Collaborative Diagnosis and Intervention for the Conservation of Earthen Architectural Heritage in the Andean Highlands (Jujuy, Argentina)

TOMASI, JORGE; BARADA, JULIETA

Miami

Conferencia; APT Annual Conference; 2019

Association for Preservation Technology International

Conservation of vernacular heritage confront specialists to the need to reflect on the universal criteria established for interventions on these architectures, including notions of authenticity and integrity. This implies not only considering social and cultural significance of these buildings, but also the way in which these constructions have been sustained over time through socially consensual conservation practices. Duration of a property and conservation are indissociable from local temporalities, as ways to define time. In this framework, the definition of a locally situated conservation practice implies the recognition of other ontologies and specific ways of doing, both in social and technological terms, understanding that these are inseparable spheres within cultural frameworks.From the work carried out in recent years on the earthen architectural heritage, in conjunction with local communities in northern Argentina, this presentation has two objectives. The first, of a methodological nature, is aimed at recognizing the possibilities offered by ethnographic approaches and participatory strategies for the construction of other possible practices of conservation, positioned in the sense of local conceptions. The second objective, of a technical nature, focuses on joint work with local builders to establish diagnosis and interventions. In this regard, it will be particularly important to analyze the specificities presented by earthen building techniques in the region, and the possible strategies for their conservation and sustainability. For these purposes, a series of case studies arising from different conservation actions undertaken jointly with local communities in the highlands of the province of Jujuy will be analyzed in detail. The diversity of cases raised will allow to recognize different techniques and materials, different pathologies and forms of remediation, and a diversity of methodological strategies for the design of conservation criteria. The importance of these methodologies is not limited to the cases that will be analyzed, but can contribute to the development of new approaches for the conservation of vernacular architectures.