27^th June 2015

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Continuing from where we left off last time, I have compiled list of books and reading material one can refer to get a better understanding of the finer aspects of indigenous architecture. The books on this list are listed in no particular order and are meant to orient and introduce the student into the world of indigenous architecture. Since the values and principles of indigenous architecture overlap with the socio-cultural, socio-economic and socio-political aspects of people, it is not unthinkable to list books that deal with larger socio-political ideas of space and people.

It is very easy to get carried away with the material and technological wave that is generally associated with indigenous architecture. Contemporary practices of indigenous architecture today are driven by the technological and material pursuit of architecture in both India and abroad. It is easy to get trapped in this as these aspects are tangible- they can be touched, felt and measured. Fortunately indigenous architecture is far richer than that. To understand the finer nuances of the relationship between the physical aspects of material and technology and other aspects like sociology, economy and political theory, one will have to dig deeper. After all indigenous architecture is all about the people. If you take them out of the picture, then it ceases to be architecture and remains only as abstract art. The following books attempt to do justice to above topics. I have not read all of them and this is certainly not a conclusive list, So suggestions and comments on additions are highly appreciated.

Indigenous Architecture Book List 2015

• The Barefoot Architect– Johan van Lengen

• Atlas of Vernacular Architecture of the World– byMarcel Vellinga(Author), Paul Oliver (Author), Alexander Bridge (Author)

• Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World– by Paul Oliver (Editor)

• Built to Meet Needs: Cultural Issues in Vernacular Architecture– by Paul Oliver (Author)

• Vernacular Architecture: Towards a Sustainable Future– by C. Mileto (Editor), F. Vegas (Editor), L. García Soriano (Editor), V. Cristini (Editor)

• Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt– Hassan Fathy (Author)

• Reading the Architecture of the Underprivileged Classes– by Nnamdi Elleh (Editor)

• The Culture of Building– by Howard Davis  (Author)

• Lessons from Vernacular Architecture– by Willi Weber (Editor), Simos Yannas (Editor)

• Buildings without Architects: A Global Guide to Everyday Architecture– by John May (Author), Anthony Reid (Editor)

• Handmade Houses and Other Buildings: The World of Vernacular Architecture– by John May  (Author), Anthony Reid (Consultant Editor)

• Architecture without Architects: A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture– by Bernard Rudofsky  (Author)

• Dwellings: The Vernacular House Worldwide– by Paul Oliver  (Author)

• Architecturalized Asia: Mapping a Continent Through History (Spatial Habitus) –  Vimalin Rujivacharakul  (Editor), H. Hazel Hahn (Editor), Ken Tadashi Oshima  (Editor), Peter Christensen

• The Timeless Way of Building (Center for Environmental Structure Series) – by Christopher Alexander  (Author)

• House Form and Culture (Foundations of Cultural Geography) – by Amos Rapoport (Author)

• Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture – by R. W. Brunskill  (Author)

• Freedom to Build – by John F.C. Turner (Editor), Robert Fichter (Editor)

• Housing By People: Towards Autonomy in Building Environments (Ideas in Progress) – by John F.C. Turner  (Author), Colin Ward (Introduction)

 

• Earthen Architecture: Past, Present and Future by C. Mileto (Editor), F. Vegas (Editor), L. García Soriano (Editor), V. Cristini (Editor)

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• Architecture of Complexity Hardcover by Lucien Kroll  (Author), Peter Blundell Jones (Translator)

• The Stone Skeleton: Structural Engineering of Masonry Architecture by Jacques Heyman (Author)

  

  Humanitarian Architecture: 15 stories of architects working after disaster by Esther Charlesworth (Author)

• Elemental: Incremental Housing and Participatory Design by Alejandro Aravena (Author), Andres Iacobelli (Author)

• Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture by Justin McGuirk  (Author)

• Torre David: Informal Vertical Communities by Alfredo Brillembourg (Editor), Hubert Klumpner (Editor), Urban-Think Tank Chair of Architecture and Urban Design(Editor), ETH Zurich (Editor)

• Small Scale, Big Change: New Architectures of Social by Andres Lepik  (Author), Barry Bergdoll (Introduction)

•  Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Michael Braungart  (Author), William McDonough  (Author)

• Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change by Victor Papanek  (Author)

• Design with the Other 90%: Cities by Cynthia E. Smith (Author)

• Design For The Other 90% by Cynthia E. Smith (Author)

• Beyond Shelter: Architecture and Human Dignity by Alfredo Brillembourg  (Author), Hubert Klumpner  (Author), Patrick Coulombel (Author), Marie Aquilino (Editor)

• Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses To Humanitarian Crises by Architecture for Humanity  (Author), Kate Stohr (Editor), Cameron Sinclair (Editor)
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• Design Like You Give a Damn {2}: Building Change from the Ground Up by Kate Stohr (Author), Cameron Sinclair (Author), Architecture for Humanity  (Editor)

• Housing Without Houses: Participation, Flexibility, Enablement by Nabeel Hamdi  (Author)

• The Placemaker’s Guide to Building Community (Earthscan Tools for Community Planning) by Nabeel Hamdi (Author)

• Small Change: About the Art of Practice and the Limits of Planning in Cities by Nabeel Hamdi  (Author)