Design criteria in vernacular architecture as a proposal for low-income dwelling for urban parishes of the babahoyo canton, Ecuador

Abstract

The objective of this study is to establish the fundamental criteria to consider in the vernacular architecture for houses in the canton of Babahoyo in Ecuador. The decision-making process is based on a methodology conceived under a systemic approach where the specific needs of the urban parishes of Barreiro, El Salto and Camilo Ponce are considered. A holistic approach is promoted, through the qualitative method developed by interviews, surveys and workshops. The Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methodology was used in the specific case of the proposal as sustainable groups in the short, medium and long term. For the quantitative verification of the QFD methodology, it was decided to follow a mathematical method based on cognitive neutrophic maps to represent the behavior and functioning of complex systems and express them graphically using the Mental Modeler computer platform. This flexible computing technique allows us to model how users make decisions based on their knowledge of the subject at different levels of abstraction. It is debated whether this housing design with vernacular proposals generates comfort and is attractive for new users called non-native and for native or traditional users. As a preliminary conclusion of the study, it is obtained that low-income dwelling with characteristics of vernacular architecture incurs practical solutions to the housing deficit in the urban parishes of Barreiro, Salto and Camilo Ponce, obtaining a high acceptance rate by users.