Uploaded on 2020-05-03 by Ermioni Natsi

Both of the buildings are located in the same agglomeration in Mani, a region on South Peloponnese, Greece (photo was taken on November 2008). The first building was built around 1850 and all materials used were found in the area. The building stands there for almost 2 centuries and as you can see, is very much integrated to the context. On the inside it has been renovated but still, the main structure is main of local materials. The house on the second photo is located 50m away from the first one. It is not finished yet and we can see that reinforced concrete and bricks have been used for its structural frame. The stone that you see in front of the building derived from the excavation and it will be used for the cladding of the building (obligation through building regulations). I believe that people today prefer to construct according to the way they know, without considering the impacts on the environment. Particularly in societies with very small density, like in this area. Additionally, they are not willing to take the extra cost on delays and on finding the specialists with the know-how on handling local materials.