**4. Sustainability, vernacular architecture, and identity**

 In the past three decades, the world witnessed great awareness toward environmental dilemmas such as global warming, resources depletion, energy, air and water pollution, waste, population growth, and globalization. These issues come within the responsibility of arguments on sustainability indicating the necessity for sustainability integration in the ways we live, act, use of resources, and build. In meeting the human needs, sustainable architecture represents the interrelationship between natural, cultural, social, and economic resources to create optimum relationships between people and their environments [18].

The word "sustain" means "to hold up" or "to support from below," a society needs to be supported by its populations in the present and future. Most traditional societies took care of their community through the amalgamation of natural and physical environment with cultural, social, and mystical values. These are the societies where sustainability is evident and livable as daily practices.

When discussing sustainability, we need to go beyond definitions, looking for the essence of the meaning. Sustainability is not merely the integration of environmental, social, and economic issues and improving quality of life [19]. The idea of sustainability is to make sure that our decisions and actions today do not compromise the future generations to meet their own needs. Re-evaluating and analyzing vernacular architecture support the interrelation between policy makers and the society [20]. We have to make sure that our actions go along with our environmental systems not in opposition to them. Sustainable design implies responsibility and it implies a far-reaching respect for natural systems and resources, respect for people and cycle of life [4].

Sustainability is by nature "architecture." If we are to achieve it, we must concretely engage the design issues associated with ambient environment resources. We must address, more fully, the underlying influence(s) of political, economic, and social issues comprising the cultural and spiritual background in which the desire to achieve sustainability in itself reflects such a significant value shift [21]. Sustainable design is a philosophical approach to design that seeks to maximize the quality of the built environment [4].

Vernacular architecture is the result of constrains on resource availability. Historically and without modern means, extraordinary enterprise produced architecture often of the most distinctive character and identity with only limited means available [22]. Vernacular architecture was built on inherently sustainable principles such as resource limitations imposed by economic or natural factors, yet succeeded in offering rational solutions to harsh climates and human need [23]. Elements of sustainable design are integral to every established form of vernacular architecture that are tried and proven solutions and have evolved over long periods of trial and error using local materials and technology emerging from ambient natural and cultural environment.

Vernacular architecture, in the Arab World, is a model for sustainability; it embodies different cultural values, which may be applied in the conceptual design of buildings today. These values are about the way of construction, which is responsive to the climate and suits the style of living, traditions, customs, social values, and culture of people; it is of a great sustainability potential (**Figure 3**).

Sustainability in architecture is an essential part to determine the identity of the architectural regionalism. Hidayatun, Prijotomo, and Rachmawati assert that: "Identity has a permanent nature, permanence is supported by both natural environment and cultural, such as the natural topography, material and cultural includes views and habits. All of this is contained in the sustainable criteria. So the nature of sustainability is an important part in recognizing the identity" [16].

#### **Figure 3.**

*Accommodation to the ambient environment in vernacular architecture in the Arab World: solid walls, small openings, light finishing, courtyards, and wind catchers (Source: Salman, Maha).* 

Since our predecessors built sustainability, they did not need to enforce methods to reveal their society or place identity. Identity was evident by being adhered to natural and social environment while society evolution through time. They built naturally in accordance with ambient environment and available resources and building materials; architecture embraced identity as it reflected its place, people, and culture.
