Return to the Native Earth: Historical Analysis of Foreign Influences on Traditional Architecture in Burkina Faso

María Lidón de Miguel, Fernando Vegas, Camilla Mileto and Lidia García-Soriano
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María Lidón de Miguel: Research Centre PEGASO, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Fernando Vegas: Research Centre PEGASO, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Camilla Mileto: Research Centre PEGASO, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Lidia García-Soriano: Research Centre PEGASO, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-24

Abstract: Learning from the sustainability of traditional architecture, as a solution to the current ecological crisis, seems more challenging in societies where a cultural imposition has occurred. In Burkina Faso, vernacular architecture has experienced a process of transformation, still in course, relying heavily on foreign resources and losing its adaptation to environmental conditions. As in other contexts, the dynamics of transformation are being examined. Joining this line of work, this research aims to explain the causes of the current local perception of traditional building techniques in Burkina Faso in order to consider how a sustainable development of its architecture would be possible. To this end, a historical analysis is conducted by reviewing the literature, consulting historical documents and collecting data during two stays in 2018. The study shows how earth has ceased to be appreciated by progressively becoming associated with “non-definitive constructions”; this perception is due to the narratives put forward by foreign agents since the end of the 19th century. The sustainable development of architecture in Burkina Faso seems to demand a return to the use of earth, local resource par excellence, but this will only be possible if the devaluation of this building material is reversed.

Keywords: vernacular architecture; earth; local materials; colonialism; cooperation; conservation; traditional building techniques; valorization; transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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