The main purpose of the course is to familiarize the students with traditional architecture, especially with construction methods and materials that contribute to the particular architectural character of each place.

Organization of the classes

The course will include two sections, one of theoretical lectures and one with surveying and fieldwork.

Theoretical section
We will approach the notion of traditional settlements through Social Anthropology.

Social anthropology offers a number of keys and analysis tools, decisive and necessary for an integrated interpretation either for traditional villages and architecture, or for spatial phenomena in modern cities.
The importance of public and private space, the shared spaces, the notions of the forbidden and accursed spaces constitute a recognizable system, expressed in every community in different ways. The organization of built space of a given social group and the use of local materials and traditional building techniques, reflect its social and cultural identity.
The built space carries the history and collective memory of the community, while maintaining its own inertia to changes and developments. The materials, the construction methods and aesthetics, reflect the cultural identity over a long duration.

The building as a unit, be it residential, public, or production building, adapt local materials and building techniques, thus creating morphological types.
We will discuss various types of greek traditional houses as well as some forms of traditional building like stone, wood, bricks etc.

Reference will be made to the international laws and practices regarding the treatment of monuments and traditional buildings and complexes.


Exercise
The exercise will be the documentation of a typical building of the nearby area.

Visits will be planned in a traditional village (near Volos, Pelion or elsewhere if possible), to discuss in the field some architectural issues, like the dominant architectural type and the spatial organization of the village. The main elements of the settlement will be identified: squares, churches, cemeteries, market, marketing network, fountains, benchmarks etc. and the altered elements of the site will be pointed out. 

In this section will be included lectures related to surveying methods.


Deliverables
Deliverables will be:

1. A map of a street or neighborhood, marked with all points of interest (perceptual map)
2. Detailed depiction of a building, drawned on appropriate scales. Plans, elevations, sections, details and sketches of field measurements will be delivered, a technical description and annotated photographic documentation.

In case of a big building, there will be possibility of creating groups with a maximum of three students.