Contents Acknowledgements vii List of illustrations xi Introduction xxi Part I: Defining the field 1Why study vernacular architecture? (1978) 3 2 The importance of the study of vernacular architecture (1993) 17 3Problems of definition and praxis (1999) 27 Part II: Cultures and contexts 4Learning from Asante (2000) 47 5Cultural traits and environmental contexts: Problems of cultural specificity and cross-cultural comparability (1999) 55 6Huizhou and Herefordshire: A comparative study (2001)69 7 Tout confort: Culture and comfort (1986) 87 Part III: Tradition and transmission 8 Vernacular know-how (1982) 10 9Earth as a building material today (1983) 12 10Handed down architecture: Tradition and transmission (1989) 143 11Technology transfer: A vernacular view (2003) 16 Part IV: Cultures, disasters and dwellings 12 The cultural context of shelter provision (1978) 18 13Earthen housing and cultures in seismic areas (1984) 19 14Factors affecting the acceptability of resettlement housing (1984) 223 15Rebirth of a Rajput village (1992) 247 Part V: Conservation and continuity 16 Conserving the vernacular in developing countries (1986) 267 17Re-presenting and representing the vernacular: The open-air museum (2001) 287 18Perfect and plain: Shaker approaches to design (1990)315 Part VI: Suburbs and self-builders 19 Individualizing Dunroamin (1992) 333 20Round the houses (1983) 349 21Kaluderica: High-grade housing in an illegal settlement (1989) 365 Part VII: Meeting the challenge of the twenty-first century 22 Tradition by itself.. (2000) 383 23Ethics and vernacular architecture (2000) 395 24Necessity and sustainability: The impending crisis (2002) 411 Conferences and publications 427 Index