditions are locally related to specific regions and socially to particular communities. Traditional knowledge is passed on within these communities and adapted to changing needs, which contributes to continuous changes in building styles, construction techniques and the use of building materials. Ecological, economic and social conditions influence these changes in a complex interaction.
The understanding of changing influences enables us to visualise causal relations in the regional development of building design and construction techniques, for example in the development of corner-timbered constructions (a) on an ecological level due to certain local timber resources, topographical conditions, climatic conditions, etc.; (b) on an economic level, for example, through certain economic conditions or trade routes; (c) at a political and legal level, for example through legally limited access to natural resources or the amendment of building legislation; (d) at a technical level, for example through new opportunities in the processing of raw materials; (e) at the social level, for example through migration.
In a wider context, understanding these causal relationships influences our understanding of sustainability, thus illustrating the complex concept of natural space and traditional building culture and its sensitivity in reacting to changes of various kinds .
In this seminar selected buildings will be surveyed and their construction techniques, building materials, their genesis and transformationsand will be analyzed. A focus is on traditional building techniques using clay, stone, wood, natural fibers and possible methods of combinations. Material deposits, material properties and processing methods play a central role.
Traditional designs often do not meet today's technical requirements. This raises questions about dealing with traditional constructions by using "modern" technical methods. How did the traditional protection of earthen walls from moisture or of wooden walls from fire work? How could dry stone walls maintain their stability over centuries and how were fibers used in the reinforcement of mineral building materials? Are traditional construction techniques still up-to-date and what can we learn from them for today's applications? A discourse will contribute to the understanding of certain qualities of traditional construction techniques and examine certain methods of conservation on selected traditional buildings.
