The environment changes from place to place. This leads to diverse eco-systems and this variation may lead humans to adapt to their surroundings differently because of the availability and type of natural resources. For humans, these differences ultimately lead to a variety of cultures but they often happen due to the environment.

The setting created by different environmental factors is what we call the Context. It is specific to each region. In one place, there might be resources such as clay & limestone while in another wood & slate. Let’s assume that we are a group of nomads two thousand years ago. We can find food & water but ultimately we decide to build a settlement. How do we start the building process?

First, we will try finding what materials are available and build a make-shift house. Due to structural instability, it falls down. So, we build it again rectifying these errors. To avoid the inconvenience due to the winter snow, we learn that raising our living quarters higher and adding a sloping roof is the best option! After a few years because of an earthquake, the house crumbles again. So, we iterate it several times over decades before we finally find a solution. During this time, as we had started herding domestic animals instead of foraging for food, we define a place for our sheep. Then probably a place for our deity, balconies next to our living area so that we can interact with our tribe even during the harsh winter snow and simultaneously find better techniques to build more efficiently. Slowly some of us develop crafting skills to decorate our houses and we keep developing this building-process further.

This example describes the Kath-Khuni architecture of Himachal Pradesh which has evolved for at least a thousand years! Architecture evolved through time by indigenious people using available building materials and specifically adapted to its context is called the Vernacular. Drawing inferences from the previous article: On Simplicity & Complexity and blending it with what we have discussed here, we can see that:

“Just like an organism, good architecture evolves to adapt to its Context”

Each material has its inherent quality. Concrete works everywhere does not mean we should use it everywhere! An understanding of the specific traits of where and for whom we are building is vital to the success of any design. Today, we can order just any material from another part of the world, but this decision should be made only after a thorough analysis of what fits this context the best!