The Regional Housing in the World: their Distinctive Features and Spatial Changeability

Abstract

Under the influence of diverse factors: natural, social, economic and cultural, developed regional and local types of traditional houses, representing separate combinations of similar features and peculiar spatial reaches. At the same time architectural regions defined, as areas dominated by similar building and plastic forms, were created. The regional housing is also distinguished with name of the vernacular construction. Vernacular buildings are a certificate of history, representing objects erected using traditional materials and styles, by experienced builders, appealing to the regional and local legacy. Typical vernacular constructions represent small, straight structures, being based on local resources which the harmony distinct between the nature and residents above all. These constructions are formed under the cultural impact passed on from the generation to the generation, survived mainly in country and poorly urbanized areas. Aesthetic advantages of the regional housing inspired many outstanding architects. Her genesis and evolution are connected with a process of the personalization of the house.

The regional housing industry in the world is a subject of this study. Separate traditional types of houses are the main research problems. Fundamental research issues were preceded by discussing directions of geographical studies of the house and of the flat. Establishing regional types singling features of houses and the identification of their spatial diversity are an essential purpose of the work.

Amongst geographers in issues of the house and living in different regions of world, in connecting with natural and social-cultural conditions, are interested above all representatives of the culture geography, the social geography and geography of the settlement. Contemporary geographical examinations in this field concern diverse meanings and the function of the house mainly. The new research problem happened, experiencing the house, as a place of employment, the violence, the resistance, the negation and the defiance. In Polish socioeconomic geography numerous research works, referring often to research findings from related fields, were devoted to the housing environment and the spatial structure of the housing stock and housing conditions in cities and urban regions.

The regional housing industry diversifies spatially above all due to kind of applied building materials, form and size of houses as well as shape and covering their roofs. The materials most often used in this construction – depending on determined local conditions – belongs wood, stone, sand, clay and brick. Houses built in the regional style assume diverse forms, becoming like a cube, a cylinder or a cone in addition. Their roofs differ in the shape. Most often are houses with one, two and four-roof. For covering roofs are used first of all straw, cane, single and tile. It is worthwhile also noticing that the traditional buildings often reward with the interested architectural adornment. The regional type of houses inspired the works of many outstanding architects.

Peculiarly a zone arrangement constitutes the characteristic feature of the spatial changeability of regional types of houses in the world. He is determined through the complex of natural and social-cultural conditions. Extremely significant limiting for forms built houses creates thermal conditions. The flora and the geological structure decide against availabilities of particularly popular building materials, so as hard as wood and rock raw materials. In areas converted into forest separate zones include houses from wood and leaves of plants, mainly rectangular with high roofs, houses from horizontally put beams from coniferous, as well as houses of wood and straw, usually round with semicircular or conical roofs. In regions, where to most easily of attainable building materials a stone, brick and the clay are involved, individual spatial ranges signify hewn stone and of brick houses, buildings erected from the not-hewed stone and forged in rock, houses constructed brick or clay and wood (half-timbered wall), as well as houses built from clay or not-baked bricks.

One should emphasize that the cultural individual of the traditional regional housing in the world has her reflection both in the sphere standard, providing the most important strengthened values, norms, and rules and ruling principles with construction of houses, and in the cognitive sphere. These buildings always reflect historical traditions and forms of adapting to conditions the natural environment above all. From here about the similar natural environment regions frequently different types of vernacular houses also appear in. One should in addition mark, that peculiar dominating types of the vernacular housing are assigned to every of large contemporary civilizations.

Regional typologies of the traditional housing are based on different-numerous sets of diagnostic features. Due to the different spatial reach and the selection thought over of these features, among others typologies drawn up single themselves out through: P. Vidal de la Blache, S.A. Tokariew, I. Tłoczek and T. Czerwiński.