International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) |Volume VI, Issue XII, December 2022|ISSN 2454-6186
Anuththaradevi Widyalankara, PhD
Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo-Sri Lanka
Abstract: Vernacular architecture has evolved into appropriate building methods for each type of culture and climate owing to over hundreds of years of experience. Because of the proper use of environmental design strategies and compatibility with social and cultural norms vernacular architecture has successfully created a desirable indoor environment with minimal energy consumption. Modern technology is all about efficiency in science and velocity in implementation. Socio-cultural consciousness or indigenous knowledge systems nourished with beliefs and practices in the vernacular building traditions are less acknowledged by modern science as imperative. In this context, the present study has shown the direction, i.e. how and the way, in which, vernacular architecture is crucial in representing modern scientific knowledge in constructing buildings. Remarkably, rich repository of traditional knowledge systems, especially techniques and practices involved in creating living- friendly interiors in the abodes of pre-modern Sri Lanka, are analogous with modern technical applications. The body of the article defines and analyses how traditional building techniques illustrate modern technological adaptations and the symmetry between traditional practices and modern technology as appeared in vernacular architecture, particularly, in heat transfer and damp prevention mechanisms used in dwellings in the sixteenth and nineteenth century Sri Lanka. The findings achieved in the research illustrate that the vernacular architecture which represents an eco-friendly organic constructing system mirrored modern building techniques to fit with the natural environment and cause less harm to the built environment.
Key Words: damp prevention, heat transfer, Kandyan Kingdom, vernacular architecture, śhilpa texts
I. INTRODUCTION
Several scientific realities which are defined by the West through knowledge of modern technology could be seen in traditional folk societies as well. Methods and strategies that have been used in constructing vernacular houses illustrate asymmetries with modern technological identifications which in turn facilitated the merging of the perceptual difference between the East and the West along the lines of advanced technological adaptations. Although internationalization and mechanization as well as changes in people’s life – styles have led to despising and repudiating traditional architecture (Michiani & Asano, 2016), it is important to acknowledge its high level of ethical commitment to the local people, their locations, cultures and traditions. The coexistence between traditional knowledge systems and modern scientific