Arquitectura Rural Vernacular en Azogues. Caso Cojitambo

Ecuador has a rich and diverse architectural heritage. The evidence it holds is a complete cultural testimony of the use of different construction technologies and material resources that respond to the various ways of life of its inhabitants, visible in different historical periods, which are still present in various urban and rural contexts. In the southern part of Ecuador, there is enough architectural evidence that highlights the richness of the proposed solutions that have been perfected over time.

The best testimonies are not always exclusive to urban contexts; they are also scattered throughout rural territories belonging to different regions or ecological zones of the country. The most varied examples of rural architecture still exist today, across many of these geographic spaces and cultural settings, which are key determinants of their essence, form, and content.

Currently, new ideas and ways of life are affecting the persistence of the image of traditional rural architecture and its cultural landscape. The increasing dominance of new architectural objects over different territories only highlights the ongoing abandonment of traditional construction practices and the trades upon which they were based. Turning our attention back to those practices that resulted in products with a strong identity means recovering the richness contained in many of the manifestations of Ecuadorian Vernacular Architecture.

It is in this regard that the present research work on the traditional architecture of Cojitambo is developed, a parish located 10 km west of Azogues, the cantonal head and capital of the Cañar province. In general, in the territory of this parish, an important vernacular testimony is preserved, but it is undergoing an accelerated process of destruction and disappearance.