Integrating Hurricane resilient technologies into Creole Traditional Architecture. A case study in the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia & Santa Catalina, Colombia.

The Colombian islands of San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina, located in the southwestern Caribbean region, have recently been affected by the latest hurricanes, with repercussions on different scales and aspects such as population, environment, and infrastructure. Due to the lack of national regulations for the construction of houses resistant to these phenomena, the housing sector in particular, has suffered serious damage, putting at risk, mainly, the traditional architecture of the Archipelago. This architecture, considered Colombian heritage and protected by different national laws, has been influenced by the Caribbean architecture known as Creole, which evolved and adapted to the different conditions of the Caribbean region, historically prone to hurricanes. Following Hurricane Iota in 2020, which destroyed the majority of the infrastructure of Providencia and Santa Catalina islands and a minor portion of San Andres, the Colombian government proposed and built prototypes for the reconstruction of the Archipelago, which were taken as a case study. Based on this, the lack of nationally protected traditional/creole characteristics and techniques in these prototypes was highlighted. Considering the characteristics of Creole architecture, national and international regulations on hurricane resistance, and the national law protecting the traditional patrimony of the Archipelago, this document aims to propose a housing prototype that integrates the mentioned variables, in addition to contributing to historical research on the Creole legacy at the national and international levels.