Resilience of vernacular architecture

The notion of ‘resilience’ in urban and architectural science, describes the capacity of human habitats to absorb shocks and perturbations without undergoing major alterations in its functional, physical, social and economic systems. A crucial feature of a resilient urban system is having the ability to survive the potential risks and threats as well as taking advantage of the positive outcomes that the disturbances bring. Vernacular architecture, which is in continuous evolution, constitutes a substantial research field with its immense adapting capacity to the changing external circumstances. The understanding of resilience sees the environment in constant transformation; therefore resilient architecture presupposes a dynamic architecture, which is primarily characterised by flexibility and adaptability. In this case, vernacular architecture, which includes in its origins a series of responses to the changing dynamic factors such as micro-climate, local materials and local living cultures, can meet the requirements of resilience.