The Maloca: Sustainable Amazonian Vernacular Architecture

Abstract

The Maloca is a vernacular construction which is still visible in some Amazonian ethnic groups. It is an expression of vernacular
architecture, a cultural manifestation of the Peruvian Amazon, built with natural products from the very forest. It is an
ecological construction; everything is reused, the few elements of soil are left in the Amazon ground to which they integrate and the
remains of wood are used to cook their food.
The Malocas are a response and adaptation to the climate and territory. The inhabitants build their homes by themselves without
professional advice from architects and engineers responding to basic needs with ancestral techniques.
This construction plays an important role as a means of adaptation to the climate and as protection and development of family
activities. They are simultaneous expressions of a need to survive the strong heat and rain.
They are sustainable, as they represent an example of good use of natural resources and recycling that come from the soil. They
provide thermal comfort to the user; also, they are functional and eco-efficient.
The Malocas are icons of the Amazonian landscape, of impressive rationality in a physical and climatic environment, of rain
and sunshine conditions for an ethnic group with limited resources, limited economically, that provide viable and sustainable
solutions.