Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition [Paperback]

Jean-Louis Bourgeois (Author), Carolee Pecos (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

Mud as a building material is associated with Third World barbarianism, but this book presents an alternate viewpoint through words and photographs. The startling beauty and efficiency of mud architecture is evident. Since 1983, a traveling exhibition of Spectacular Vernacular has been touring the United States under a Smithsonian Institution sponsorship. 120 color photos.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Aperture Foundation Inc; 2 edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893816728
• ISBN-13: 978-0893816728
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,821,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars lessons of form and material, March 29, 2000

By 

Michael ra (NY, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Vernacular: Earth Architecture, July 31, 2007

By 

Sherri Silverman "Ph.D., author, Vastu: Trans... (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition (Paperback)

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.