Cultural Traditions and Architectural Form of Italian Transnational Houses in Australia

The purpose of this article is to investigate the connection between cultural traditions and house form which, according to scholars, is in danger of being lost, and so contribute to the revival of critical interest in such a connection. This paper does not intend to focus on the exploration of the relation between culture as a way of life and the spatial form of the house. Instead, the main objective of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of vernacular architecture in a precise context: this study will be focusing on the architectural form of vernacular houses built in Brisbane in the post WWII period by first generation Italian migrants, namely upon the way the house’s structure, materials and construction technique, decorative feature on the façade, were influenced by migrants’ cultural traditions.

Keywords: Migration; culture; way of life; cultural traditions; house form; vernacular houses; transnational houses