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Title: ENERGY AND ARCHITECTURE IN AGRARIAN SOCIETIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE IER VALLEY (1900-1915)

Year

2025

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274

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Title

ENERGY AND ARCHITECTURE IN AGRARIAN SOCIETIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE IER VALLEY (1900-1915)

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Authors

Vlad Rada; Mihai-Ionut Danciu; Adina Horablaga

DOI

10.5593/sgem2025/5.1/s19.011

DOI Issue

10.5593/sgem2025/5.1

ISSN

1314-2704

ISBN

978-619-7603-85-9

Language

English

Volume

Issue

5.1

Editor

• Prof. Dr. hab. oec. Baiba Rivza, LATVIA• Prof. DSc. Ildiko Tulbure, GERMANY• Prof. DSc. Oleksandr Trofymchuk, UKRAINE

Scientific Area

Ecology, Biodiversity, and Environmental Protection

Abstract/ Foreword

This paper explores the relationship between energy availability and rural domestic architecture in the Ier Valley, a historically agrarian microregion in northwestern Romania. Focusing on the period 1901–1905, the study investigates whether fluctuations in agricultural productivity—and, by extension, in the energy surplus available to peasant households—may have influenced construction practices and spatial organization. The research draws inspiration from Barnabas Calder’s [1] energy-centered historiography, adapting it to a localized and data-rich setting. A multi-step methodology was employed to estimate annual energy availability and surplus, using historical crop yields, population figures, and calorific conversion coefficients to express all values in kilowatt-hours (kWh). These estimations were then compared to the energy demands of vernacular building practices. Results show a gradual decline in per capita agricultural energy during the period, likely due to demographic growth. In parallel, shifts in household morphology—such as spatial consolidation and barn-house connectivity—suggest adaptive responses to these constraints, though the causal links remain complex. While the findings are preliminary, they offer insights into how low-energy societies balanced building needs with subsistence limitations. By translating historical conditions into a unified energy metric, this study contributes to contemporary conversations on sustainable rural architecture and long-term energy resilience.

References (click to open)

[1] Calder, B. (2021). Architecture from Prehistory to Climate Emergency. Bungay, Suffolk, Marea Britanie: Penguin Random House UK.
[2] Hettne, B., & Fredrik, S. (2002). Theorising the rise of regionness. In S. Breslin, C. W. Hughes, N. Phillips, & B. Rosamond (Eds.), New Regionalism in the Global Political Economy (pp. 33-47). London: Routledge.
[3] European Environment Agency. (n.d.). Natura 2000 - Standard Data Form.
[4] A Magyar Kir. Központi Statisztikai Hivatal. (1924). Magyar Statisztikai Közlemények - Mezogazdasági termelése 1901-1915. Budapesta: Athenaeum Irodalmi és Nyomdai Részvénytársulat.
[5] Mazoyer, M., & Roudart, L. (2006). A History of the World Agriculture from the Neolithic Age to the Current Crisis. (J. Membrez, Trans.) Londra: Earthscan.
[6] Prodan, D. (1990). The Origins of Serfdom in Transylvania. Slavic Review, 49(1), 1-18.
[7] ?tefanescu, B. (1989). Evolu?ia agriculturii bihorene în lumina planurilor cadastrale (sec. XVIII-XIX). Crisia XIX, 511-620.
[8] Hagiu, A., Gheorghiu, T., Drimbau, B., Drimbau, R.-N., & Grupul Rural al OAR. (2018, 12). Ghid de arhitectura pentru încadrarea în specificul local din mediul rural zona Câmpia ?i Dealurile Cri?anei ?i Satmarului.
[9] Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (2001). CHAPTER 3: CALCULATION OF THE ENERGY CONTENT OF FOODS - ENERGY CONVERSION FACTORS. Retrieved 4 27, 2025, from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: https://www.fao.org/4/y5022e/y5022e04.htm

Acknowledgements (click to open)

This study represents a preliminary step in a larger research project examining the relationship between energy availability and rural construction in Central and Eastern Europe. The authors acknowledge that further empirical validation and integration of additional sources—particularly field data and ethnographic evidence—are necessary to strengthen the methodological framework. We express our gratitude to the teams involved in earlier foundational studies, whose work has laid the groundwork for this ongoing investigation.

Type

conference

Url

https://doi.org/10.5593/sgem2025/5.1/s19.011

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ENERGY AND ARCHITECTURE IN AGRARIAN SOCIETIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE IER VALLEY (1900-1915)

Proceedings Тitle

Proceedings of 25th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2025, Volume 25, Issue 5.1

Note

25th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2025, Volume 25, Issue 5.1, 29 June - 6 July, 2025

Type

Proceedings Paper

Publisher

STEF92 Technology

Series

International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEM

Organization

SWS Scholarly Society; Acad Sci Czech Republ; Latvian Acad Sci; Polish Acad Sci; Russian Acad Sci; Serbian Acad Sci and Arts; Natl Acad Sci Ukraine; Natl Acad Sci Armenia; Sci Council Japan; European Acad Sci, Arts and Letters; Acad Fine Arts Zagreb Croatia; Croatian Acad Sci and Arts; Acad Sci Moldova; Montenegrin Acad Sci and Arts; Georgian Acad Sci; Acad Fine Arts and Design Bratislava; Russian Acad Arts; Turkish Acad Sci.

Pages

91-98

Date

29 June - 6 July, 2025

Online Source Type

website

Digital Source Type

10453

Keywords

energy, vernacular architecture, agricultural output, sustainability