9.3.6 The Vernacular Built Heritage
9.3.6 The Vernacular Built Heritage
The vernacular built heritage consists of buildings and settlements historically created by local people from local materials and resources to meet local needs following local traditions. The response to the local environment gave rise to construction techniques which vary from region to region, often with great subtlety. This type of building is often undervalued because it does not represent ‘great architecture’ and because of associations with poverty and a perception that the buildings have become obsolete. The value of these buildings lies in the regional distinctiveness and identity that they confer on a place and their importance as an embodiment of the accumulated wisdom and cultural traditions of the people who built and lived in them. Vernacular styles of architecture and their importance in modern buildings in the countryside is discussed and illustrated in the publication County Kilkenny Rural Design Guide[1].
The Council will apply the conservation principles and guidelines in practice as set out in the ICOMOS Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage (Mexico 1999) when considering proposals to adapt vernacular buildings to meet contemporary living standards and needs.
The Council will promote the retention and re-use of the vernacular built heritage through increasing public awareness of its potential for re-use and its adaptability to change.
Development Management Requirements:
- To apply the conservation principles and guidelines in practice as set out in the ICOMOS Charter on the Built Vernacular Heritage (Mexico 1999) when considering proposals to adapt vernacular buildings to meet contemporary living standards and needs.
- To promote the retention and re-use of the vernacular built heritage through increasing public awareness of its potential for re-use and its adaptability to change. See Re-use of Farm Buildings Laura Bowen and Nicki Matthews, Kildare County Council, 2007 and National Rural Network Case Study, Conservation of Old Farm Buildings.
- To promote the refurbishment of vernacular built heritage in rural areas as per development managements standards set out under Section 7.8 Rural Settlement Strategy of this Plan:
[1] Kilkenny County Council, County Kilkenny Rural Design Guide