Vernacular earthen architectures. Institutionalisation and management models for its conservation in northern Argentina

Abstract

[EN] The conservation of vernacular earthen architecture presents specific technical and social challenges, which implies particular reflections in relation to concrete actions for their restoration, but also to the management models implemented in the interventions. The heritagisation of many of these architectures implies an institutionalization of actions, with approaches on vernacular techniques with procedures that are often foreign to the logics of local constructive cultures. This paper is oriented to the analysis of two vernacular earthen architectures in northern Argentina: Casa del Marques -in the town of Yavi- and the Church of Uquía, both in the province of Jujuy. These analysis involve a recognition of the different trajectories around the institutionalization of conservation, both historical and contemporary. In this sense, the paper will focus on three issues: (a) the action of state institutions in the conservation of these architectures; (b) the problems associated with these actions in technical terms; (c) the possibilities of participatory approaches from vernacular practices. In methodological terms, this presentation will be based on the fieldwork carried out for the registration, diagnosis and support in the execution of the works, in dialogue with other approaches from archive documentation. In the particular case of Casa de Marques, the fieldwork implied the realization of different workshops with local communities, from participatory approaches.