Aiming towards the sky: The vernacular skyscrapers of the South-West Balkans

Abstract

This paper brings together an understanding of common types of vernacular architecture in the geographic areas of today's Macedonia Kosovo and Greece, by comparing the architectural design, built material, and forms. These lands were once part of the Ottoman Empire's Rumelia. The aim is to identify similarities in both urban and rural vernacular dwellings dated from the end of XVIII century onwards in the house's vertical distribution of the space. The study report was conducted in the areas dispersed over the furthest West of what was once Ottoman Rumelia. The paper concludes that there is a similarity in the aesthetic, constructive, spatial and typological forms of vernacular architecture, related generally to the geographical area, the topography, the local natural environment, ethnic characteristics and traditional understanding of construction. © 2022 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.