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<ul><li><p>American Geographical Society</p><p>House Form and Culture by Amos RapoportReview by: Richard V. FrancavigliaGeographical Review, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Oct., 1969), pp. 632-633Published by: American Geographical SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/213875 .Accessed: 08/05/2014 19:00</p><p>Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms &amp; Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp</p><p> .JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.</p><p> .</p><p>American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toGeographical Review.</p><p>http://www.jstor.org </p><p>This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Thu, 8 May 2014 19:00:34 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions</p><p>http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=agshttp://www.jstor.org/stable/213875?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp</p></li><li><p>THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW </p><p>ping. One further note concerning style: Spate is a master of the 'double converse dis- claimer,' in which three aspects of an argument are presented with an economy of words in a </p><p>single sentence ('Especially in small country towns, prejudice is still often bitter, but it is </p><p>certainly easing, if gradually'). In sum, 'Australia' sets a standard for scholarship and analysis, for style and grace, that </p><p>will be hard to match. All geographers can be grateful that Professor Spate 'got this book out of his system' before he drifted into the administrative wing of academia (Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies of the Australian National University since 1967), where he might have been distracted from this fruitful labor.-ToM MCKNIGHT </p><p>HOUSE FORM AND CULTURE. By AMOS RAPOPORT. x and 146 pp.; diagrs., ills., bibli- </p><p>ogr., index. (Foundations of Cultural Geography Series.) Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1969. $4.95 (hardbound); $1.95 (paperbound). 9 x 6 inches. </p><p>Architecture, considered in terms of house types, has long been a concern of geographers. One need only recall the mention of dwellings from Herodotus to Jean Brunhes and, more </p><p>recently, the specific works of J. E. Spencer and Fred Kniffen, to realize the impact of the house on both the landscape and geographical thought. No regional description is complete without mention of the types of abodes found within the boundaries. And yet, despite the </p><p>persistent concern for architectural style and pattern, geographers have really had no defini- tive guide that deals with the subject of architecture and milieu per se-not, that is, until the </p><p>arrival of this most welcome book. 'House Form and Culture' is a synthesis of architectural, anthropological, and geo- </p><p>graphical works, peppered with brilliant observations by Mr. Rapoport, an architect and </p><p>lecturer on architecture at the University College London. The work is well illustrated and </p><p>well organized, and from the outset the author makes clear that primitive and vernacular </p><p>architecture is its main concern. He starts with 'The Nature and Definition of the Field,' in which rather anthropological definitions are given for key terms ('man,' 'nature,' 'tra- </p><p>dition,' 'genre de vie,' and so on). He contends that one can more readily observe cultural </p><p>mechanisms at work in the primitive and preindustrial societies, with their total community involvement, as opposed to the 'high style and modern' architecture 'designed and built by teams of specialists' that characterizes modern society. Thus the theme is reminiscent of </p><p>B. Rudofsky's 'Architecture without Architects.' </p><p>Chapter 2, 'Alternative Theories of House Form,' is perhaps the most concise analysis yet published of the various monogenetic theories of the development of architectural types. The important variables of climate, technology, materials, site, defense, economics, and </p><p>religion are all considered, along with a shattering critique (is one really needed?) of environ- </p><p>mental determinism. This chapter serves to smooth the path for the exposition of Rapoport's 'Socio-Cultural Factors and House Form' hypothesis, which in essence amounts to a form </p><p>of probabilism in which all facets of culture and environment are considered. The idea that </p><p>'it is often what a culture makes impossible by prohibiting it either explicitly or implicitly, rather than what it makes inevitable,' coupled with a realization of environmental limitations, serves as the basic theme and is dominant throughout. </p><p>The work contains hundreds of valuable references to house forms among cultural groups throughout the world and for this reason alone would be tremendously useful. The work of </p><p>ping. One further note concerning style: Spate is a master of the 'double converse dis- claimer,' in which three aspects of an argument are presented with an economy of words in a </p><p>single sentence ('Especially in small country towns, prejudice is still often bitter, but it is </p><p>certainly easing, if gradually'). In sum, 'Australia' sets a standard for scholarship and analysis, for style and grace, that </p><p>will be hard to match. All geographers can be grateful that Professor Spate 'got this book out of his system' before he drifted into the administrative wing of academia (Director of the Research School of Pacific Studies of the Australian National University since 1967), where he might have been distracted from this fruitful labor.-ToM MCKNIGHT </p><p>HOUSE FORM AND CULTURE. By AMOS RAPOPORT. x and 146 pp.; diagrs., ills., bibli- </p><p>ogr., index. (Foundations of Cultural Geography Series.) Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1969. $4.95 (hardbound); $1.95 (paperbound). 9 x 6 inches. </p><p>Architecture, considered in terms of house types, has long been a concern of geographers. One need only recall the mention of dwellings from Herodotus to Jean Brunhes and, more </p><p>recently, the specific works of J. E. Spencer and Fred Kniffen, to realize the impact of the house on both the landscape and geographical thought. No regional description is complete without mention of the types of abodes found within the boundaries. And yet, despite the </p><p>persistent concern for architectural style and pattern, geographers have really had no defini- tive guide that deals with the subject of architecture and milieu per se-not, that is, until the </p><p>arrival of this most welcome book. 'House Form and Culture' is a synthesis of architectural, anthropological, and geo- </p><p>graphical works, peppered with brilliant observations by Mr. Rapoport, an architect and </p><p>lecturer on architecture at the University College London. The work is well illustrated and </p><p>well organized, and from the outset the author makes clear that primitive and vernacular </p><p>architecture is its main concern. He starts with 'The Nature and Definition of the Field,' in which rather anthropological definitions are given for key terms ('man,' 'nature,' 'tra- </p><p>dition,' 'genre de vie,' and so on). He contends that one can more readily observe cultural </p><p>mechanisms at work in the primitive and preindustrial societies, with their total community involvement, as opposed to the 'high style and modern' architecture 'designed and built by teams of specialists' that characterizes modern society. Thus the theme is reminiscent of </p><p>B. Rudofsky's 'Architecture without Architects.' </p><p>Chapter 2, 'Alternative Theories of House Form,' is perhaps the most concise analysis yet published of the various monogenetic theories of the development of architectural types. The important variables of climate, technology, materials, site, defense, economics, and </p><p>religion are all considered, along with a shattering critique (is one really needed?) of environ- </p><p>mental determinism. This chapter serves to smooth the path for the exposition of Rapoport's 'Socio-Cultural Factors and House Form' hypothesis, which in essence amounts to a form </p><p>of probabilism in which all facets of culture and environment are considered. The idea that </p><p>'it is often what a culture makes impossible by prohibiting it either explicitly or implicitly, rather than what it makes inevitable,' coupled with a realization of environmental limitations, serves as the basic theme and is dominant throughout. </p><p>The work contains hundreds of valuable references to house forms among cultural groups throughout the world and for this reason alone would be tremendously useful. The work of </p><p>632 632 </p><p>This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Thu, 8 May 2014 19:00:34 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions</p><p>http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp</p></li><li><p>GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS </p><p>analyzing these house forms by region or area will, however, have to wait for a geographer. Rapoport confesses that the relation of the house to its culture and environment is his main </p><p>concern, and that a historical or regional treatment is of minor interest. To compensate, it would seem, the work includes some of the more interesting perceptions and interpretations of the dwelling in various cultures. The mystical qualities of the house are also touched on. </p><p>Of almost practical value is 'The Case of Our Own Culture,' a brief analysis of the interaction between the house, man, and environment in the modem Western World. The author concludes that we might learn from the primitive cultures, since their time-tested architecture works. Thus, having considered the relationship between milieu and house </p><p>throughout most of the book, Rapoport uses the last chapter for 'A Look at the Present.' His conclusions thrust directly into the pragmatic realm of architectural design and planning. </p><p>Although most of the material evidence used to support concepts is documented, some holes are left open. For example, the analysis of barns in Oregon is disturbing. Those of us who know Oregon well do not recognize that 'the long slant of the roof faces into the wind, with eaves very low off the ground' and that 'the south wall is painted a dark red to absorb sun.' This may pertain to some barns in eastern Oregon, but the statements are at best un- documented broad generalizations. </p><p>There are other relatively minor problems in the work, largely pertaining to the selection of evidence as 'typical' in relation to the causal factors analyzed. But we must remember that these are truly trivial complaints when the total scope of the book is considered. The original task was monumental. To discuss the environmental and cultural forces that signif- icantly affect architecture is a difficult undertaking, one that few architects and geographers have squarely faced. The resulting work, however, is a real step forward. It is a milestone dealing with one of the more exciting facets of cultural geography: the dwelling and the real- ities and concepts of space that surround it and are part of it.-RICHARD V. FRANCAVIGLIA </p><p>THE GEOLOGY OF NEW YORK CITY AND ENVIRONS. By CHRISTOPHER J. SCHU- BERTH. xiv and 304 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr., index. The Natural History Press, Garden City, New York, 1968. $6.95. 91 x 6 inches. </p><p>For many parts of the United States there are popular handbooks on local trees and flowers and on various members of the animal kingdom-birds, butterflies, and snakes, for example. But similar publications on local geology are rare. Why is this so? Perhaps the answer is to be found in a basic difference in viewpoint. In botany and zoology the description of individual species is typically quite independent of the more interpretative aspects, and to present such descriptive matter for the general public is relatively easy. In geology, however, such an ap- proach is not usually possible. Minerals, rocks, and fossils would at first glance appear to be good subjects for simple description, but a geologic treatment of them must also be concerned with their mode of origin and their geologic associations and must ask what they have to tell about the geologic history of the region in which they occur. For an understanding of land- scapes and of the differences between them, description is not enough; we must know the rocks and structures that underlie these surface features and the processes that have shaped them. </p><p>Geology, then, is fundamentally a historical and interpretative science, not a descriptive one, and there is not always agreement on geologic interpretations because gaps in the rock </p><p>analyzing these house forms by region or area will, however, have to wait for a geographer. Rapoport confesses that the relation of the house to its culture and environment is his main </p><p>concern, and that a historical or regional treatment is of minor interest. To compensate, it would seem, the work includes some of the more interesting perceptions and interpretations of the dwelling in various cultures. The mystical qualities of the house are also touched on. </p><p>Of almost practical value is 'The Case of Our Own Culture,' a brief analysis of the interaction between the house, man, and environment in the modem Western World. The author concludes that we might learn from the primitive cultures, since their time-tested architecture works. Thus, having considered the relationship between milieu and house </p><p>throughout most of the book, Rapoport uses the last chapter for 'A Look at the Present.' His conclusions thrust directly into the pragmatic realm of architectural design and planning. </p><p>Although most of the material evidence used to support concepts is documented, some holes are left open. For example, the analysis of barns in Oregon is disturbing. Those of us who know Oregon well do not recognize that 'the long slant of the roof faces into the wind, with eaves very low off the ground' and that 'the south wall is painted a dark red to absorb sun.' This may pertain to some barns in eastern Oregon, but the statements are at best un- documented broad generalizations. </p><p>There are other relatively minor problems in the work, largely pertaining to the selection of evidence as 'typical' in relation to the causal factors analyzed. But we must remember that these are truly trivial complaints when the total scope of the book is considered. The original task was monumental. To discuss the environmental and cultural forces that signif- icantly affect architecture is a difficult undertaking, one that few architects and geographers have squarely faced. The resulting work, however, is a real step forward. It is a milestone dealing with one of the more exciting facets of cultural geography: the dwelling and the real- ities and concepts of space that surround it and are part of it.-RICHARD V. FRANCAVIGLIA </p><p>THE GEOLOGY OF NEW YORK CITY AND ENVIRONS. By CHRISTOPHER J. SCHU- BERTH. xiv and 304...</p></li></ul>