Abstract
Abstract. Contemporary reflections on the conception and conservation of architectural heritage have led to new perspectives on certain categories, such as authenticity, within a more dynamic understanding of social facts. Historically, local communities have rethought and transformed their architecture within the framework of becoming reality. This change is inherent in their condition of existence, and necessary to consider the multiplicity of institutionalized actors that raise agendas and actions that intersect in a complex way with the dynamics of World Heritage sites. This paper will analyze the implications of these processes through the study of earthen architecture in Quebrada de Humahuaca (Jujuy, Argentina). The site is at risk due to the exponential growth of tourism and the process of transformation in different dimensions of local realities. Transformations in vernacular architecture will be analyze considering three dimensions and intersections. On the one hand, changes in practices of local builders within their own dynamics; on the other, the conservation actions on the architecture that have formal declarations of protection; finally, commodification of vernacular architecture due to tourist activities. The approach of this paper will focus on technical aspects, within a conceptual framework as social facts, based on the survey and fieldwork carried out in recent years. This case study could act as a precedent for similar researches and would be useful for guidelines in global earthen heritage conservation projects.
Highlights
Dynamic condition of vernacular architecture is inherent in its definition, as social itself
This paper proposes an approach to the Quebrada de Humahuaca case considering both the implications of its inscription on the World Heritage List and the previous processes
Quebrada de Humahuaca is a region immersed in a process of intense transformations, which have occurred historically, but in recent decades presents particularities that merit an analysis
Summary
Dynamic condition of vernacular architecture is inherent in its definition, as social itself. On the other hand, are subject to intense pressures related, for example, to tourism activity and to the production of imaginary within the framework of broader national and international social discussions These processes involve concrete actions that lead to transformations in architecture, especially at local or regional level. The Quebrada de Humahuaca had a certain flow of visitors since the beginning of 20th century, in the last two decades it has been multiplied with the consequent increase in the associated tourist infrastructure (Tommei, 2017), and the commodification of certain attributes of history and present of the region, including architecture (Tomasi, 2011b) These processes present a series of issues that are a challenge for their analysis around the definition of which the recognizable risks are and how to reflect on the processes of change in the framework of practices that tend to petrify certain elements in intense transformation processes. Conservation actions on patrimonialized buildings, implications of architecture associated with tourism and practices of the builders in the region are three possible axes to analyze these processes, understanding that they are not independent spheres, but mutually constituted dynamics
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