School of Architecture, Art and Design, University of Portsmouth , Portsmouth , United Kingdom
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Niš Serbia
-, National Institute of Immovable Cultural Heritage Bulgaria
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Niš Serbia
-, National Institute of Immovable Cultural Heritage , Sofia , Bulgaria
School of Architecture, Art and Design, University of Portsmouth United Kingdom
-, Musab Ak Ada Restorasyon Turkey
School of Architecture, Art and Design, University of Portsmouth United Kingdom
The built heritage of the rural areas of the Balkans is characterized by decades of neglect, which developed as a consequence of the abandonment of rural areas, strong urbanization of cities, emigration of residents, and low birth rates. Most of the built heritage fund consists of residential and auxiliary buildings dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, in timber construction with infill made of wicker, mud, and straw. These buildings were built with one or two above-ground floors, with or without verandas, using traditional building principles and natural materials. Today, most buildings are abandoned, their roofs partially or completely collapsed, and parts of the structure and façade damaged. Further deterioration of these buildings increases the risk of complete collapse, jeopardising the record of the development of vernacular architecture in these areas. This paper examines the vernacular timber heritage of the border zone between Bulgaria and Serbia in the rural area of the Stara Planina (‘Old Mountain’) National Park region. The research is based on a comparative analysis of houses from Bulgaria, in the villages of Stakevtsi and Chuprene, and from Serbia, in the villages of Senokos and Boljev Dol, considering several indicators according to which they can be evaluated as significant examples of vernacular built heritage. Selected examples at risk of decay will be compared from the perspective of the functional plan layout, methods of construction, façade design and decoration.
This project was funded by the Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme (ref. EWAP3121SG) and undertaken in 2024-2025 with PI Dr. Milena Metalkova-Markova from the University of Portsmouth. The Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme (EWAP), Oxford Brookes University, funded by Arcadia, is a charitable foundation that works to protect nature, preserve cultural heritage and promote open access to knowledge. The team has been supported substantially by local collaborators and architects in Bulgaria and Serbia, NGOs such as Balkan Arhitrav as well as local residents and administrative bodies. The project is supported by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Bulgarian National Institute of Immovable Cultural Heritage and the University of Portsmouth.
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