Table Of ContentReinventing an Urban Vernacular
With increasing population and its associated demand on our limited resources, we need
to rethink our current strategies for construction of multifamily buildings in urban areas.
Reinventing an Urban Vernacular addresses these new demands for smaller and more
efficient housing units adapted to local climate.
In order to find solutions and to promote better urban communities with an overall
environmentally responsible lifestyle, this book examines a wide variety of vernacular
building precedents, as they relate to the unique characteristics and demands of six
distinctly different regions of the United States. Terry Moor addresses the unique
landscape, climate, physical, and social development by analyzing vernacular precedents,
and proposing new suggestions for modern needs and expectations.
Written for students and architects, planners, and urban designers, Reinventing an
Urban Vernacular marries the urban vernacular with ongoing sustainability efforts to
produce a unique solution to the housing needs of the changing urban environment.
Terry M. Moor obtained a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Texas and a
Masters in Studio Arts from Harvard University. He served in the Peace Corps in Tunisia
for two years. Upon returning to the U.S., he established his own architectural firm near
Boston, and taught and served as department head and dean in the Department of
Architecture at Wentworth Institute of Technology before retiring.
“Reinventing an Urban Vernacularis an invaluable guide to contemporary strategies for
a resilient and sustainable architecture in our American cities. This book creates informative
links between the history of America, changing lifestyles and the evolution of building
conventions. Organized by regions, it relates political and social conditions to a local
vernacular. Terry Moor’s book is a wonderful read and an instructive studio and office
companion at the same time. With a growing percentage of humans living in cities and
resources becoming more scarce, these very practical lessons are of great relevance.”
Anne-Catrin Schultz, Wentworth Institute of Technology, U.S.
Reinventing an Urban Vernacular
Developing Sustainable Housing
Prototypes for Cities Based on
Traditional Strategies
Terry M. Moor
First published 2017
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Terry M. Moor
The right of Terry M. Moor to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification
and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Moor, Terry M., author.
Title: Reinventing An Urban Vernacular / by Terry M. Moor.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis
Group, an Informa Business, [2017]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016041767| ISBN 9781138682528 (pbk) | ISBN 9781315545097 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Housing—United States. | Vernacular architecture—United
States. | Sustainable urban development—United States. | City planning—
United States.
Classification: LCC HD7293 .M647 2017 | DDC 307.1/4160973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016041767
ISBN: 978-1-138-68252-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-54509-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Avenir
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
“Through custom people cling to old traditions and try to perpetuate them by adapting
them to new conditions, but necessity argues the case on its merits without much regard
for precedent. Out of conflict comes a compromise in which the old is modified and
adapted.”
Walter Prescott Webb from The Great Plains
“The true basis for any serious study of the art of Architecture still lies in those indigenous,
more humble buildings everywhere that are to architecture what folklore is to literature
or folk song to music and with which academic architects were seldom concerned . . .
These many folk structures are of the soil, natural. Though often slight, their virtue is
intimately related to environment and to the heart-life of the people. Functions are usually
truthfully conceived and rendered invariably with natural feeling. Results are often beautiful
and always instructive.”
Frank Lloyd Wright from The Sovereignty of the
Individual(1910)
“I like to work on direct, honest solutions, avoiding exotic materials, using indigenous
things so that there is no affectation and the best is obtained for the money.”
William Wurster (1936) regarding the Gregory farmhouse
To Susan, my steady companion, my inspiration,
and my joy everyday
Contents
List of Figures xvi
Image Credits xxi
Acknowledgments xxiii
Chapter 1 Addressing the Future of the Evolving American City 1
The Development and Transformation of the American City 2
Transformation of the Downtown into the Central Business District (CBD) 6
The Suburbs Have Maxed Out 8
Future Challenges 10
Global Warming 10
A Much Larger Population 11
The Lack of Affordable Oil 11
Scarcity of Modern Construction Materials 13
Can Technology Save Our Lifestyles and Our Cities? 13
New Directions 14
Chapter 2 Employing Vernacular Solutions to Future Urban Housing 17
Defining Vernacular Building 18
Why Resort to the Vernacular in a Modern World 19
Reviving and Reapplying Vernacular Principle to Modern Cities 20
Developing Regional Prototypes 20
Prototype Building Requirements 22
Chapter 3 The Northeast: New England and Mid-Atlantic Coasts 25
The Place 25
Early Development Patterns 27
Precedents 29
The Wigwam 29
The Cape Cod House 31
Saltbox 33
The Row House or Townhouse 34
New York City Tenement 37
Boston Three-Decker 39
Common Themes Found in Traditional Buildings Along the Northeast Coast 42
Shape and Placement 42
Shelter, Construction, and Materials 42
Heating, Cooling, and Ventilation 44
CONTENTS ix
