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GASSHO - ZUKURI MINKA VILLAGE
EXPLORING SUSTAINABLE VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE | DEC - JAN 2020
Vernacular architecture embodies passive design strategies which are relegated to secondary considerations and at times ignored, when mechanical cooling and heating systems was invented. This assignment is to analyse vernacular architecture from different locations in the world and understand what relevant passive design strategies were used.
INTRODUCTION | LOCATION
“Gassho-Zukuri” means “constructed like hands in prayer”, as the farmhouses’ steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. Its architectural style has been developed over many generations and was designed to withstand heavy amounts of snowfall during Japan’s cold winters, some of the dwellings have even managed to survive for more than 250 years. This is an even more impressive fact considering that these homes were built without using nails.
PURPOSE | PLANS
The Gassho-style was developed to accommodate large families of multiple generations, while retaining enough space for industrial practice. As space was limited within the regions Gassho-style homes were built, multiple floors of up to 5 or more would be constructed. The main industry of the two villages mainly involved silk-rearing and as such, the attic spaces were used to raise silkworms.
USAGE | SECTIONS
The Gassho Zukuri Styled home is considered a part of the Minka dwellings which means “House of the people”. Japanese Minka are typically dwellings belonging to the non-samurai castes of society and are characterised by their structure, roof shape, and type of material used in construction. Most Minka were built during the edo period, when japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the lands were at peace. During this period, it was important to own a house that is able to withstand the elements of nature, in Japan’s case, it involved typhoons, heavy snowfall, rainfall, earthquakes, etc. Thus, in the face of all these difficulties, it was better to design homes that could be easily rebuilt, rather than withstand the elements.
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