Workshop on Vernacular Balkan Architecture 2018

The Field School is comprised of fieldwork in surveying & recording of vernacular architecture. In the course of the Workshop, participants will have the opportunity to work on the analytical architectural documentation of Rhodopean architecture in the village of Dolen. They will be able to acquire skills in architectural documentation, material and historical research and analysis. Also, they will received specialized lectures on southeast European late medieval history, architectural typology, traditional building techniques and natural materials.

Participants will also get hands-on experience in workshops in conservation and restoration of vernacular architecture - Building techniques and the specific use of materials in the Balkans have been developed by generations of craftsmen. Large bands of builders (called “tayfi”) used to travel across the Ottoman Empire, trading their craft. These groups applied their knowledge wherever they went, but they had to also conform to the wishes of their clients. Still, improving structural efficiency and spatial functionality were the main vectors of development for the building principles. During the workshops supervised by local craftsmen, specialized in the restoration of traditional architecture participants will be able to try working with different traditional building techniques and materials, characteristic to the region – wood, stone and clay