Análisis de la pérdida del patrimonio rural en el periurbano de Cuenca. Caso de estudio: Parroquia Ricaurte

Abstract

Traditional or Vernacular Built Heritage is a fundamental manifestation of a community's identity, as it reflects its relationship with the territory and contributes to the world's cultural diversity (ICOMOS, 1999). However, this identity is globally threatened by forces of cultural and architectural homogenization, as well as by socioeconomic globalization. As a result, vernacular structures have become extremely vulnerable and face serious problems of obsolescence, internal imbalance, and integration. This raises a fundamental question: how can these forces be controlled? This challenge must be jointly addressed by communities, governments, planners, and multidisciplinary teams of specialists (ICOMOS, 1999). Therefore, it is imperative to analyze the current state of vernacular buildings to determine their degree of degradation and establish mitigation parameters. This research aims to evaluate the current condition of vernacular buildings in the peri-urban area of Cuenca, specifically in the Ricaurte parish, through a facade-level survey. For this purpose, an assessment form was implemented to evaluate aspects such as materiality, added elements, and constructive pathologies, among others. Additionally, it seeks to identify the factors of transformation and loss of rural heritage over the last two decades through the application of comparative forms between the historical and current state of the buildings. The results of this study will contribute to the research project “Transformaciones en el uso y ocupación del suelo en el periurbano de Cuenca durante el primer cuarto del siglo XXI” by the Territorium Research Group of the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Cuenca.