From George.Woolston@veteli.kpnet.fi Mon May 4 04:02:40 1998 Received: from mxu1.u.washington.edu (mxu1.u.washington.edu [140.142.32.8]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.05) with ESMTP id EAA11210 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 04:02:39 -0700 Received: from jymy.lesti.kpnet.fi (root@jymy.lesti.kpnet.fi [194.211.36.34]) by mxu1.u.washington.edu (8.8.4+UW97.07/8.8.4+UW97.09) with ESMTP id EAA06222 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 04:02:37 -0700 Received: from alpo.veteli.kpnet.fi (vi21.veteli.kpnet.fi [194.211.34.54]) by jymy.lesti.kpnet.fi (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id OAA26056 for ; Mon, 4 May 1998 14:02:32 +0300 Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 14:02:32 +0300 Message-Id: <199805041102.OAA26056@jymy.lesti.kpnet.fi> X-Sender: georgewo@jymy.lesti.kpnet.fi (Unverified) X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: From: George Woolston Subject: Call for information Call for information ON ECOLOGICAL LESSONS FROM INDIGENOUS ARCHITECTURE There has been a neglect of architecture in anthropology and even in sustainable development work. As part of an Academy of Finland programme of research on ecological construction, and for his PhD research on the ecological lessons from indigenous architecture, George Woolston is looking for any leads or contacts that may help him to examine the methodological and theoretical problems involved. His ultimate aim is to help change the way in which architectural design skills are taught in Schools of Architecture throughout the world. The main research questions are (1) what kinds of design patterns are/were used? and (2) what is/was the value system behind them? The hypothesis is that the pattern rulesets do not concern merely dimensions, shapes and forms (as typically described in structuralist anthropological analyses), but also compose an ecological value system concerning the proper use of substances and energy sources for construction. Indigenous architect-builders act in harmony with the landscape, the local climate, and the buildings of their neighbours. They generally utilize natural, locally available substances, which are non-toxic to humans - unlike our industrialized architecture. Building parts are usually fully recoverable. Indigenous architecture employs sophisticated design procedures of long-proven efficacy. But just what are the patterns, and just how ecological is this mode of building? What can be learned for application in the future ecological Architecture? The principal case study used in this research is the log buildings of Ostrobothnia from 1750 to 1914, on which intensive documentation has been carried out by George Woolston using teams of Earthwatch fieldworkers and local student volunteers. Information about comparable studies from other parts of the world would be welcome; also with a view to future cooperation. This information should concern documentation of indigenous architectural design, analysis of design rulesets, or concrete evidence of an ecological values system. News of the successful re-application of such knowledge would be especially welcome. George Woolston, research architect, doctoral candidate, Oulu University, Finland. home address: Torpantie 234, SF-69700 Veteli, Finland. e-mail: george.woolston@veteli.kpnet.fi .