W5_1+3+9

1_Peruvian context: the interrelated conditions in which a building exists with a site, inhabitants, and their culture.

3_Creating and maintaining a healthy relationship between a building and its environment can be difficult in a variety of culturally heavy and extreme natural environments. Ideas of blending the new with ideas of the context rather than competing with it can help with the challenges of gracefully weaving into a site. To do so the inputs of the context should affect the output of the design allowing it to harmoniously exist on the site.

9_The South American ancient Incan citadel of Machu Picchu located in Peru has extreme inputs of context. The topography of the site is harsh as it is located in the tropical mountain forest of the upper Amazon basin in the Andes Mountains with Rio Urumbamba far below in the valley. The natural threats, most noteworthy the threat of fires along with landslides and mudslides as significant threats need to be taken into consideration for the future of the site. These factors influence the fact that there are only two access points to the heritage site, one a road and the other an ancient Incan trail. Although there are so few access points, since the acceptance of Machu Picchu as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the tourism has endangered the serenity and power of the site with hotels, restaurants, boutiques, visitor centers, and the possibility of new intrusive access routes. The imposition of tourism on the site has not only had an effect on the site, but also on the indigenous people for whom it was a connection to their spiritual and cultural heritage because it is becoming less accessible to them as it becomes more geared for outsiders. Incan spiritual beliefs honor the natural elements, which can be noted in many aspects of the architecture and the fact that there were many temples and ritual spaces as a tribute of them. As a result, the Incas created a harmonious relationship with their context taking into consideration their natural environment, the people’s needs, and cultural and spiritual needs. To build on this site, and gracefully incorporate a building on this site needs to take all these factors into consideration.