BUILDING CRAFTS
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
Craft also refers to the manual dexterity and artistic skill which is required in working with materials and in creating
objects that can be ornamental or functional or both. So, it usually involves materials, making and it involves
community traditions that are transferred from generation to generation and it involves a utility, it is made for use.
Another definition which is given by Dr. Nichola Houghton; “Craft is the development of practical, aesthetic and
thinking skills and of creativity through the conception and production of individual works and an in-depth
engagement with materials.”
When we talk about craft there is also a mention of indigenous, locality. There is very much a talk about materials
and skills and craft persons. It also makes us talk about or believe in ethnicity, morality, domesticity. Craft is about
communication, story telling, process, traditions, vernacular.
‘Art’ and ‘craft’ are two contrasting kinds of aesthetic, work organization and work
ideology, different in their emphasis on the standards of utility, skill and beauty.
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
CLASSIFICATION OF CRAFTS
• Ceramics and glass crafts • Ritualistic crafts
• Fibre and textile crafts • Hobby crafts
• Flower crafts • Votive crafts
• Leather work • Utilitarian crafts
• Mixed media • Rural crafts
• Needle work • Urban crafts
• Paper crafts • Folk crafts
• Wood and furniture crafts • Decorative crafts
• Stone crafts • Ornamental crafts
• Metal crafts
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
BUILDING CRAFTS
Building crafts: “specialist building skills using traditional materials and
techniques required to conserve, preserve and restore and revive the nation’s
historic buildings and structures” also, ‘’practices which employ manual
dexterity and skill, and an understanding of traditional materials, designs and
techniques to make or repair useful things"
HANDICRAFTS
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal
handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where
useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand (hence the
term handicraft) or by using only simple, non-tech related tools like scissors,
carving implements, or hooks. It is a traditional main sector of craft making
and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related
to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles,
moldable and rigid materials, paper, plant fibers, etc. One of the oldest
handicraft is Dhokra; this is a sort of metal casting that has been used in
India for over 4,000 years and is still used.
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
BUILDING CRAFTS & ITS ASSOCIATIONS
Space Making Crafts (SMC) are
those crafts that are directly or
indirectly related to the making
and embellishing of the
buildings, elements, furniture
and details.
Surface Narrative Craft (SNC) are those
It encompasses all the crafts that are associated
crafts that deal with the application
with “making of space”
of two dimensional plane and have
surface ornamentation or narrative
as its core content.
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
RELATIONSHIP OF BUILDING CRAFT TO SOCIETY
If we see here in this diagram this flourishing tree
here is shown as building industry and crafts is
what is nourishing it; which is further replenish by
empirical knowledge, crafts persons, varied crafts
practices different kinds of materials indigenous
ones tools and techniques.
So, all of these nourish crafts and they contribute
to this largest sector of building industry which
reflects our culture in way of life, which serves our
society, provides us shelter and utilitarian objects.
They also contribute to the trade and the
economy so there is an economics behind it.
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
RELATIONSHIP OF BUILDING CRAFTS TO BUILT ENVIRONMENT
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
WHY TO VALUE BUILDING CRAFTS?
Evidential Value the building crafts visible on the traditional buildings provide us with
evidence about the rich architectural heritage of the past
Historic Value the buildings crafts gives an insight into the past events and aspects of
life that relate the place to the present
Aesthetic Value the elaborately carved built heritage allows people to draw sensory and
intellectual stimulation from a place
Communal value building crafts help derive the meanings of a place for the people
through collective experience and memories
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
KEY CHALLENGES IN BUILDING CRAFT SECTOR
Strategic thinking Absence of collaborations of various partners within the built heritage
sector for the holistic strategic plans related to building crafts
Sustainability Lack of maintenance of our existing traditional and vernacular building
stock as well as the contemporary application of building crafts in
current built environment
Demand Lack of recruitment strategies to attract the craftspeople needed to
solve the current skills shortage within heritage sector
Skills gaps Lack of recruitment strategies to attract the craftspeople needed to
solve the current skills shortage within heritage sector
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
Training Lack of defined knowledge transfer from one generation to another
leading to decrease of resources as well as interest amongst younger
craftspeople.
Awareness Shortage of public awareness of the built heritage sector and work
opportunities causing serious problems related to sustainability and
survival amongst craftspeople.
Effect of The percentage of short-term assignments in the building sector
Sub contracting poses a barrier to training and skills development, causing hindrance
up-skilling the artisans.
Career progression Absence of tangible progression routes and financial reward for those
wishing to continue using their practical skills, leading to rapid
migration of craftspeople to other sectors.
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
RE-DEFINING CRAFTS IN TODAY’S CONTEXT
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
RE-DEFINING BUILDINGS CRAFTS
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SPACE MAKING CRAFT SURFACE NARRATIVE CRAFT
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
SOURCE : Jay Thakkar Jan 2016 (DICRC)
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
APPLICATION AND ITS RELATION TO INTERIOR DESIGN
Space making crafts may be defined as crafts, which are
directly or indirectly related o Architecture. They are more
popularly called as Architectural or Building Craft.
Space making elements and the space making crafts be
together create interior architecture, and when we talk about
this creation there is a great role of materials, skills, tools,
techniques, technology the entire process involved.
Space making elements and the space making crafts be
together create interior architecture, and when we talk about
this creation there is a great role of materials, skills, tools,
techniques, technology the entire process involved.
For Example:
• Bamboo crafts used not only for making utilitarian objects like baskets and mats, but also the entire
structure of a building.
• Stone crafts used not only to make decorative objects , but also jalis in a building (for thermal comfort,
maintaining mass-void ratio, reducing weight,etc. )
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
Space making elements could be
referred to as interior and
architecture elements that make
space.
The elements could be architectural,
like we have a floor, wall, column,
roof, staircase; these elements could
be at the interior level like the door,
window, partition, some furniture or
a fixture, or they could be
ornamental like a surface, finish
color or artifact like an object for
decoration.
SDEA 1402 - BUILDING CRAFTS UNIT – 1 DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDING N.M.Swetha
