Digital Records, Heritage Conservation and Post-earthquake Re-construction in Chile

The conservation of built heritage implies constant intervention. One form of intervention is reconstruction, which, in the context of disasters, usually tries to bring buildings and places back to their previous state and is contested in heritage discourses. This book challenges reconstruction as a replica to physically preserve damaged built heritage by critically examining a context of constant change resulting from earthquakes — Chile — advocating for the digital record to be an analytical basis for design, following the principles embedded in vernacular domestic architecture.

Beyond monumental heritage, the focus is on the living heritage of the historical settlements of Tarapacá, Zúñiga and Lolol, built with local resources and sustainable techniques. The book proposes re-construction as an alternative methodology, based on 3D-laser-scanning, photography and questionnaires, to analyse the as-built condition of earthquake-affected buildings, consider risk mitigation and recognise adaptation to earthquakes and subsequent reconstructions. This is relevant for seismic-prone areas and built heritage at risk in general.

This book is aimed at researchers, academics, and practitioners in architectural conservation, and is also a valuable resource for authorities and stakeholders involved in post-earthquake scenarios.