Vernacular architecture is considered the result of the spontaneous interaction between humans and their surrounding environment. This environment is shaped by a combination of geographic and human components, and its latent potentials are actualized through the interaction with humans of different times and places. The architecture resulting from this two-way interaction between humans and the environment has evolved over historical periods until it declined with the transition from tradition to modernity, gradually leading to the current crisis in architecture. Reflection on the concept of vernacular architecture can lead to the identification of optimal interactions between humans and the environment and the extraction of influential components, paving the way for architects to achieve sustainable values and the deep layers of vernacular architecture that can be adapted and updated across different periods.
Therefore, this research, with a fundamental qualitative approach, seeks to reflect on the evolution of the concept of vernacular architecture from a developmental and evolutionary perspective through a historical-analytical method by reviewing the trajectory of the emergence of vernacular architecture from the first physical artifacts to the current state of architecture. To this end, a systematic review of the literature in this field has been conducted, and a meta-synthesis regarding the emergence of vernacular architecture has been performed, identifying the effective criteria and sub-criteria. Using Gephi software and analyzing the dependency of these sub-criteria from a network perspective, their influence and impact have been inferred through pairwise comparison, and using logical reasoning, a super matrix of the effective components on the concept of vernacular architecture has been developed.
The findings of the research indicate that vernacular architecture is a fluid and dynamic concept, flowing and permeating across times and places. Therefore, vernacular architecture cannot be solely confined to the past; rather, it emerges in each era through the interaction of two major clusters of human and geographical factors. The criteria of the geographical cluster include climate, natural topography, natural resources, Fauna and Flora. These five criteria give rise to 22 sub-criteria, such as precipitation and humidity, solar radiation and temperature, wind and ventilation, and so on. The human cluster consists of seven criteria: physical, economic, social, cultural, spiritual-religious, artistic-literary, and technical-engineering, which generate 21 sub-criteria encompassing livelihood, habits and norms, food, clothing, and more. The interactions between these two clusters result in 43 sub-criteria influencing vernacular architecture. These sub-criteria are constant, universal, and timeless concepts that, depending on the time and place, manifest in diverse physical characteristics in each period.
