Chapter 1 - Murtaza Kanchwala

House Form and Culture Chapter 1 - Murtaza Quaid Kanchwala

Hint of Primitive in Modern

A dot in isolation at a micro level is of no purpose and importance until and unless one step back, connect all the dots and see a beautiful picture taking shape – It is therefore important to analyze each and everything on a larger scale and from different perspectives.

Historians till now were celebrating the ‘rich history’ emphasising the work of men of genius, the unusual, the rare – but in reality the past is to be analysed not on the work of the famous but of the common. It, in actual, depicts the culture, human psyche, tradition and pure essence of the time. Similarly, archaeologist has started prioritizing a common man’s house over the monuments, temples or churches which allows him to understand the nature of the built environment on a larger fabric.

The strong impact of traditional value seems to govern the primitive building of history.  The brotherly environment in terms on need, way of living, tradition, culture, psyche and much more was almost identical and so were then their houses. People had a sense of ownership and belonging to it by constructing their house by themselves and using the locally available materials. This, chronologically, seems to be lacking – from primitive to vernacular; vernacular to preindustrial vernacular and finally to grand design tradition. And also because of the shift from traditional; which was the bounding element, to club societies.

Tradition as a regulator has disappeared to an extent for many reasons. The change of needs, urbanization, loss of moral values and the premium our culture puts on originality to strive for its own sake. As a result society shifts from the traditional forms and primitive process can no longer work.

Primitive building has existed at one time or another, everywhere that man has lived. Today, looking back then, regardless of space, distance and time, many traditional societies seem to share the same form.  For example, the streets of Ur are like those of many towns in the Middle East today.

The intellectual development of the designer cannot be used as a method of study. It is the traditional value which guides the form and it is not uncommon for individuals to be punished for seemingly slight variations in traditional methods of production.

We have successfully classified and listed the buildings but have failed to find out the link between the human behaviour and building form, which is of great importance.