For those who, like me, are fortunate enough to be, literally, surrounded by artifacts created using drywall construction techniques may not seem like unique works of art, but, walls built without mortar or binders are. And how.
We imagine these kinds of constructions as simple and efficient dividers or delimiters of roads or land properties, yet, the situation is much more complex.
Rural dry-stone architecture arises from a close connection with the characteristics of the soil and the environment. In fact, this type of construction is found exclusively where the raw material is naturally present and that is stone of a limestone nature.
The type of construction is highly ecological and has practically zero environmental impact that frame this type of construction, is absolutely environmentally sustainable, among the most representative buildings of green buildings and green architecture.
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The environmental impact of a pajara is very low, not only because of its absolute integration with the territory that cancels its visual impact being the structures perfectly and naturally contextualized in the rural landscape, but also and above all because we can, with good reason, speak of a building typology that falls fully within the criteria of passive architecture.
A passive structure in fact is one that needs little or no energy input to ensure thermal comfort. Traditional structures in fact had no windows, and during construction, such expedients were used to improve comfort, such as the use of hygroscopic materials or “green roofs,” which seem to have been invented by modern architecture and instead have much older origins.
The trulliform dry-stone buildings that are very common in Apulia take different names depending on the area and function.
For example, in Salento …
In Salento ( Apulia – Italy) most of the constructions with dry-stone techniques are referred to as Pajare, but, the names by which these constructions are referred to differ greatly in Salento itself.
Truddu in fact is the name found in the onciari land registers according to De Fabrizio. Palumbo derives this voice from “turrula,” a diminutive of the Latin “turris,” hence “small tower.” According to another scholar, Simoncini, the Indo-Germanic root “Tor” passes into Greek and Latin, implying the concept of roundness.
Casedda, on the other hand, is the denomination that De Fabrizio again notes in the onciari land registries of the Murgia and Taranto. Simoncini confirms this denomination by placing it geographically between the north-central murgia and the coast between Barletta and Polignano. In the countryside of Tuglie, according to Panìco, the locution caseddha instead indicates a building of smaller size and simpler than the “Furnieddhu” but more articulated in that it was flanked by other buildings.
The wording Pajaru or Pajara, which is also found in the transcription Pagghiaru or Pagghiara indicated, according to De Fabrizio a dry-stone construction with a thatched roof and was widespread in the onciari land registers of the province of Lecce. Costantini identifies the presence of the threshing floor, characterizing these structures, as an indication of a use of the Pajari (or Pajare as you like) for storage of straw obtained from the threshing of cereals even if the name is not always linked to the specific function.
Finally, according to Spano, the Pagghiari (or Pagghiare) would be, in the vast majority, simple shelters, lacking reinforcements at the base and devoid, in most cases, at least in the territory of northern Magliese as far as Lecce, of a summit esplanade that was replaced instead by clods of earth.
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Furnu or Furnieddu, on the other hand, is the name given to the dry-stone construction intended for drying to baking bread or figs. Caló describes them as truncated-conical (only in some cases truncated-pyramidal) constructions, contained in two or three levels of concentric steps, made entirely of dry stone. Buildings consisting of a single room with a quadrangular plan, and in the oldest forms circular, with a false dome roof. Costantini points out how the entry “Furnu” finds no justification with the explanation often given by the farmers themselves. Etymologically, the term could only be explained if these buildings were equipped with hearths or ovens for baking bread. However, the hypothesis formulated that the term furnu is the name given to shelters provided with equipment for baking bread and cooking is refuted precisely by the fact that in most areas of the spread of this term, one rarely encounters a fireplace or hearth inside or outside the building.
According to Spano, finally, the term “Furnu” is to be related to the fact that the farmer considered his shelter a real oven because, during the summer months, he used its surfaces of the steps and terrace to arrange the trellises and mats with figs to be dried. Thus the building was called furnu only with a reference in a broad sense to a place used for baking or roasting a product.
The most curious and little-used name is that of Chìpuru, which De Fabrizio attributes to the area of Grecìa Salentina while De Lia reports its diffusion mainly in Maglie. Simoncini, on the other hand, expands the area of spread of this word as far as Leuca, tracing the term back to Greek and literally translating it as “guardian of the field.”
Giving an exact date of birth to this building type is difficult. According to some, these are buildings made in periods after the year 1000, in the Byzantine era. Others, such as Cosimo De Giorgi, do not rule out a more ancient origin, between 2000 B.C. and the end of the Bronze Age, as an evolution of megalithic constructions such as specchie. The discovery of Roman-era mosaics depicting dry-stone structures quite similar to pajare and furneddhi would make one lean toward this hypothesis.
1 )Natural materials:Dry stone walls are built using natural materials, such as stones or rocks, which are locally available without the need to produce or transport them. This means that construction does not require the use of energy resources to produce or transport materials.
2) Minimal environmental impact: Drywall construction does not require the use of mortar or cement, so there is no need to consume water for mixing and cleaning tools. In addition, dry stone walls require a minimal amount of excavation, which reduces the environmental impact on the surrounding fauna and flora.
3) Durability: Dry stone walls are built to last a long time, often for hundreds of years. This means they do not need to be rebuilt frequently, thus reducing the environmental impact of construction and demolition.
4) Adaptability: Dry stone walls can be easily dismantled and rebuilt in another area if necessary. This means they can be used sustainably for landscape conservation.
In summary, dry stone walls are considered environmentally friendly because they are constructed from natural materials, have minimal environmental impact, last a long time, and are adaptable
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