Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition

This is a poetic, love-filled appreciation of a variety of desert architecture that is disappearing. Much of the architecture is made of mud; "the material is pliable and responsive but vulnerable." The authors describe the structures needed in this climate: "Massive mud walls turn the house into a thermal, optical, and psychological fortress. Windowless buildings are friendly--refreshing islands of cool dimness in an ocean of heat, glare, and often stinging dust." Such buildings have thick mud walls that keep the interior warm in the winter and cool in the heat of summer. There are three main types of mud construction, all of which interestingly are used today in the US: rammed earth, coursing or puddling, and adobe brick. These are amply illustrated, as are the maintenance and decoration of these mud structures. Of interest are a series of mosques in the Sahel, near the Sahara: towers with ostrich eggs at their tips. The walls and towers are soft, sensual shapes with sticks that thrust out like bristles. These contrast with the motherly breasts that constitute ziarats, Islamic shrines found in Afghanistan, or at least were found there back when the authors visited the region. These are fully rounded hills of earth that mimic and honor the feminine aspect and can be traced back to times before Mohammed. They are something like stupas in appearance, including the possible cloths waving in the breeze. Many of these mud structures look familiar, as if they could be in Taos or some other part of New Mexico, and in fact the authors did later build a home in Taos. I find these mud structure to be beautiful and have incorporated some of them into my Moroccan series of paintings.

This is an excellent overview of vernacular architecture from various parts of asia and africa. Well documented color photo illustrations were tremendous source inspiration in addressing sustainabilty issues in modern western architecture.