The Evolution of Vernacular Design: Case Studies of Kimchi Refrigerator, Rice Cook, and Floor Heatng System

Vernacular design for the artificial world is the topic of the book Architecture without Architects, by Bernard Rudofsky, written in 1964. It attempts to break down our narrow concepts of building art by introducing the unfamiliar world of non-pedigreed architecture. In equal terms, this idea can be adopted to product design area. For want of a generic label, we have called it vernacular, anonymous, spontaneous, indigenous, rural, and local as the case might be. For Koreans it is a remote area for multi-national corporations or global star designers to design appliances and facilities related to life’s indispensable staples. Examples include the Kimchi refrigerator, the rice cooker, and floor heating system. Highly educated local designers are developing and commanding the design of local staples and modern vernacular design projects, adapting series of professional conventions of their locality and paying substantial attention to what may be fashionable as well as useful for their neighbor customers. This study explores three cases of modern Korean vernacular design: the Kimchi refrigerator, the rice cooker, and the floor heating system. A new perspective on vernacular design as contemporary high-tech products of necessities is then proposed in a local context