Adobe as environmental sustainability and practical neo-conservative architecture of the Pomata-Puno district

Abstract

The dominant global discourse on “sustainable architecture” often ignores embodied energy and reproduces patterns of material colonialism by imposing industrial materials on fragile ecosystems. This study demonstrates that such a model, based on the importation of concrete and steel in the Altiplano, constitutes a form of delegitimization of vernacular knowledge. The main objective is to propose the “Practical Neo-Conservative Architecture” framework to prioritize high-thermal-efficiency ancestral design enhanced by situated appropriate technology. The methodology uses a qualitative approach based on Critical Theory and Design-Based Research (DBR), specifically applied in the case study of the community of Batalla, Pomata. Information collection was carried out through local documentary analysis and participant observation, using instruments such as field notebooks for narratives, a Nikon D3500 camera, and a Garmin eTrex 32x GPS receiver. The analysis was based on the qualitative interpretive triangulation of situational findings and the decolonial theoretical framework. The main results reveal a fracture between the imposed housing model and local needs; residents reject concrete housing for functioning as “refrigerators” and revalue the thermal inertia of adobe and the circular use of bosta (dung). The design of a bioclimatic house with 0.60 m thick mass adobe walls that act as a thermal battery is presented, integrating biogas and photovoltaic energy systems. It is concluded that technological sovereignty and cultural relevance guarantee real sustainability, overcoming the social and thermal failure of Eurocentric standards in extreme high-Andean climates.