Uyghur Vernacular Architecture

This book outlines a piece of ethnographic research undertaken on Uyghur vernacular architecture for the purpose of understanding Uyghur cultural identity and interpreting this identity during the design and planning of the built environment in "Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region" of China. From a historical perspective, this research examines Uyghur culture and vernacular architecture from the four interactive parts of culture, the social, belief, economic, and political systems. The built environment is a part of culture with a syntax remains relatively consistent through cultural change, just as the grammar of a language, while the components of the built environment may change just as the additions of borrowed words or newly invented words, and forgotten of old words. This syntax can be regarded as the abstract form of the identity of the built environment and it can be transferred into contemporary built environment. Applying this theory in examining the impact of culture on architecture, this research explores the identity of Uyghur architecture in order to translate this heritage into contemporary architectural and urban design.