Luum Temple / CO-LAB Design Office. Image © César Béjar

What Are Vernacular Technologies?

由专筑网王沛儒，小R编译

乡土建筑在理论和设计实践中拥有越来越大的空间，其特点也在不断地研究和修正。这种趋势受到多种因素的推动，但主要是由于现在气候变化的背景，这迫使人们采用更具可持续性和与环境相联系的建筑解决方案。

在这个范围内，人们对建筑中采用的不同乡土技巧有很多论述，无论是土坯砖的生产、茅草屋顶还是竹编墙等等。然而，尽管乡土技巧侧重于有指定性的行动或技能，但其含义却不同于乡土技术。

根据词典，“技巧”一词的定义是指“完成某项工作的特殊技能”。例如，在烹饪中，厨师可能有一种特殊的技巧，能快速切菜而不受伤。技巧与人类文明一样古老，它出现在狩猎工具的制造过程中，甚至更早，是一种“诀窍”，是人类文化存在的特征。

另一方面，技术是对技术、工业和科学过程与方法的研究和知识。它指的是使用工具、机器和流程来解决问题或满足人类需求。以厨师为例，技术就是他用来切菜的锋利刀具或食品加工机。因此，技巧是“如何做”，而技术是“用什么”，或者说是应用科学知识发明和改进工具和技术。

在建筑学中，乡土技巧指的是仅限于具体行动的施工方法，而乡土技术实际上指的是更广泛的建筑系统，是不断发展的过程，旨在更有效和高效地利用资源。与一般的建筑技术相比，乡土技术主要涉及当地材料，因此它不需要复杂的运输系统的支持，也尽可能重视自然地维护材料，保留其颜色和纹理。

Vernacular architecture has been gaining more and more space in theory and design practice, with its characteristics being studied and revised. An impulse related to different factors, but mainly to the context of climate change that we are experiencing, which calls for more sustainable and context-connected construction solutions.
Within this scope, much is said about the different vernacular techniques employed in architecture, whether it is the production of adobe bricks, thatched roofs, woven bamboo walls, among many others. However, while vernacular technique focuses on specific actions or skills, its meaning differs from vernacular technologies.
According to the dictionary, the definition of the word "technique" refers to a "special skill to perform something". For example, in cooking, a chef may have a special technique for quickly chopping vegetables without getting hurt. Technique is as old as human civilization, it appears since the manufacturing of hunting instruments, or even before that, being a "know-how" that characterizes the presence of a human culture.
Technology, on the other hand, is the study and knowledge of technical, industrial, and scientific processes and methods. It refers to the use of tools, machines, and processes to solve problems or meet human needs. Using the example of a chef, technology would be the sharp knife or food processor he uses to chop vegetables. Technique, therefore, would be "how to do it" and technology "what to use", or the application of scientific knowledge for the invention and improvement of tools and techniques.
In architecture, while vernacular technique corresponds to construction methods, limited to specific actions, vernacular technology refers to a broader constructive system, processes in constant evolution, aiming for more efficient and effective use of resources. Compared to general building technology, vernacular technology essentially involves local materials, so it does not need to be supported by intricate transportation systems, and it also values the maintenance of materials as naturally as possible, preserving their colors and textures.


Courtesy of Jumpa Zoe for Bamboo U

随着时间的推移，在改进传统工艺的过程中，当代“用什么”已经与数字制造和机器人系统联系在一起。一些实例表明，这种联系是很有成效的。在巴拉圭亚松森，大学实验室 FabLab CID 发明制作了 Parabrick 设备。砖是巴拉圭建筑中使用最多的原材料，因为它易于建造。鉴于此，实验室制作了一种设备，可以为指导不同几何砌体构成的准则提供支持。这个装置采用数字技术制作，并配有合适的木块，可以在施工现场组装，方便手工作业。这个过程与 2018 年在中国深圳建筑与城市双年展上展出的“陶瓷信息馆”（CeramicINformation Pavilion）相似。在阿根廷门多萨，数字制造研究实验室 Nodo 39 FabLab 创造了一个由数字切割木材制成的框架结构，并配有屏幕和要点，以方便阿根廷中部地区原住民的编织和图像构成过程。

In the improvement of vernacular processes over time, contemporary "what to use" has been associated with digital manufacturing and robotics systems. Some examples show how productive this connection can be. In Asunción, Paraguay, the Parabrick device was created by the university laboratory FabLab CID. The brick is one of the most used raw materials in Paraguayan architecture due to its accessibility when it comes to self-construction. With this in mind, the laboratory created a device that provides support for guidelines that guide different geometric masonry compositions. Made digitally with fitted wooden pieces, it can be assembled on the construction site to facilitate manual work. A process similar to the CeramicINformation Pavilion exhibited in 2018 at the Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism in Shenzhen, China. In Mendoza, Argentina, the research laboratory in digital manufacturing Nodo 39 FabLab created a frame structure made of digitally cut wood with screens and points to facilitate the weaving and iconographic composition process of the indigenous people of the central region of the country.


Fusing craftsmanship and digital fabrication: experimental ceramic block pavilion in China. © Christian J. Lange

除了这些案列，值得一提的是，在同一个项目的建筑实践中，乡土技术和当代技术系统的融合越来越频繁。这种有趣的探索也为祖传技术的创新铺平了道路。在巴西卡努阿纳儿童村的获奖项目中，预制木块与精选工匠现场制作的土砖相结合。泥土色调的自然变化，加上手工制作的痕迹，营造出一种很舒适的氛围，而且这种技术可以保障了室内空间的温和温度，减少了对制冷设备的使用。

In addition to these examples, it is worth mentioning that within architectural practice, there is an increasingly frequent blend of vernacular techniques and contemporary technological systems in the same project. An interesting gesture that also paves the way for innovative explorations of ancestral techniques. In the award-winning project of the Children Village in Canuanã, Brazil, pre-fabricated wooden pieces were combined with earth bricks made on-site by selected artisans. The natural variation in the tone of the earth, along with the marks of its manual manufacture, creates a cozy atmosphere, and the technique ensures mild temperatures in indoor spaces, eliminating the need for cooling devices.


Children Village / Rosenbaum® + Aleph Zero. © Leonardo Finotti

然而，无论如何应用技巧，乡土建筑的伟大学者之一亨利-格拉西（Henry Glassie）都认为，乡土技术的关键首先在于人对材料操作的参与，以及对设计、建造和使用过程的积极参与（甚至理解建筑创作，包括高度的专业化）。随着技术的发展，人们开始使用间接的材料操作技术，将创作过程的各个环节隔离开来，最大的损失是参与所产生的体验和人与人之间的联系意识。

However, regardless of how techniques are applied, Henry Glassie, one of the great scholars of vernacular architecture, affirms that the key to vernacular technology, above all, is human involvement in the manipulation of materials and active participation in the design, construction, and use process (even understanding that architectural creation includes high levels of specialization). As technologies evolve to the use of indirect techniques of material manipulation, to isolate segments of the creative process, the greatest loss is the experience that engagement produces and the awareness of connectivity between people.


Courtesy of Jumpa Zoe for Bamboo U

因此，乡土知识包含不同的实例，不仅包括材料和功能的可持续性，还包括社会的可持续性。在这个错综复杂的优势网络中，了解乡土技术和工艺在当代建筑中的作用，将其作为综合元素，但在不同的复杂程度和范围内发挥作用，这对于产生可持续的、与文化相关的项目至关重要。

Thus, it is understood that vernacular knowledge encompasses different instances, encompassing not only material and functional sustainability, but also social sustainability. In this intricate web of advantages, understanding the role of vernacular techniques and technologies in contemporary architecture as integrated elements, but operating at different levels of complexity and scope, is essential to generate sustainable and culturally relevant projects.