ABSTRACT
Ethnographic surveys of building processes rarely feature in mainstream architectural history. The curious dearth of studies derives perhaps more from the absence of a relevant methodological orientation and cross-disciplinary collaboration than a lack of serious interest in the building process itself. Vernacular architecture, anthropology, and history are closely related fields. This is an uncontroversial relationship: as culture and environment are very much interrelated, interwoven, and integrated on a spatio-temporal framework, one invariably complements the other. Paul Oliver and Rapoport—the protagonists in the vernacular architecture field—have consistently addressed the place of architecture within culture and cultural practices, thus mingling the disciplines of architecture and anthropology to some extent. Elsewhere, visuals have maintained a joyous relation with iconic modern architecture since the inception of photography. Chittagong Hill Tracts is a complex cultural region along the south-eastern border of Bangladesh. Historically and geographically remote, the area has been only lightly researched until recently.
