A Study on the Sustainability of the Traditional Sirinić Houses in the Šar Mountain Region, the South-Western Balkans

Saja Kosanović, Branislav Folić, Stefan Kovačević, Ivana Nikolić and Ljubiša Folić
Additional contact information
Saja Kosanović: Department for Architecture, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kneza Miloša Street 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Branislav Folić: Department for Architecture, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kneza Miloša Street 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Stefan Kovačević: Department for Architecture, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kneza Miloša Street 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Ivana Nikolić: Department for Architecture, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kneza Miloša Street 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia
Ljubiša Folić: Department for Architecture, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kneza Miloša Street 7, 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: The research of traditional rural architecture in developing regions is important to both the preservation of cultural heritage and the mitigation of the trends and consequences of unsustainable rural shifts. In the Western Balkans, for example, negative transformation of the rural environment happens more rapidly than the recording of its traditional built assets. For that reason, the objectives of the present research were to explore general and specific (sustainability-related) characteristics of traditional rural houses in the so far insufficiently studied microregion of the Western Balkans of Sirinićka Župa (Sirinić), to reveal their values and to initiate discussion of the role of heritage regeneration in sustainable rural development. Study has shown that the most significant values of Sirinić houses include opulent spatial-functional typology, distinct architectural expression, and sustainability-related quality in terms of applied materials, structural systems, and multipurpose techniques and elements, as well as a high level of spatial comfort. A necessary regeneration of the traditional houses of Sirinićka Župa must be formulated in a way that enables preservation of recognized general values and further improvement of environmental quality and climate resilience. Simultaneously, functional reactivation of traditional houses should be understood as a contribution to the sustainable development of Sirinićka Župa.

Keywords: Sirinićka Župa; heritage; rural houses; sustainable design principles; regeneration; functional reactivation; rural sustainability (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 (3)

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