Students will be introduced to traditional building techniques typical of various regions of Europe, with particular emphasis on wooden constructions and the advantages of their application for sustainable environmental development. Students will explore the possibility of applying these techniques in contemporary construction projects to make them as environmentally sustainable as possible.

Vernacular architecture can be defined as the popular architecture of a place, evolving over time by the inhabitants of a specific region to meet their needs. Vernacular architecture refers to traditional building types originating from rural areas in an indigenous manner, characterized by the use of locally available materials and building forms typical of each environment, which incorporate ancestral knowledge of how buildings must be constructed in a particular area. In Europe, this knowledge has often been disseminated as a result of trade and professional connections between different nations and cultures inhabiting our continent, hence common building techniques can often be found in different areas, such as around the Mediterranean Sea or in Central Europe. In this course, we aim to appreciate various vernacular building techniques that are fully respectful of the environment and sustainable, which can also be applied in new constructions.