Dr Grigor Doytchinov, Graz A
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE AND THE URBAN SPRAWL
The urban sprawl in rural areas surrounding the cities in Styria is due to the specifical building tradition and the policy of town- and regional planning. The tendencies of urban sprawl have been supplementary stimulated by the economical growth after World War II and the following increase of the mobility and leisure-time, as well as the claim for environmental quality.
For the vernicular architecture, wich is situated despersed in the rural space it means the integration in a new milieu and new contents. By the urban sprawl the social structures are changing - the newcomers from the cities and the internal social upheaval, conditioned by the generation changes. The rise of new functions is changing the economical structures. The compression of the building density and the changing of the architectonical image are remarcable. Particularly serious are the changes in the areas of the new centers for leisure, wich bring with them a specifical kind of urban living in the former rural spacees.
These trends, wich undoubtedly carry on problems for the preservation of the cultural haritage, could be seen as a chance for the keeping of the vernicular buildings. The cultural valueof these buildings