Earth architecture as cultural heritage: the impact of the collapse of the Fundão dam

Abstract

Earthen architecture appeared frequently in Brazil’s colonial period. Several earthen constructions have survived in Minas Gerais, representing the Brazilian construction tradition from the 16th to the 19th centuries. However, these buildings face constant threats of disappearance due to a lack of appreciation and protection, and mining is an example of how extractive activities can affect buildings and landscapes. Because of the rupture of the Fundão Dam in 2015, several environmental and human impacts occurred along the Doce River basin, emphasizing the Mariana and Barra Longa municipalities. The article, therefore, intends to discuss how the rupture of the Fundão Dam accelerated a process, already underway, of the loss of a constructive tradition on land in this region and to question the reason for the existence of a gap concerning this fact when it comes to deals with the material losses caused by the disaster. The region’s constructive memory was already compromised before the Fundão dam rupture and that the documental gap, also evident, can have several causes and directly affects the smaller villages.