FAN / VAN

(Folk / Vernacular Architecture Network)
Joking statements: I am a fan of FAN.
It is better to use a van than a large truck.

The road to establishing FAN/VAN:

2011: The Committee for Folk Architecture was established on 18 April 2011, in the framework of the Veszprém Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It operates in partnership with the Symmetry Foundation.

Each summer starting in 2011: The Committee organizes an annual domestic conference in the village Taliándörögd (in the framework of the the “Valley of Arts”, the largest all-arts festival in Hungary), and a summer camp called TASK (Traditional Architecture Summer Camp) first with the Ybl Miklós Faculty of Architecture (Budapest) and then with the Hild József Secondary Technical School of Construction (Győr)

2012: First International Conference entitled Folk Architecture – Vernacular Architecture: Traditions and Rural Development (Budapest – Veszprém – Szentendre, 8-10 June 2012). It was attended by leading experts from 10 countries on three continents, including the President of the VAG (Vernacular Architecture Group), the oldest organization in this field.

2022: The Committee announced its second international conference for August 2023 and the plan to organize triennial conferences on folk/vernacular architecture from that time.

2023

August 2023: Second International Conference entitled Folk / Vernacular Architecture: From the Traditions to the Future (Veszprém, Taliándörögd, Badacsony, 27-31 August 2023). It was attended by experts from 17 countries on four continents, including the President of the British VAG and the President of the North American VAF. A volume is printed for the conference. The event was co-organized by the Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology of HAA.

September 2023: Announcement of the establishment of FAN/VAN on the basis of the international network of the conference. It operates in continental Europe as an informal group, and open to cooperation with all organizations related to folk/vernacular architecture. Adrian Green, the President of VAG described this move as “an excellent initiative, which VAG will be keen to link to. Let’s keep in touch.” (9 September 2023)

October 2023: The volume of the international conference was also published electronically; it starts the annual publication of FAN/VAN. All lectures of the conference became available in video form.

EVENTS

October 25, 2023: László Vargha Commemorial Conference on Folk Architecture, organized jointly with the Hungarian Architects’ Association, Budapest (MÉSZ, Budapest)

November 23, 2023: Round Table on the relationship between folk architecture and modern architecture, hosted by the the Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology, Hungarian Academy of Arts (Vigadó, Budapest)