Evolución De los Tipos De Edificación En El Centro Fundacional Del Municipio De Restrepo

Abstract

The founding center of Restrepo (Meta) contains traditional houses that played a significant role in the foundation and consolidation process of the municipality since 1915. These buildings constitute a material record of the municipality’s history, preserving construction techniques, architectural languages, and the memories of the inhabitants of Restrepo. After more than a century since the construction of these houses, the municipality has promoted their inclusion in the Indicative List of Candidates for Cultural Heritage Assets (LIC-BIC) as future heritage properties of the Meta department. However, at the same time, these buildings are undergoing a transformation process due to commercial pressures, the reconfiguration of household composition, and changes in the functions of the founding center. All of this has triggered a reconfiguration of uses and modifications in their formal structure. This situation has raised concerns regarding the documentation of Restrepo’s built residential heritage and the municipality’s heritage future. Considering the above, this research analyzes the evolution of these building typologies through the study of six houses. This qualitative research is structured into three stages. The first stage focuses on documenting the alterations of the buildings through architectural recording and property characterization, using field visits, interviews, and architectural survey sheets complemented by plans and 3D models. The second stage describes the changes from the perspective of inhabitants and residents of the area through semi-structured interviews and focus group workshops. The third stage defines the representative types of housing transformations by cross-referencing historical and physical information. On the one hand, the study highlights local architectural expressions that have been overlooked in planning instruments; on the other hand, it comparatively documents six case studies and produces concrete inputs that may be incorporated into future updates of the PBOT in order to guide technical decisions that respect the spatial logic and cultural value of each property.