Place and Landscape

In Bolivia, Papua New Guinea and China, the emphasis was on creating small groups of buildings in a settlement. In China’s Yan’an, these took the form of earth dwellings very similar to British terrace houses in arrangement; at Lahuachaca in Bolivia, the traditional functions of various outbuildings around a courtyard was easily retained.

In both of these situations, the emphasis was not so much on the houses themselves but on the settlement. In PNG, Western practices have influenced requests for a more self-contained house – with social gatherings happening less in ad hoc shelters and under trees, and more within or underneath new homes. Even so, a distinctive sense of place has been achieved on Lihir Island, through both association with clan history and a striking lack of cars and ‘landscaping’. Buildings are arranged naturally, rising out of a more-or-less untouched landscape of earth, trees and sea views.

In Chile and Australia, the emphasis was on ‘the house’ as opposed to ‘housing’ – as it is in the UK (see ‘Housing – The British View’, Part 1, Section 1.1, page 6). However, in both countries, the houses are strongly connected to the landscape around them: at Peñalolen, doe to material choices; and in New South Wales, due to the harsh reality of living in the Australian bush.

Design

Because of the research undertaken by Assai, DIB, Lindsay Johnston, Marcelo Cortés and Xi’an University into vernacular architecture, I believe that very rich and rational results have been achieved.

The ‘regional gene’ method used by Xi’an, whereby good and bad ‘genes’ of vernacular architecture are established – replacing the bad genes with new, better ones (e.g. improved quality of light) – is a useful term for the practice carried out by all of the designers in these case studies.

The ‘Pattern Language’ approach used by Assai is a useful way of understanding how best to build for a certain climate or culture. It asks plenty of questions, and encourages observations that enrich subsequent designs. On Lihir, sloping roofs, rainwater collection, mosquito proofing, hardwearing materials, shading and a high ceiling apex are all products of this research, and found to be lacking in other modern housing in PNG.

Scale

In China, the new two-storey dwellings are taller than the traditional one-room dwelling, but the proportions remain the same and akin to their terraced origins. For individuals, the scale of the original yaodong has remained more or less the same, as most people rent a single floor.

In PNG, scale was quite an issue with extended households. Where previously there would have been a collection of small homes available to a clan, more clan members now try to fit into one building. Homes closer to the mine also fill up with workers staying overnight during the week.

In Chile, the new-build homes are certainly larger than the traditional adobe house, but this is to be expected if they are to appeal to wealthier clients. However, this larger scale is not a copy of a traditional house – rather a quirky variant, which suits the community aspirations rather than any particular style.

In Bolivia, the scale of the contemporary vernacular dwellings is the same as the traditional adobe homes; there is no need to make them bigger, as they are still aimed at a traditional way of life.

In Australia, like in so many of the case studies in this book, the scale came from what was needed to make a house work – albeit in this case it needed to be suitable for a wild location, and New South Wales’s climate. Crucially, in all of the above, the vernacular has not been warped by the scale required today, it has simply influenced how best to design a house for that climate.

The ‘Ordinary’

In Bolivia, PNG and China the emphasis was on creating ‘ordinary’ housing, but well suited climatically and culturally. In Chile, the architect was trying to design special houses, changing the perception of an adobe home from a poor to a ‘rich man’s’ dwelling. The New South Wales example is a one-off house designed for the architect’s family, its lodges intended for holidaymakers. However, they hold many lessons that could be applied to ‘ordinary’ housing there, reducing the need for air conditioning and producing something more authentically Australian than ‘brick veneer’.

Sustainability and Climate

The introduction of the mine has caused Lihirians’ expectations to change. They now demand a suitably impressive relocation house from the mining company, and would be dissatisfied with a replica of the original dwelling. In addition, there are problems with sourcing materials, as many resources have been lost following mine construction. Increased employment, due to the mine and associated activities, means that Lihirians have less time to maintain their homes than they had previously. Sago-leaf roofs, though more sustainable than metal sheeting, need replacing every three years. All of this means that the original house type is no longer sustainable to produce, making the contemporary vernacular of Assai’s design a much-needed alternative. On other PNG islands, construction is closer to the Western model of housebuilding, estranging the population from the construction process. A typical house in PNG today has a flat roof and is built of concrete.

Though Newcrest have tried to reduce dependence on the mine, I think that it would be hard for Lihirians to go back to their old way of life now that they are used to more Western norms. It is hard to persuade them that their simpler way of life in a beautiful country is one that most Westerners would describe as ‘paradise’.

Sustainable housing needs also to be aspirational if we are to prevent poor-quality provision spreading across developing countries, as it has in the UK. Marcelo Cortés’ buildings retain a ‘Chile-ness’, and they appeal to wealthier people. Though their metal lath undeniably contains more embodied energy than a true earth dwelling, the flexibility in the construction allows the walls to withstand seismic activity. In Bolivia, building with earth usually means that you are a campesino (peasant farmer), but the contemporary quality of Lars Jorgen Jakobsen’s buildings makes local people feel that adobe is once more a respected and exciting material with which to build: most definitely a sustainable ‘promotion’.

On Lihir Island, it was useful to study both the kit homes that came before the Assai V houses, and the concrete houses being trialled afterwards. The kit houses’ main shortcomings were quality of materials; no mosquito protection; and no shading, causing overheating. Cross ventilation through large windows was good, but not enough to combat the lack of shade. However, the shade provided by the cliff to the west (blocking sunshine in the hottest part of the day) and direct access to sea breezes kept the house surprisingly cool. With its high roof, apex vents and increased shading, the Assai house is better in general climatically, but might benefit from the unattached double-roof concept that works so well in New South Wales. Lihir’s concrete houses are a bit of a disaster. They are not shaded well enough, so simply soak up all the heat during the day and pump it out at night. Bearing in mind that houses in PNG are primarily used for sleeping and storage, this prevents the possibility of the former; the residents were all sleeping outside.

The benefits of thermal mass link nearly all of the case studies. These studies have shown that in both a high diurnal temperature range (China’s Loess Plateau, Bolivia’s Altiplano and Chile’s central Santiago) and when shaded (in New South Wales), thermal mass has huge benefits climatically.

Craft

The schemes in Bolivia, PNG, China and Chile are continuing the traditional practices of craft-based building methods, whether with timber or adobe. In Australia, the simplicity of the designs and materials require only existing, good building skills.

In Chile, testing and exploration has taken advantage of the useful properties of earth for modern construction. This has secured not only a future for adobe construction in the country and beyond, but also a future for the craft skills associated with building an adobe house with quincha metàlica.

Community

Residents building their own homes was an important method of community engagement in both China and Bolivia. Community development and ownership was a strong strategy employed by Assai to encourage and maintain useful construction skills post-mine. Similarly to ‘custom-build’ in the UK, this allows the opportunity for modification and gives owners more of a sense that this is their house and they can make decisions about it. It also means that PNG residents will have the skills to maintain their homes when the mine closes.

Learning from the Past

In Yan’an, the cave dwelling is culturally important. Upgrading it has improved its status nationally, and it is now not just seen as appropriate for farmers – quite an achievement, considering the long association of cave dwellings with peasant life. In Lahuachaca, the settlement form has been retained; in Santiago, the more contemporary dwellings still retain strong cultural identity – they could not be anywhere else.

Lessons for UK Housing

In Bolivia, China and PNG, we can see how development and change are leading to similarities with the UK in terms of how far removed we have become in the process of building a home. But these examples also offer inspiration about what we can do to reconnect.

It is clear that though all of these case studies could have opted for the international style of concrete or brick, the lessons learned from vernacular architecture have created a much richer variant. This variant is culturally important, reduces energy need, improves wellbeing and allows people to live in the way they would like to. We should be aiming for this level of richness again in our own housing provision: housing that makes us proud to be British.