Culture and Its Architectural Interventions- Meaning Interpretation of Vernacular Houses- Case of Dahod

Abstract

Architecture directly or indirectly signifies the cultural identity of the user. Every society or country has its own culture upon which its architecture was established. Architecture and culture are two interconnected concepts that assist man in creating meaningful environments with a distinct identity expressed through its elements and features. The relation also helps in bridging the gap between the built-form and the people habiting it. A residence or a house, in particular, is an appropriate building for understanding key cultural meanings, and the symbolic nature of dwellings may represent the cultural image of the society. The study would interpret the meaning based on a theoretical approach of semiotics and perceive the role of culture in giving these meanings to the built forms. Semiotics as a discipline can be used to examine vernacular architecture within a cultural context. “Semiotic analysis provides a methodological framework for researching material culture through studying a sample of items, analyzing them in the context of supporting information, developing testable hypotheses, and proposing a supportable theory of the object’s cultural meaning” (Zeibarth, 1990). Vernacular architecture is an appropriate example to study as it represents the connection to the socio-cultural aspects. The vernacular architecture reflects taste, lifestyle, and thinking as they have common design and construction principles. Within this premise, the traditional houses at Dahod, a geographically and culturally significant place, would be taken as a suitable case for an in-depth analysis. Thus, house forms belonging to people following two different religions, hence having a different culture, would be studied. It would help understand how the meanings in the built environment change as per the cultural variations and how they help give an identity to the place. A qualitative research methodology would be adopted focusing on detailed analysis from field observation, interviews with the residents, and literature review through supporting documents