On a slope, along the banks of a river, among trees, or on an expansive hillside, each territory serves as a living testament to its local traditions. Through its architecture, the experimentation, appreciation, and use of certain materials, construction techniques, local crafts, and site-specific tools aim to preserve stories and pass on the discoveries and learnings that have shaped many of the practices still used in construction today. In Chile, the language of wooden shingles evokes a reflection rooted in history and an understanding of relationships, timelines, and life networks.
Shingles are flat, thin rectangular wooden boards commonly used in the construction of houses, churches, and buildings in southern Chile, mainly in the Region of Los Lagos and particularly in the archipelago of Chiloé. For many years, they have been applied to facades, roofs, and indoors in various dimensions, shapes, finishes, and thicknesses. They are installed by layering one piece over another to prevent rain and cold from entering.
The most commonly used wood in Chile is alerce (larch), due to its resistance to moisture, versatility, aesthetic beauty, and ease of manipulation in the form of shingles. However, due to excessive logging, this species is now endangered, and cutting down live trees has been prohibited since 1976. Today, synthetic shingles made of fiber cement or recycled materials from older constructions are being developed.
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What If Every Brick Had a Future? Rethinking Demolition and Material Reuse in the Circular EconomyThe Totoral House by LAGAR Arquitectos and the Abovedada House by Edward Rojas Arquitectos use recycled shingles in their cladding, which are part of the local heritage, maintaining a connection to a craft that may be on the verge of extinction and to a community shaped by wooden constructions. While alerce shingles have captivated many artists, artisans, designers, and architecture professionals, there are also shingles made from other species like lenga, present in projects such as House IV by Staudt Arquitectura or the Hats House by SAA architecture + territory, which aim to bring local construction traditions closer to their inhabitants through architecture.
While the reflection on ecological materials includes variables such as maintenance, sustainability, resource conservation, and the potential for reuse or recycling, the craft of making shingles also stands out as part of the cultural identity of individuals and their communities. The facade restoration of the Jardín Infantil Lobito Marino in the Aysén Region, for example, demonstrates how it is possible to empower and value the carpenter's craft through teaching technical knowledge and practices in support of quality construction.
Understanding the role of humans in habitable spaces and their active and conscious commitment to fostering more sustainable practices in the construction industry goes beyond considering which tools or technological systems can be incorporated. Given the varying climatic, geographical, and economic conditions of environments worldwide, it is worth questioning: what will be the future of materials around us, like wood, bamboo, concrete, and their derivatives? How will reuse and/or recycling practices impact the environment in the coming years, and what techniques will replace them?
Next, we propose to explore the design decisions and strategies for applying wooden shingles in contemporary architecture through a selection of houses in Chile that use demolition, recycled, and reused shingles, among others, as cladding for exteriors and interiors.