Appraisal of Vernacular Stone Housing Typology of Tigrai, Ethiopia

Abstract

Tigrai vernacular housing mainly characterized by a stone architecture called hidmo, which is an astonishing feature of the country and the region. The hidmo house does not only mean a flat roofed vernacular house, but it is becoming an architectural style since thousands years ago at the beginning of Aksumite civilization. The objective of this paper is to appraise the vernacular housing typology and their spatial relationship in Tigrai, Ethiopia. Using field visit, observation, non-structured interview, cross-checking different data sources are used for qualitative data collection and the collected data are synthesized and categorized. According to the research study the Tigrai vernacular housing has mainly three housing typology namely, the Tigrai farmer house commonly called hidmo house, Tigrai chief house that is housed for the rich, clerks and leaders and the third is Agudo dwelling unit a house for common people. In the Tigrai farmer house we could have variations and labeling such as Merebae and Sekela house. All the housing typology have rectilinear shape, form and use the same building material that is a stone wall, mud and timber roof, but Agudo dwelling unit and Tigrai chief house have circular plan and conical thatched roof. The very nature of the Tigrai housing typology has the potential to respond the sustainability of the climate and the availability of abundant materials, mainly stone and the ‘Monkey head construction’ system.