Earthen construction techniques have long been central to architectural production across the Andean region of South America, including northern Argentina. These practices involve skilled work with stone, soil, straw, wood, and leather, and rely on embodied forms of transmission at both domestic and community scales. As such, earthen building constitutes a total social fact in which technical knowledge and social relations are deeply intertwined. Today, these techniques are increasingly endangered. Since the late nineteenth century, state agencies have stigmatised adobe and other earthen techniques, promoting their replacement with industrial materials. More recently, heritage‑driven tourism has commodified local architecture, encouraging superficial aesthetic uses of these techniques while eroding the specific skills, gestures, and material sensibilities required for proper construction.
This project documents the plurality of earthen construction practices and architectures in two communities: Tabladitas and Cueva del Inca, both located in the highlands of Jujuy Province, Argentina. Through a participatory approach, two small houses will be built, enabling the documentation of a wide range of techniques, from adobe making to the guayado of straw roofs. The project will generate multi‑perspective documentation that captures the embodied and situated nature of know‑how, recognising its dynamic condition over time.
PI: Jorge Tomasi
Collaborators: Marcel Vellinga; Julieta Barada; Valentina Millón
Research Location: Tabladitas and Cueva del Inca, Jujuy, Argentina
Host Institution: Laboratorio de Arquitecturas Andinas y Construcción con Tierra (LAAyCT)
Top Banner Image: Adobe-making process in the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Photo credit: LAAyCT, 2021.