New Vernacular (2025)

02/11/2023

Pumas Clubhouse, located in Mexico City, is dedicated to supporting the growing population of young footballers across the nation.

Crafted with volcanic stone and featuring a precast lattice design, this building effortlessly integrates into its surroundings while effectively managing shading within.

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31/10/2023

The Community Development Center, situated in the old Rastro Municipal Slaughterhouse, is a stunning urban revitalization project.

Located in the Las Rosas sector of San Cristobal del las Casas, Mexico, this initiative focused on preserving and repurposing existing infrastructure while utilizing traditional regional materials such as wood and clay tile.

At its core, there's a recreational agora connecting the old structures with new ones, effectively weaving together the site's history, architecture, and the local community. It's a beautiful fusion of the past and present.

: Laboratorio de Acupuntura Urbana

05/02/2023

San Ignacio House by Amarillo Amate Arquitectura

This home was conceived to pay homage to the traditional construction of adobe houses in northern Jalisco, Mexico. This traditional construction was characterized by clean solid volumes adjacent to sidewalks yet closed off from the street, courtyard style living, and interior passageways informally known as a zaguán. The material palette of brick, tiles, and clay flooring originate from the region allowing the home to coexist with its surroundings.

Project Year : 2022
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02/02/2023

Casa Lorena by Workshop, Diseño y Construcción

Located in Mérida historic downtown, this early 20th century colonial house is an honest restoration with contemporary space planning modifications. The roof reuses the original Marseille clay tiles that were once on the property, and the walls were stripped down to reveal the original stone walls. This small oasis in the city transports its owners back to the past by the use of warm pastel colors and recognizable 20th century textures.

Project Year : 2022
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30/01/2023

‘The Shelter’ by Pedro Moncayo Torres Arquitectura

This project’s success is in the way it becomes a part of its landscape through materiality and volumetric approaches. Its constructive system - based on vernacular architecture - becomes a link between contemporary elements of the project and the majestic endemic landscape surrounding the home. Local stone walls, artisanal brick flooring, reed cane, clay roof tiles, and a traditional wooden structure roof provide a stable thermal balance for the home without needing contemporary Western energy systems.

Project Year : 2022
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27/01/2023

“These people who are building the school, they are so important for the whole project. There will be no school at all if we don’t have our builders on site…I want to show the people behind…In this case I’m very proud of them.” - .egbers

Make sure to listen to this inspiring conversation with architect, .egbers - founder of .__k - at the link in bio.

25/01/2023

‘Patience in Practice: From a German Classroom to Zimbabwe, Africa’

Our first interview of this series is with German based architect Kristina Egbers.

This conversation with Kristina was fascinating not only because the project that we spent half of our conversation talking about is stunning and on brand with New Vernacular, but her path towards her professional career speaks directly to architectural education, and how educational opportunities can launch unique and fulfilling career opportunities.

This interview was conducted several months ago, and since then Kristina has parted ways with her German based architecture employer to focus full time on her own company,
Studio *K.

Nonetheless, many of the topics discussed in our conversation are still relevant today like the ongoing work of her school project in Harare, Zimbabwe, and her current PHD studies on cultural and tradition decisions during the design process.

Follow “The New Vernacular Podcast” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Podbean to hear how an Architectural Diploma project turned into a real life design-build project in Zimbabwe, Africa.

Interview Link ⬇️⬇️

https://tr.ee/a4AlvjopaK

21/01/2023

Welcome to the New Vernacular podcast; an architecture and design show aimed towards highlighting projects that successfully reinterpret vernacular forms, materials and techniques.

My name is Khalil Parris and I'm your host as well as the creator of the New Vernacular brand.

This podcast will host a series of design conversations with architects, designers, and artists whose projects successfully reintegrate vernacular practices into contemporary works of architecture and design.

Make sure to follow on all my platforms to stay up-to-date on new episode releases.

13/11/2022

Environmental Classroom UES

Dedicated to developing sustainable projects across Latin America, this educational project is one of nine environmental classrooms built throughout various Latin American countries. Many sustainable construction techniques and materials such as rainwater collection tanks, clay brick cladding, thick palm roof, and cross ventilation strategies were used throughout the project.

Project year : 2021
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10/11/2022

San Cristobal House

The architects skilfully combined a contemporary addition with an existing historic house emblematic of Merida’s historic architecture. The existing house was renovated with a restored facade, and traditional Meridian finishes like rough plaster walls, and colourful ‘pasta’ tile floors. The new addition’s rugged concrete frame and glass fenestrations tie into the original stone walls, and wrap around an existing palm tree on the site.

Project year : 2021
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08/11/2022

Green School South Africa

The architecture of this sustainable schooling campus located in Paarl Valley Western Cape is defined by the “organic tectonic shapes of the mountains” and “Paarl Berg Boulders.” The various clusters of buildings on the campus are stitched together by natural landscaping and continuous organic shaped “werf walls.” The campus evokes a sense of discovery and play, while fostering an environment for learning. The buildings on the campus are constructed from locally sourced materials like dek-riet ceilings - a thatched material made of various species of grass - ,clay and soil harvested from the site to create the rammed earth walls, lime plaster, and locally sourced pebbles.

Project year : 2021
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: Wieland Gleich – ARCHIGRAPHY
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15/09/2022

Publichood Roastery Pejaten

Sandwiched between buildings in the middle of a dense neighbourhood, the architects designed this space to respond to the unbearable heat of the region; partly due to the effects of global warming. Using local material and labour, the architects transformed an existing 2-story abandoned building into a roastery and hobby space. Gazebos are positioned throughout the project to provide natural shading to cool the exterior environments of the site. The concrete walls allow moss and vegetation to grow on it emphasising the forest beauty surrounding the neighbourhood.

Project year : 2021
: .designstudio
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01/09/2022

Guilhermina Commercial Building

The facade of the building - a preserved cultural landmark in the Leblon neighbourhood of Rio De Janeiro - became the central motif from which the entire project took shape. The concept was to erect a new building from the roof of the existing, while preserving the original facade of the former Saint Patrick’s School building. The restoration involved many complex stages in order to stay true to the original construction materials and techniques of the former school building.

Project year : 2020
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: .mascaro

28/08/2022

Villa Fann Hock

This project attempts to complement and re-energize the neighbourhood through the exploration of shape, colour, and texture. The playful arrangement of masses permit the house to open up to its surroundings. Subtracted voids allow for the interplay of vegetation within the boundaries of the property. A stone-clad boundary wall establishes the corners of the home while ensuring privacy between the house and the street. The house’s warm colour palette is reminiscent of earthy tones found in the Dakar peninsula. Local materials were used to ensure durability and ease of maintenance.

Project year : 2022
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: .ceriani

08/08/2022

Na Khoang School

Inspired by the design of flowers between the mountains and hills, each roof of Na Khoang School has a different inclination like a ‘diverse-rhythmic dance.’ The walls of the school are built with unburnt terracotta bricks made on site from a mixture of soils and pebbles collected from the stream by the community. The rich and diverse cultural lifestyle of this Thai-ethnic community utilises the school as a village community space, where people participate in cultural activities, sports, and community meetings.

Project year : 2021
: 1+1>2 Architects
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05/08/2022

HAS design and research Studio

Hidden in the residential suburbs of Bangkok, HAS design and research Studio’s design has many similarities to mass-produced commercial housing in Thailand. However, In this specific village the residents exhibit a different lifestyle from the typical residential units. Their typology of housing introduces built fences that extend the garage area, added storage components to the roofs, and extended rain sheds to meet the flexibility of the ground-level commercial possibilities. In addition, they adorn their exterior spaces with potted plants to fulfil their vision of greenery. Many of these ‘informal’ residential homes use metal materials such as steel pipes and iron rods due to the abundance of this material left over from Thailand's former steel production era.

The architects designed steel pipe-formed brick fences in the entrance space to create a unique arrival experience, further enhancing the alley breezes in Thai street alleys.

Project year : 2021
: HAS design and research
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14/07/2022

Casa F

Studio Bloco Arquitectura masterfully reinterprets traditional materials, construction techniques, and architectural elements in ways that deviate from the conventional use of the region. The house’s colour and textural palette is presented in a natural way, while a careful selection of materials such as concrete, wood and ceramic bricks are applied throughout the design.

Project year : 2021
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: .fotoarq

11/07/2022

Spirit of Thai Architecture Clubhouse

This project was designed to reflect its surrounding environment. Natural ventilation and daylighting were key considerations in the incorporation of biophilic elements. Traditional Thai residential elements were optimised and developed through the use of locally sourced materials, construction techniques, and site specific characteristics. The architects gained inspiration from observing the way that traditional Thai people live adjacent to major rivers. Semi-outdoor terraces - traditionally known as ‘Sharns’- tie occupied spaces together while Thai-style buttresses and shading devices protect the site from the intense sun of the region.

Project year : 2022
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New Vernacular