Its pragmatism and rationality, vernacular housing presents the elegance worth rediscovering and reintegrating into our present building practices. Some lessons can be learnt from the old architecture:  the powerful reserve of the smart use of the assets they are, the lean, vernacular techniques are also less expensive technologies compared to the modern day high-tech appliances and systems. This paper is research into the vernacular architecture of South Africa and the Phillipines, each with their own conditions, yet both deeply striking with a conscious adaptation of the human being to a given environment.