Emerging from Arts Council England funded research into the creation of
liveable human habitats through architectural decoration and
placemaking. This ongoing research project looks at redefining the use
of vernacular materials and precedents in architectural design, away
from the underlying geographic determinism inherent in the Arts & Crafts
inspired return to "local" aesthetics and the discourse of "locally
appropriate" design. Instead, this project is developing a manifesto of
Wyrd or Alien vernacular, born from the third culture experience of
international migration. Aliens use vernacular materials, but probably
use them wrong. We long to create home, but cannot tolerate it when we
get there. "Home" turns out to be an elusive no-place; a receding
mirage. What would an architecture of the wyrd vernacular look like?
Papier mache prototypes are inspired by a residency at Braziers Park -
where a fantasy pseudo-historical castle proves that utopias really can
be created, and with pastiche and papier mache a home for nomads and
misfits can be constructed. Wyrd vernacular theorises this approach as a
valid placemaking strategy, against the doctrine of "locally
appropriate" good taste.
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