A Study on the Sustainability of the Traditional Sirinić Houses in the Šar Mountain Region, the South-Western Balkans

Abstract

The research of traditional rural architecture in developing regions is important to both the preservation of cultural heritage and the mitigation of the trends and consequences of unsustainable rural shifts. In the Western Balkans, for example, negative transformation of the rural environment happens more rapidly than the recording of its traditional built assets. For that reason, the objectives of the present research were to explore general and specific (sustainability-related) characteristics of traditional rural houses in the so far insufficiently studied microregion of the Western Balkans of Sirinićka Župa (Sirinić), to reveal their values and to initiate discussion of the role of heritage regeneration in sustainable rural development. Study has shown that the most significant values of Sirinić houses include opulent spatial-functional typology, distinct architectural expression, and sustainability-related quality in terms of applied materials, structural systems, and multipurpose techniques and elements, as well as a high level of spatial comfort. A necessary regeneration of the traditional houses of Sirinićka Župa must be formulated in a way that enables preservation of recognized general values and further improvement of environmental quality and climate resilience. Simultaneously, functional reactivation of traditional houses should be understood as a contribution to the sustainable development of Sirinićka Župa.Sustainability 2019, 11, 4711 2 of 16 either the abovementioned rural decline, despite their natural potential, or the development process that changes attitudes towards cultural traditions, especially in terms of residential architecture.Generally, traditional rural houses illustrate a diversity of living cultures and practices, building methods, and architectural styles, but, in the Western Balkans, they are insufficiently explored and mainly unprotected structures that await evaluation, recognition and treatment as heritage. Therefore, recording and research of traditional rural houses represent an important need of this region. Additionally, adoption and efficient implementation of heritage strategies could be relevant for landscape protection and conservation [8], as well as overall rural development. Based on presented facts, this research attempts in the first instance to expand understanding of material heritage in the rural Western Balkans by revealing values of the less-known traditional houses. A narrow rural territory of the south part of the Western Balkans, characterized by exceptional natural values and a remarkable collection of traditional houses, namely, the area of Sirinićka Župa in the Šar Mountains (Sirinić in commonly used abbreviated form), has been selected as the case area.The concept of sustainability encompasses different spatial levels and domains of human activity. In the architectural sphere, the notion of sustainability mainly refers to the environmental quality of buildings [9]. Studies of traditional architecture at regional and local levels generate knowledge [1...

The Vernacular and Rural Houses of Agrarian Areas in the Zeta Region, Montenegro

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