Celebrating Traditional
Scottish Buildings
SVBWG is a diverse group with a shared interest in traditional buildings that use local materials and methods.
About Us
Vernacular architecture follows traditions passed down from person to person, generation to generation, at any level of society.
The buildings that attract our interest vary in size and construction from small, temporary shelters, through cottages, tenements and farm steadings, to large, enduring tower houses. Usage is likewise diverse, including seasonal shelters, permanent dwellings of all sizes, farms, smithies, watermills and larger industrial concerns.
They are found throughout the country, in both rural and urban settings, and represent many aspects of our history, and of Scotland’s identity. What they all have in common is their construction from local materials using local methods, resulting in characteristics that reflect their environments, so that they sit comfortably within the landscape.
Vernacular Building
Our annual journal ‘Vernacular Building’ began in 1975 and is still available. Some historic issues are even free to download.
We also have other related publications available to explore.
