Diseño de anteproyecto arquitectónico de un Centro Cultural de Danzantes de Corpus Christi, Pujilí, Cotopaxi, Ecuador

Abstract

The Pujilí canton, province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador, concentrates one of the most representative intangible manifestations of the country: the Dancer of Corpus Christi, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation. Despite this, the canton lacks permanent cultural facilities, so the production of costumes, the practice of dance and the custody of ceremonial objects depend on domestic, religious and festive spaces. Zambrano's (2022) inventory warns that the intergenerational transmission of the ritual reaches only 52% of valuation, while the Development and Territorial Planning Plan of the Pujilí canton 2021-2026 confirms the absence of specialized cultural infrastructure. The idea to defend argues that the design of a cultural architectural preliminary project, based on the reinterpretation of the symbolic elements of the ritual of the Corpus Christi Dancer, can constitute an active instrument for the intergenerational preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of the canton. The research adopts a mixed qualitative-quantitative method with a projectual approach, based on Groat and Wang (2013), structured in four phases: identification of the need in the cantonal PDOT; analysis of how to respond with a preliminary project; expert validation using the Delphi method with semi-structured interviews; and triangulation of criteria to produce project guidelines. The main result is the preliminary project of the Cultural Center of Dancers, organized around the central courtyard that links four areas of equal weight — production, practice, exhibition and services), structured according to Gadamer's hermeneutics and the principle of culture as a determinant of form by Rapoport (2003).