Identification and validation of methodologies for the conservation of wooden structures and heritage buildings located in the city of Cuenca

The declaration for the City of Cultural Heritage of Humanity, has given it the responsibility of protecting and conserving its architectural heritage, which retains a lot of the historical value of the city. Most of the heritage buildings have wood, made with native species. The construction techniques used, especially in wood, were transferred by European settlers and missionaries to the inhabitants of the continent (indigenous and mestizos) and adapted to the new conditions (species, climate, geographical conditions, existing traditions, etc.). This built heritage made of wood, which was built at the beginning of the last century and how wood is a biodegradable material precise maintenance and restoration. These works, in many cases, have been carried out by users with few resources and in ignorance of the respect that are due to these buildings, without worrying about maintaining the original conditions. For this reason, this project will help identify and disseminate methodologies and processes of intervention, rehabilitation and restoration of constructions with structures and/or ending endings in service, more appropriate for our environment. The project also aims to train authorities, teachers, students, professionals and institutions involved in the subject. This training will be carried out through courses, seminars and workshops in order to learn the experiences of universities, together with this, these meetings will lead to round tables for the exchange of criteria and procedures. Finally, a proposal will be entered into the partner universities to integrate the subject into the curricula of the careers related to the subject, in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, helping the training of a new generation of professionals, supporting themselves in teaching documents and the publication of a book, which is a support for the elaboration of projects in the built heritage.

7th UNIVERSITY PROJECT COMPETITION, 2nd RESEARCH PROGRAM COMPETITION