An inevitable transition: the erosion of traditional vernacular building forms in the Alpujarras, southern Spain

Barke, Mike and Parks, Judith (2015) An inevitable transition: the erosion of traditional vernacular building forms in the Alpujarras, southern Spain. Journal of Cultural Geography. ISSN 0887-3631

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08873631.2015.1094275

Abstract

This paper examines continuity and change within the domestic architecture of the village of Laroles in the Alpujarras region of southern Spain. The distinctive characteristics of this typological form are identified and the principal features of change at the level of the individual building are surveyed. It is argued that change in the architectonic details of houses within the village is inevitable but that such changes do not necessarily lead to the loss of a distinctive type of building and they may be considered to be a necessary consequence of the natural evolution of vernacular architecture. However, some recent developments give significant cause for concern as, although superficially similar to traditional typologies, in reality they amount to a different typological form and are frequently merely a pastiche of the original type. In addition to the issue of visual landscape change, traditional vernacular architecture is a source of continuity and meaning and the erosion of this form represents a threat to identity and the long-established basis of communal life.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Published online 4-11-15.
Uncontrolled Keywords: Alpujarras, built form, vernacular tradition, building components, modernisation, building transition
Subjects: K100 Architecture
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Architecture and Built Environment
Depositing User: Paul Burns
Date Deposited: 18 Nov 2015 11:26
Last Modified: 12 Oct 2019 22:30
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/24536

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