ISVS Seminars and the ISVS e-journal Featured in a Major Book on Amos Rapoport:

ISVS seminar and the ISVS e-journal have recently been featured in a ground-breaking book on architecture and culture. Routeledge has published in 2024, the book titled "Theorizing Built-form and Culture: The Legacy of Amos Rapoport", edited by two erudite scholars from USA: Prof. Kapila Silva and Dr. Nisha Fernando, both disciples of Amos Rapoport. As known, Prof. Amos Rapoport has been a pioneer who has examined the profound relationhip between architecture and culture and has publlished on this issue extensively. His ground-breaking book "House Form and Culture" is known to all the architects across the world. This new book that celebrates the life-time contribution of Prof. Amos Rapoport to architecture and culture carries a chapter titled 'Theoretical Inspirations of Amos Rapoport: The International Studies on Vernacular Settlements (ISVS) by Dr. Ranjith Dayaratne, the editor-in-chief of the ISVS e-journal. This chapter demonstrates how the ISVS is inspired by the work of Prof. Amos Rapoport and carries his ideas forward through the prsentations at the ISVS seminars and the publications through the ISVS e-journal. Please see the chapter below.

Chapter in the Book: Theorizing Built-form and Culture - The Legacy of Amos Rapoport

The Book has received the EDRA Achievement Award - 2024.

About the ISVS e-journal

ISVS e-journal is fully open access. It publishes papers on human settlements looking into the acts of inhabiting their spaces manifesting in the production of culture, space and society and their multi-faceted manifestations. These include architecture, 'design' related activities, food production, rituals and visual and performing arts, and all other outcomes and practices resulting in the interractions between people, environments and places. The subject matter can thus include all aspects and 'happenings' involving ordinary people. The research could look at social geography, people-place interractions and even peri-urban and urban settings where vernacular practices exist. All the issues related to architecture and built-environments can be looked at.

Frequency of Publication

When the journal was first launched in 2013, it published two issues per year until 2019, and then it published 4 issues per year from 2019 to 2022. During this time, 5-6 issues per year were published including special issues. At that time, ISVS seminars were held once every two years and this frequency corresponded with the ISVS e-journal. Due to the fact that the ISVS seminars began to be held every year and with the increased interest in architecture and culture, the journal was published every month in 2023 and 2024. However, it is now published 6 times a year since Jan 2025: once every two months.

Peer-Review and Quaity of the Contents

The papers published in the ISVS e-journal are blind peer reviewed by two reviewers before publication. They are original and are usually direct submissions. Earlier versions of them may have been presented at the ISVS seminars, or any other conference. However, papers unrelated to 'happenings' in settlements or architectural spaces are not accepted.

What and Where is Vernacular

Vernacular is one way in which architecture and culture manifest but is not the only way. Vernacular, however, has been grossly misunderstood. The popular perception is that vernacular exists only in the rural, tribal settings and that the vernacular settlements are only those settlements that have existed in the past. This is a narrow view of vernacular. We take a broader perspective that extends the definition of vernacular as they have manifested from the historical vernacular to the contemporary modern world. The position of the ISVS e-journal thus, is that treating vernacular as ‘a thing of the past’, tribal villages and remote rural settlements is not a theoretically justifiable position to adapt. Instead, the ISVS e-journal articulates how vernacular exists even in the contemporary modern world including in cities. That is what ISVS e-journal aspires to promote academically to interrogate so that we can construct a more holistic understanding of the vernacular processes and practices. To understand this theoretical position, please read the article below.

An Interpretation of Vernacular as Promoted by the ISVS e-journal

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Every thing we do, must be ethically appropriate, and this applies to publishing too. If you are an author, you should first read the Publication Ethics and Malpractices Statement accessible from the link below and agree to abide by the conditions set out therein, before your paper can be accepted for publication. If you are invited as a reviewer, you are also required to familiarize with the conditions laid out therein before any papers are accepted for review.

If you need any clarifications, please write to editor@isvshome.com

The Review Process

Papers submitted to the ISVS e-journal undergo a rigorous review process, with the intention to facilitate the authors to recognise the weaknesses in their scientific papers if any, and develop them up to the standards expected by the ISVS e-journal if possible. Once received, each paper is assigned an identity number. It is then vetted for compatibility with the broad area (not the narrrow definition of vernacular) within which the journal publishes: Architecture and Culture - vernacular practices in particular. In fact, vernacular practices in human settlements relate especially to architecture, crafts, performances, rituals, and things people do and the traditions associated with them, which means processes involving ordinary people, without professional interventions. If unrelated to this broad definition, the author is notified that the paper cannot be accepted for review.

Once accepted for review, the paper is presented to two independant reviewers for close examination and for review comments on a structured review form (available below). Once the two reviews are received, they are compiled as one and sent to the authors with instructions to revise and develop the paper. The authors should revise the papers following the instructions to review and send it back to the Editor-in-Chief. The review recommendations could be either: 'reject', 'minor revisions', 'major revisions' or 'accepted as submitted'.

It should be noted, that ISVS e-journal has never received 'accepted as submitted' as a review recommendation. Almost all, often receive 'major revision' recommendations and some, occassionally, a 'minor revision'. If the revision is poor, it will then be returned to the author with further comments, some times with track change comments and edits too. This process continues until the paper is properly revised and developed if so possible. In the cases if an author fails to develop the paper even few subsequent rounds of review and revisions, then the paper is rejected.

If the revisions are done up to the standards expected, then the paper is accepted for publication and move to final formatting, editing and check up. However, papers with poor language are not aaccepted, and it is the responsibility of the authors to have their lnguistic issues sorted out, when the reviewers indicate that the language has issues. ISVS e-journal cannot undertake to rectify them fully if they ar eextensive, although some minor editing is always done. Thus, the process takes time. Immediate or urgent publications are not possible. A more detailed description of this process can be accesssed from the link below.

To enable the potential authors and anyone interested to see how the papers have progressed through the review-revision process and to understand what the reviews are like, the journal now publishes the reviews along with the final papers, since January 2025. As can be seen, ISVS e-journal offers some of the most rigorous and comprehensive reviews to facilitate the authors to develop and revise the papers.

Review Process in Detail

ISVS e-journal Review Form


Writing a Research Paper: What to do and What not to do - Watch the UTube Video

How to Submit a Paper - Download the Template

If you are an author, you should download the template from here and write your paper in this template. If it has already been done according to another format, copy paste to the template and make sure that the specifications in the template are applied. Please format the paper fully with all the images embedded, as appropriate. The images should be compressed to web level. High resolution images cannot be published in the e-journal. Send the formatted paper saved as 'ISVSej_1X.X.X_yourname' by email to the Editor-in-Chief at editor@ISVShome.com or ranjith.dayaratne@gmail.com. Do not send to both email addresses. Use only one. Please note that the papers are placed in a queue as they are received. Reviews take time: 15 days to a month at least

Quality Standards and Publication Fee


Guidelines and Policies 2024

General Policies

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

General Guidelines

Guidelines for Writing a Literature Review

Instructions for Revising the Papers after Review

Download the Template from Here

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