Traditional Architecture as a Typological Basis for Ecological and Sustainable Architectural Design from a Climatic Perspective. The Colonial Houses of the Central Valley; Santiago, Chile.

Abstract

The present study aims to explore the Colonial House in the central valley of Chile, as a typological basis for an ecological and sustainable architectural design, mainly in relation to passive climate conditioning strategies, thinking about the minimization of external agents that take care of this. The city of Santiago is selected as a case study because it is a highly urbanized area, implying constant challenges about sustainable urban development. Regarding the object, these are traditional constructions with local materials and vernacular techniques, therefore they are related to the material heritage of the area and present proven climatic strategies that can be extrapolated to establish them within a contemporary context. The methodology is carried out through a constructive analysis of a typical house to understand the decisions taken and how they influence the habitability of the building. This will be complemented with the study of secondary sources and the comparison with contemporary examples to explore the application of the referenced strategies. It is concluded that traditional typologies allow the development of new proposals associated with sustainable logics due to the constructive and climatic understandings that vernacular notions imply.