RecordingProjects

According to Steyn (2014), vernacular architecture is “the building tradition practiced by communities without professional intervention”, composed of local materials and derived from local customs and techniques that have been passed on from generation to generation. Although it is the most visual component of a country’s culture, in our application to the NHC it was noted that vernacular architecture is disappearing. In South Africa, as well as the rest of Africa, there is still an enormous gap in the online archiving of indigenous African vernacular architecture. Currently, there are few online sources of information related to South African vernacular architecture: Artefacts (www.artefacts.co.za, Southern African Built Environment) and VASSA (www.vassa.org.za, Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa). Unfortunately, the bulk of the records related to vernacular architecture that are held in these repositories postdates the arrival of European settlers in South Africa. Previous research which has not yet been made widely available online includes investigations into the ‘bilobial’ form of Tswana domestic units (Frescura 1981) and the design intentions of indigenous homesteads (Frescura 1985). More recent studies by Steyn (2006) and van Vuuren (2007) covered South African thatched huts and the Ndebele grass dome house respectively. Steyn has extended his work into a broad analysis of the impact that vernacularisation has had on the formation of identities (Steyn 2014). In addition, D’Aragon’s (2008) dissertation investigated the evolution of Xhosa dwellings in the context of informal settlements. OpenHeritage believes that, not only will this investigation complement previous work done in this field but it will also attempt to open up the subject to a much broader audience right down to community level.