Constructive Stages in the Architecture of Quito. XVII-XIX Centuries

Abstract

The article incorporates the occurrence of seismic events in the study of the construction stages of Quito architecture, since these represent inflection points and mark a before and after in the history of the city, particularly earthquakes. During the 17th and 19th centuries Quito was shaken by 18 earthquakes, of these, five compromised the structures of the buildings: 1587, 1662, 1755, 1859 and 1868. The study of the architectural morphology of six buildings: La Catedral, La Compañía de Jesus, San Francisco, La Merced, Santo Domingo and San Agustín, describe the circumstances of their transformation and the most frequent risks, physical, economic and social reaction, which are interwoven in the construction, which until then used materials and similar techniques in the period studied. However, the review of the transformations happened in the buildings show that the monumental architecture of Quito's heritage is made up of parts, each representing a chapter of the city's history, necessary reforms, political projects, symbols of power, the local and the global. The earthquake contributes in this process to configure the proportions of the architecture and the characteristic urban profile of Quito.