Folk / Vernacular Architecture Network
Joking statements: I am a fan of FAN.
It is better to use a van than a large truck.
FAN / VAN was established after the 2nd International Conference entitled “Folk / Vernacular Architecture: From the Traditions to the Future” (Veszprém, Taliándörögd, Káli-medence, 27-31 August 2023), which attracted contributors from five continents. Adrian Green, the President of the British Vernacular Architecture Group (VAG) described this move as “an excellent initiative, which VAG will be keen to link to. Let’s keep in touch.” Elaine Jackson-Retondo, the President of the North American Vernacular Architecture Group (VAF) wrote: “I had such a welcoming experience this summer in Hungary. The FAN/VAN Network sounds like a very interesting development.” In-Souk Cho (Seoul, Korea), the Co-President of the ICOMOS International Wood Committee (IIWC) wrote: “I will fully support you!“
Calendar of events Here we post events and keep records of the earlier ones
The winter conference takes a theme of current interest and explores it in depth through papers given by experts in the field. Bursaries are normally available for students or early career professionals to enable their attendance at the conference. Conference enquiries: please email winter-conference@vag.org.uk.
The next winter conference will be on the theme Pioneers in vernacular architecture: examining the legacy of English Vernacular Houses, Houses of the Welsh Countryside and other early scholars, and will take place on 4 and 5 January 2025 at College Court, University of Leicester. Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of two seminal works in vernacular architectural studies – Eric Mercer’s English Vernacular Houses and Peter Smith’s Houses of the Welsh Countrysidewhich were both published in 1975. The first day of the conference will examine the context for the writing and publication of these two volumes, and the impact and legacy of their work. The second day will broaden out the discussion to include other scholars of the period, particularly those who were working beyond the academic or institutional mainstream, and move onto consider the implications of their research for the future of the study of vernacular architecture.
Full details will be circulated to members (VAG) later in 2024.
August 2026: Third International Conference entitled Folk / Vernacular Architecture: From the Traditions to the Future, together with concerts and a one-day excursion. Planned site: Wine-Church (Bortemplom), Sátoraljaújhely, Tokaj region, Hungary
Past event:
July 27, 2024: Photogrammetry Aided Surveying in Heritage Management, presentation by the EK Association. Please enjoy the videos presented at the Taliándörögd Conference (see here below)
‘Photogrammetry Aided Surveying in Heritage Management’ (SNAP+) is an international partnership project of European scale that was called into being to offer useful methodologies and learning materials for adult learners, architects and heritage managers about surveying technologies delivered with the help of DSLR cameras, drones, 360-degree panorama cameras and finally photogrammetry software. The programme was briefly introduced by Gábor Palotás, international project coordinator and vice chairman of EK Association (ÉK Egyesület) as part of the Folk Architecture Days event in Taliándörögd on 27th July. As he summarised there, the theories and practices would be illustratively explained in the digital handbook of the project through the raw materials and final products of four photogrammetric surveys. The SNAP+ surveys took place at the following locations, collecting information about the following important objects of vernacular architecture:
– Helt Windmill, Tés, Hungary – Wooden church, Chidea (Kide), Romania – Sawmill, Trenta, Slovenia – Tennis stand, Porto, Portugal
The Erasmus+ KA2 Cooperative Partnership project which is planned to be finished by February 2025 is developed by 5 partner organisations:
– Universidade Portucalense, Porto, Portugal as coordinator – Joana Alegria Quintela, Ana Lima, prof. Gilberto Duarte Carlos – Institute of Vernacular Architecture, Ljubljana, Slovenia – prof. Borut Juvanec, Maj Juvanec, Andreja Benko – EK Association, Gyömrő, Hungary – Gábor Palotás, János Palotás, Máté Hidasnémeti – Tektum Architectural Studio, Cluj Napoca (Kolozsvár), Romania – Gábor Tóthfalusi, Radu Stoica, Sorana Vlad, István Szőcs, Eszter Péter – Aleron IT, Budapest, Hungary – Attila Czigány
A side product of the programme is already available to be explored in a 3D interactive form, yet as a test version, optimised for PC screens only. It is a rotatable and zoomable textured model of the Helt windmill, which also allows to hiding of the obscuring structures (walls and the roof) to be able to examine the milling mechanism, while the speed of wind can be also set to adjust the rotation speed of the sails and all the other connecting parts. The interactive model is available on the following link – we recommend using Chrome as a browser and going to the full-screen view by pressing F11:https://snap-plus.eu/webgl3/index.html
A showcase video of the test content is also available on Youtube:
July 27-28, 2024: Folk Architecture Days, An annual event, during the largest arts festival in Hungary, the “Valley of Arts”. Venue: Inkler House, Taliándörögd, Kossuth St. 5, H-8295 Hungary (it is also the site of the TÉKA / TASK, Traditional Architecture Summer Camps). htps://www.muveszetekvolgye.hu/location/1015
Organizer: Dénes Nagy, President, Committee for Folk Architecture, HAS, Veszprém
Information: denes.nagy@symmetry-hu.com
Partner organization: Hild József Secondary Technical School of Construction, Győr
(see the paper about their works related to folk/vernacular architecture, including the TÉKA)
June 21-22, 2024: Barn conversion in practice – what comes after the plan
Venue: Cultural Barn and Guesthouse Csíkdelne, Fő utca 198, Csíkdelne 537231, Romania – https://www.acnt.ro/event-info/csuratalakitas-a-gyakorlatban-ami-a-terv-utan-kovetkezik?lang=en
June 13-14, 2024: In-Souk Cho’s visit to Hungary
– June 13: Informal meetings
– June 14, 4 p.m.: A Stroll through 600 Years of Korea’s History and Architecture – A World Heritage Site: Changdeokgung Palace Complex and its rear garden – lecture, which will be followed by an informal discussion.
Venue: Headquarters of the Association of Hungarian Architects, Budapest, Ötpacsirta St. 2, H-1088 Hungary (former Almássy Palace; about László Almássy see Michael Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient and its movie adaptation) – organized jointly with the Committee for Folk Architecture, HAS Veszprém and the Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology, HAA. Information: denes.nagy@symmetry-hu.com
In-Souk Cho is a practicing architect, a member of the Cultural Heritage Repair Techniques Committee of Korea, and Co-president of the ICOMOS International Wood Committee (IIWC). She gave a lecture at the international conference Folk / Vernacular Architecture: From the Traditions to the Future (Veszprém, 27-31 August 2023):
May 24 – September 15, 2024: Kós 140 – The Workshop of Károly Kós (Exhibition)
Venue: Műcsarnok / Art Hall, Budapest, Dózsa György Rd. 37, H-1146 Hungary.
Curator: The Australian-born architect Anthony Gall, Dean of the Ybl Miklós Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Óbuda University. Note: He also gave a lecture on Károly Kós at the international conference Folk / Vernacular Architecture: From the Traditions to the Future (Veszprém, 27-31 August 2023):
April 10, 2024: Mills in Bánság / Banat, Opening an exhibition, documentary film screening
Venue: Romanian Cultural Institute, Szeged, Dugonics Sq. 2, H-6720 Hungary
Organizer: Romanian Cultural Institute, Branch in Szeged
April 8-9, 2024:An event of the project “BarnCulture”
Idea-host of the project: Gergely Rodics (Transylvania, Romania)
International meeting, exhibition, round table discussion Venue: Halász Gedeon Eseményközpont / Gedeon Halász Event Centre, Kápolnásnyék, Kazinczy St. 22-30, H-2475 Hungary Organizers: – Eszter Rodics, President, Community College of Art for the Carpathian Basin, Hungary – Werner Thumann, Director, Landcare Association Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany – Gergely Rodics, Director, Agri-Cultura-Natura Transylvaniae Association, Romania Information: iroda.vttnkft@gmail.com https://www.acnt.ro/event-info/epiteszet-es-kepzomuveszet-talalkozasa?lang=en
2023
November 23, 2023:Round Table on the Relationships between Folk Architecture and Modern Architecture
Venue: Sinkovits Room, Vigadó of Pest, Budapest, Vigadó Sq. 2, H-1051 Hungary
Organizer: László Koppány Csáji, Director, Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology, Hungarian Academy of Arts
October 25, 2023:László Vargha Commemorial Conference on Folk Architecture
Venue: Headquarters of the Association of Hungarian Architects, Budapest, Ötpacsirta St. 2, H-1088 Hungary (former Almássy Palace; about László Almássy see Michael Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient and its movie adaptation)
Organizers:
– András Krizsán, President, Association of Hungarian Architects
– Dénes Nagy, President, Committee for Folk Architecture, HAS, Veszprém
October 2023:The volume of the international conference was also published electronically; it started the regular publication of FAN/VAN. All lectures of the conference became available in video form.
September 2023: Announcement of the establishment of FAN/VAN based on the international network of the conference. It operates in continental Europe as an informal group and is 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)
August 2023: Second International Conference entitled Folk / Vernacular Architecture: From the Traditions to the Future (Veszprém, Taliándörögd, Badacsony, 27-31 August 2023). The contributors were from 17 countries on five continents, including the President of the British VAG and the President of the North American VAF. A volume was printed for the conference. The event was co-organized by the Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology of HAA.
August 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.
June 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.
Each summer starting in 2011:The Committee organizes an annual domestic conference in the village Taliándörögd (in the framework of 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)
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.
