A vernacular settlement interpreted throughout an urban sustainable approach

Abstract

This paper seeks to identify the urban design potential embedded in informal processes of territorial appropriation, interpreting vernacular built interventions at the scale of the entire settlement. The selected case study, located precisely in the transitional zone between the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions of the Iberian Peninsula, reveals the influence of both contexts in physical and cultural terms. It is therefore possible to deduce features that persist in the urban and architectural expression of local communities, ranging from subtle Islamic traces and the resilient Roman legacy to northern barbarian influences, without major formal discontinuities.

The present study was originally developed within the research framework of the European Project VerSus. The main aim of the VerSus Project is to extract knowledge from the fundamental lessons and principles of vernacular architecture and to explore new ways of integrating those principles into contemporary, Montaria Village was analysed by the project’s scientific research team, integrated into academic exercises undertaken by architecture students, and documented through professional workshops. The following text constitutes a transversal synthesis of the overall results, bringing together scientific, pedagogical, and technical perspectives.