Configuring, building and inhabiting the house from a gender perspective

Abstract

[EN] The study of vernacular architecture allows to know a culture through its domestic constructions. It also permits learning from its values to apply them in new architecture. In order to achieve both objectives, it seems pertinent to gain an in-depth knowledge of the reality, something which involves questioning what this traditional habitat means for each member of the community. Gender, as a category of analysis, is applied in a research on the vernacular architecture of the Mossi culture and its transformation, as an initial approach to the study of the role which women have played in relation to this traditional habitat. This analysis was based on a literature review which was subsequently contrasted with data collected during two stays in the village of Baasneere (Burkina Faso) in 2018. The study, which considers the role women have played in the configuration, construction and use of dwellings, shows two opposing aspects of the house: its essence as a setting for tradition-based power relations and a flexible nature capable of easily accommodating change. Finally, the research raises the possibility of investigating how women's relationship with inhabiting and building the house varies with the modernisation of architecture.