Contribution of the Vernacular Architecture to the Sustainability: A Comparative Study between the Contemporary Areas and the Old Quarter of a Mediterranean City

Fajer Al Tawayha, Luis Braganca and Ricardo Mateus
Additional contact information
Fajer Al Tawayha: CTAC Research Centre, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Luis Braganca: Department of Civil Engineering and CTAC Research Centre, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Ricardo Mateus: Department of Civil Engineering and CTAC Research Centre, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: The strongest point of vernacular architecture is the harmony between environment and buildings. Mediterranean vernacular architecture is harmonized with its local context, including culture and traditions. In addition, it respects environmental and climatic factors, construction materials, and morphology. In the past, people in Palestine built their houses according to their possibilities, needs, available materials, topography, and culture. Without any control from the government or any legal limitations or architects, it was people’s architecture, simple architecture. This paper discusses the differences between vernacular and contemporary residential buildings of the city of Nablus at the building scale. The research methodology adopts explanatory qualitative analysis and comparative synthesis methods for both the old and the new buildings of the city of Nablus and considers many parameters of residential buildings such as building materials, interior spaces, openings and vegetation, and the effect of sociocultural values on each. The outcomes of this research allow understanding how the new city residential buildings are far away from the sustainability principles and how the old city is close to it and how the architects and stakeholders could learn from the strategies of vernacular architecture.

Keywords: sustainability; building scale; vernacular buildings; Palestine (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 complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/896/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/896/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:896-:d:204522

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().