Ancestral and vernacular architecture as contemporary heritage, tourist and cultural resource. The case of the “palafitos” and the route of the 16 UNESCO heritage churches of Chiloé, Chile

Abstract

The present study aims to explore how spaces designed with ancestral and vernacular architecture can become a heritage, tourist and cultural resource.The analysis of the stilt houses and the route of the 16 UNESCO heritage churches of Chiloé, Chile has been selected as a case study, since: (1) it is an ancestral and vernacular architecture unique in the world, (2) they are part of the cultural and patrimonial tourist offer of the Chilean Patagonia, (3) has a balance of patrimonial and intangible material conservation that has managed to keep the gentrification and identity of the territory under control, (4) its 16 churches have been declared patrimonial by UNESCO.The methodology is developed through the analysis of a complete palafito from the constructive and architectural point of view, together with a church part of the patrimonial route. Followed by an analysis of press headlines and interviews, based on established parameters that allow understanding the link between architecture, transformation into a cultural and tourist resource together, and gentrification. It is concluded that the vernacular architecture of stilt houses and churches in Chiloé configures a valuable contemporary heritage resource that must be preserved and asserted in balance with the tourist dimension that it attracts thanks to its uniqueness.