African Vernacular Architecture,Culture and Modernity: An Investigation Among the Lamba People of Chief Mushili on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia

Abstract

The influence of imported material, technology and methods has put pressure on most traditional architectural systems to modernize. This influence to modernize is transmitted through various mechanisms. This paper argues that there are a number of aspects to vernacular architecture that would be lost through this conversion process to modern materials, technology and methods. Through the examination of vernacular architecture among the Lamba people of Senior Chief Mushili’s chiefdom, the study found that there are cultural, environmental and aesthetical aspects in vernacular architecture that are poorly understood in the process of modernization. Data for this research were collected through an ethnographical approach with occasional in-depth interviews with senior members of the Royal establishment and the community. Thus, the data were mainly qualitative.