ARCHITECTURE

IN BOLIVIA
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Cansu Aydin
Paola Pea

WHERE IS IT?
South America
Foundation:6/August/1825
Population:10,67 millones(2013)

It shares borders
with Brazil in the
northeast and east;
Paraguay in the
east and southeast;
Argentina in the
south; Chile in the
west; and Peru in
the west and
northwest.

Min elevation 70m

(Paraguay River)
Max elevation
6542m(Sajama
Mountain)

Titicaca lake, the highest

navigable lake in the world
at an altitude of 3.815
meters above sea level

The world's largest salt flat,

salar de Uyuni / 12,000 square
kilometers / 3650 meters above sea
level

Background

South America was inhabited by small tribes, each one had their own customs and
traditions. They lived in rain forest (jungles) or mountainous areas, some of
these people eventually became great empires

Background

Bolivia is divided into 3 distinct geographical areas:

The high mountains (cordillera) with its high plateau (Altiplano), The
intermediate valleys (between the mountains and the lowlands), and the
eastern plains of the Amazon and Plate river.

Like all developing countries, in Bolivia

indigenous architecture exists alongside
Colonial and modern architecture. There is
no such thing as a single style or model of
native Bolivian homes throughout the entire
country, because the Bolivian population is
a mix of its 36 native cultures and many
other immigrant cultures.

PRE HISPANIC
The high Andean
cultures

The gate of the sun, La Paz, Bolivia

PRE HISPANIC ARCHITECTURE

THE INCAS 1438-1533

Island of the Moon, La Paz, Bolivia

situated in Titicaca Lake

The architecture developed in the Inca empire is characterized by the

simplicity of its forms, its solidity, its symmetry and because they
made their buildings harmonize with the landscape.

Houses usually had a

rectangular plan

SIMPLICITY

Inca buildings lack ornaments or

decorations

when constructing the Incas took into

account the position of the sun at the
solstices

Storage houses
usually had a
circular plan

Temple of Kalasasaya, Tiwanaku , La

Paz , Bolivia

Solidity

The stones were used in a way that they fit with each other.

Symmetry and monumentality

The symmetry of the
buildings is difficult to
notice, because the spaces
are superposed, although
often converge at an apex
or in some cases, in a main
room.

Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Per

It is one of the few buildings that
survived intact over the Spanish
conquest of the region.

PRE HISPANIC ARCHITECTURE

AYMARAS (UROS)

Using reeds, the Uros people weave small

islands.

MATERIALS : Totora reeds (Kam)

The people there called it Khili

This material is flexible.

The houses have Two plan types;

recgtangular and circular.

They have no kitchen or bathroom inside the

house.

HISPANIC
Nationally, the most frequent style of architecture is Colonial,
variations as people adapt their homes to the climate of each region

with

slight

Colonial-style homes are typical of

the towns and cities settled by the
Spanish conquerors, who replicated
their construction style throughout
the South American colonies.

The intermediate valleys

houses in Tarata, Cochabamba, Bolivia

Chuquisaca, Bolivia

The intermediate valleys

Two patios: one in
the front, some with
water fountains and
fruit
trees.
This
was used as a sort
of
reception
area
for guests and for
resting
in
the
afternoons while the
back patio was used
for
storage,
to
corral animals, and
for
servants
quarters.

Chuquisaca, Bolivia

Potosi, Bolivia
San Jose, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Tarata,Cochabamba,Bolivia

Eastern plains of the Amazon

Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos

Between 1696 and
1760,
six
ensembles
of
reducciones
(settlements
of
Christianized
Indians) inspired
by
the
ideal
cities
of
the
16th-century
philosophers were
founded
by
the
Jesuits in a style
that
married
Catholic
architecture with
local traditions

clayey mud and straw

closed houses serve both to protect against mosquitoes in the rainy season, and
against enemy arrows.

Concepcion, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

The
churches
are
remarkable examples of the
adaptation
of
European
Christian
religious
architecture
to
local
conditions and traditions.
https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=BW6xrp5KmpU

Santa Ana, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

They resemble large houses with

a
gable
roof
overhanging
galleries extended as porches.

Long walls defining three

interior aisles divided by
wooden columns and two
exterior
galleries,
also
supported
by
columns,
constitute a unique type of
architecture, distinguished
by the special treatment of
the carved wooden columns
and banisters.
Santa Javier, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

The church at San Jos is

the only exception, being
of stone construction and
inspired stylistically by a
baroque model.
Santa Jose, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

CONTEMPORARY
ARCHITECTURE

Houses that resemble the chiquitos architecture

But there is a very controversial

typology of contemporary bolivian
architecture that is emerging

you like it, or you definitly not

that is the kind of relationship
professionals in the field have for
these kind of buildings

CONTEMPORARY
ARCHITECTURE

New Andean: a new indigenous architecture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyODqqxGQp0

Bolivia's Rising Indigenous Bourgeoisie | FT Wealth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbGQZpdv3eg

The homes are echoing some designs of the pre-Incan

Tiwanaku and traditional Andean cultures.

Most of these ornated homes are

owned by a single family and
have at least five stories: shops
on the first, a two-story high
salon, apartments on the third
and fourth stories, and the
owner's penthouse on the top.
The style of the building can be
described as LOUD .
Professionals in the field have
different opinions about the
typology.

The architect was really touched after visiting the

Tiwanaku archeological site and determined to adapt
their architectural style to modern architecture.

QUESTIONS

What is the main Characteristic in the Inca

architecture?

The architecture developed in the Inca empire is characterized by the simplicity of

its forms, its solidity, its symmetry and because they made their buildings harmonize
with the landscape.

What is the main architectural style used in

Hispanic times in Bolivia?

The colonial typology of houses and buildings brought by Spaniards trying to resemble
their own cities

What are the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos?

Between 1696 and 1760, six ensembles of reducciones (settlements
of Christianized Indians) inspired by the ideal cities of the
16th-century philosophers were founded by the Jesuits in a style
that married Catholic architecture with local traditions, this
reducciones are now the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos.

What are the characteristics of the churches

built in the Jesuit Missions?
The churches are remarkable examples of the adaptation of
European Christian religious architecture to local conditions
and traditions.
They resemble large houses with a gable roof overhanging
galleries extended as porches.

References
http://www.dkfindout.com/uk/history/incas/i
nca-houses/
www.boliviabella.com/bolivian-houses.html
http://boliviaparaisonatural.com/las-islas-flo
tantes-de-uros-lago-titicaca
/
https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_Missions_of_Chi
quitos
http://boliviaparaisonatural.com/iglesias-jes
uiticas-de-la-chiquitania-la-ruta-misional-ch
iquitana
/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/529

Related youtube videos

Tiwanaku: Pre inca culture
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xesSFcG
YVA
https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SRxi6Yg
MKU
Jesuit missions: Oriental side of Bolivia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x
esSFcGYVA

EXTRA VIDEOS
Santa Cruz, BOLIVIA. The oriental side of the country
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDfk-sUGB4A

Chiquitos, Misiones Jesuticas de Bolvia *it is in

spanish but, it is posible to see the subtitles provided
by youtube, they are sometimes not exact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-d7sf18YGQ