Houses Based on Natural Stone; A Case Study—The Bay of Kotor (Montenegro)

Dušan Tomanović, Irena Rajković, Mirko Grbić, Julija Aleksić, Nebojša Gadžić, Jasmina Lukić and Tijana Tomanović
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Dušan Tomanović: Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture, University of Priština, ul. Knjaza Miloša 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Irena Rajković: Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture, University of Priština, ul. Knjaza Miloša 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Mirko Grbić: Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture, University of Priština, ul. Knjaza Miloša 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Julija Aleksić: Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture, University of Priština, ul. Knjaza Miloša 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Nebojša Gadžić: Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture, University of Priština, ul. Knjaza Miloša 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Jasmina Lukić: Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture, University of Priština, ul. Knjaza Miloša 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Tijana Tomanović: Faculty of Technical Sciences, Department of Architecture, University of Priština, ul. Knjaza Miloša 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 14, 1-35

Abstract: The Bay of Kotor, in its exceptional natural conditions, thanks to its geographical location and influenced by historical events, saw the development of rural settlements that are historically, artistically and culturally worthy of recognition. These stone settlements were acquired completely spontaneously, keeping the same pace as the settling, and transformed to some degree due to contemporary social movement and migration. Up until the middle of the 20th century, structures on the coastline in general were built by applying the same verified methods, which remained unchanged for centuries. Unreinforced stone walls as load-bearing vertical elements, coupled with wooden floor joists attached in a traditional way are typically present in the stone architecture of the Adriatic region and karst areas in general. The construction characteristics of the stone houses built in such a way meet all needs in terms of strength, thermal insulation, and are suitable for the coastal climate of this region. The fast-paced development in the past 50 years, the inadequate legal protection of residential buildings in the Bay of Kotor, poverty, and the new rich have brought about the devastation of not only buildings built in traditional architecture styles themselves, but also the urban landscape of the bay. Throughout the Bay of Kotor, buildings built in traditional architecture styles are nowadays more and more rare to see in their original shape—houses outside of cities but which display all characteristics of civic coastal houses and buildings free of rigid style rules, even though closely in contact with them. Regardless of efforts to preserve the heritage inherited by our ancestors, cultural monuments and houses referenced here deteriorate on a daily basis due to troubles and neglect.

Keywords: houses based on natural stone; architectural heritage; the bay of Kotor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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