Its Productive Complexes and Transforming Rural Landscapes: An Adapted Taxonomy for River Basins in Southern Chile

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5821/ace.20.58.13403

Keywords:

rural productive complexes, territorial sustainability, landscape transformation, river basins

Abstract

Chile is a country highly vulnerable  due to its geographical location and the frequent occurrence of natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis. These events not only affect infrastructure but also profoundly alter both the natural and cultural landscape, posing a significant challenge to sustainability. Territorial management must integrate architectural expressions with the historical, ecological, and social processes that shape the landscape, particularly in rural areas, understanding the landscape as a dynamic process influenced by both climate change and human activities. This paper analyzes the multidimensional impacts of climate change on local architecture in the southern region of the country. The study is based on comprehensive fieldwork in rural architectural complexes that employs interdisciplinary methodologies. The focus of the research is on the river basins extending from the lakes of the Andes Mountains to their mouth in the Pacific Ocean, in regions with a strong history of silvoagricultural exploitation. These changes have reconfigured the landscape and affected the sustainability of rural territories. This work examines how historical, social, and ecological transformations have redefined the uses and functions of productive rural architecture in the San Pedro River basin, in the Los Ríos Region of Chile. Based on this analysis, a taxonomy of these uses and functions is proposed, with the aim of developing strategies that contribute to the sustainability of the rural cultural landscape, considering the socio-ecological dynamics resulting from the interaction between ecosystems and human activities

Author Biographies

  • Virginia Vásquez Fierro, Austral University of Chile

    PhD in Energy and Environmental Research in Architecture, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, ​​Spain. Academic at the Institute of Architecture and Urbanism and School of Architecture of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts and researcher at the Nucli de Recerca en Riscos Naturals i Antropogènics RiNA of the Austral University of Chile. The current work line is based on the Cultural Heritage and Architecture framework, developing the Vulnerability variable in the evaluation of the Seismic Risk at an urban heritage scale and in aspects of Comprehensive analysis of the territorial development, based on the characterization of natural and anthropogenic cliffs, considering the contexts in transformation. Actualemnet is exercised by an academic and director of the Master in Design of Sustainable Environments (MADE), Austral University of Chile.

  • Andrés Horn Morgenstern, Austral University of Chile

    Doctor in Human Sciences, mentioned Discourses and Culture of the Austral University of Chile. Architect from the Austral University of Chile and Master of Arts in Architecture [MAA] from the Kunstakademie Dusseldorf, Germany. Academic of the Institute of Architecture and Urbanism of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts and researcher of the Nucli de Recerca en Riscos Naturals i Antropogènics RiNA of the Austral University of Chile. The six investigations and lines of work are carried out in the context of contextual design and local architectures, architectural heritage, and theory in Architecture, contributing to the contemporary understanding of the architectural developments derived from the processes of conquest, colonization, and occupation of the territory in the South of Chile.

  • Alejandra Schueftan, Austral University of Chile

    Architect from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Master, and Doctor in Forestry Sciences from the Austral University of Chile. She is an academic at the Institute of Architecture and Urbanism and director of the Graduate School of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts of the Austral University of Chile, professor at the Master of Design for Sustainable Environments [MADE]. The six work lines are about energy efficiency and sustainable systems in construction, and energy policies for a sustainable energy transition.

  • Galo Valdebenito Montenegro, Austral University of Chile

    He holds a degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Barcelona). He has been a faculty member at the Institute of Civil Works at the Austral University of Chile since 1999, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in seismic engineering, applied seismology, and sustainability. His interdisciplinary research focuses on earthquake engineering, environmental geophysics, built heritage, and archaeology. He has published scientific articles, books, and developed technological tools for seismic risk assessment. He currently directs the RiNA UACh Research Center and collaborates actively with public and private institutions on projects related to the assessment and mitigation of natural and anthropogenic risks in Chile.

  • Joceline Rose, Institut Forestal, seu de Valdivia, Forestry Institute, Valdivia Division, Instituto Forestal, sede Valdivia

    Bachelor of Science in International Forest Ecosystem Management from the University for Sustainable Development Eberswalde, Germany. Master of Science in Forest Information Technology from the University for Sustainable Development Eberswalde, Germany, and the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland.

  • Pamela Zambrano Hidalgo, Austral University of Chile

    She is an architecture student, currently enrolled in the linked-track Master’s program in Sustainable Environments Design at the Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Austral University of Chile. She has served as a teaching assistant in various courses at the UACh School of Architecture and has collaborated on research projects focused on heritage and sustainability.

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Published

2025-06-30

Issue

Year 20, issue 58 (Jun. 2025)

Section

Article's section

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