1.1.1. Weather

The city of Azogues is surrounded by several hills, such as Blanca, Chavay, Toray, San Pedro, Shigshiquin, Guabzhumbuil, and the Cojitambo and Abuga hills. The Burgay River forms a natural semicircle, creating a highly scenic backdrop that defines the silhouette and physiognomy of Azogues. Additionally, the group of ravines, such as the Shirincay and the banks of the Tabacay River, located within the urban area, hold significant potential as tourist attractions. These natural features contribute to an environmental framework that ensures the future quality of life of the population in a sustainable and high-quality environment. It is worth noting that these natural elements possess extraordinary historical, cosmogonical, and totemic value, as each of them serves as a religious and worship center, which are fundamental to the Cañari cosmogony and the city's cultural identity.

The climate of Azogues is strongly influenced by its natural surroundings. The prevailing wind blows from the east year-round (Figure 2). The windiest month in Azogues is July, with an average wind speed of 15.3 km per hour, while the calmest month is November, with an average wind speed of 6.8 km per hour [16]. The city's northward orientation can benefit from natural ventilation.

Table 1 presents the climatic data for Azogues. The monthly average temperature peaks at 13 ◦C in March and April and drops to 8 ◦C in July and August. The month with the highest rainfall is March, with average precipitation of 94.8 mm, while the month with the lowest rainfall is August, with an average of 23.10 mm.

In terms of the duration of the day, there is no significant variation throughout the year, with an only 17-min variation in 12 h. For the year 2022, it was found that the shortest day was June 21st, with 11 h and 58 min of natural light, while the longest day was December 21st, with 12 h and 17 min of natural light.

**Figure 2.** Wind rose for the city of Azogues [17].

**Table 1.** The climatic data for the city of Azogues [16].


#### 1.1.2. Description of the Traditional Dwelling

On 31 October 2000, Azogues was designated as one of Ecuador's 38 cities recognized as heritage sites due to its remarkable architectural, urban, and scenic qualities. In order to achieve this distinction, a total of 135 real estate assets that contributed to the region's religious and civic architectural heritage, as well as eight urban architectural complexes that possessed notable formal, constructive, and typological features, were inventoried.

The Ministry of Education and Culture's 2000 report on the declaration of Azogues as a heritage site reveals that the buildings date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries [18].

#### 1.1.3. Typologies of Traditional Houses

One of the architectural forms of the traditional buildings existing in the city of Azogues, as shown in Figure 3a,c, is the house with a "central courtyard," which recalls or commemorates the cities conquered by the Spanish since their urban organization was based on the "Plaza Mayor." Other typologies of traditional houses are in the shape of an "L," since the courtyard is displaced to one side of the land, thus providing access to the house through a corridor (Figure 3b). All spaces around the courtyard are generally composed of two floors.

**Figure 3.** Typologies of traditional houses. (**a**) house with a "central courtyard", (**b**) an "L" shaped house, (**c**) a house with a "central courtyard" and orchard at the back.

Ground floors are typically dedicated to commercial activities and have a direct connection to the street and interior courtyard. However, there are also completely independent commercial spaces that suggest that they were intended for rent. The living and dining rooms are the main spaces where people socialize and gather. They are also used for special events at different times of the year.

Most buildings with "courtyards" function as "light wells"—a central or lateral area connecting the main entrance to the courtyard. Due to the city's topography, subsurface areas are often generated, which require strong retaining walls composed of river stones and structural solutions using wood [18].

Buildings with a "central courtyard" were typically owned by affluent families. It was common for such houses to have monoculture gardens and fruit trees at the rear of the property, similar to the case study for this research (Figure 3c). These areas provide an opportunity for inhabitants to switch their outdoor activities to different locations throughout the various seasons of the year.

Residential buildings in Azogues commonly use bahareque walls, a building system that protects the interior environment from climatic variations throughout the year (as shown in Figure 4a). The external walls also utilize this technology, with some facades constructed with stone (as shown in Figure 4b) and wood (as shown in Figure 4c). The combination of envelope systems and a tilted roof constructed with wood and clay tiles enhances the building's thermal insulation properties. The traditional dwelling depicted in Figure 4a, which is the focus of this study, has an external envelope with a thickness of 17 cm and internal walls of equal thickness. As detailed in Section 4, on-site measurements were conducted to assess the thermal performance of the building envelope. The analysis of the collected data revealed that this particular envelope system effectively reduces the effects of severe weather conditions on the interior thermal comfort.

The main facade's wall is composed of "bahareque." Bahareque is the name of a construction system for houses, in which sticks, canes, reeds, "cabuya," and mud are used. The main wall plays a very important role as the closure of the building, which is commonly decorated with wooden slats that highlight the plinth but are also used in other parts of the façade, such as the window sills. The levels of the building are differentiated with the use of very simple borders, and the window openings are framed with wood moldings topped with perforated wooden or brass plates.

(**a**) (**b**)

**Figure 4.** Types of building envelopes found in the facades of heritage houses in the city of Azogues. (**a**) house with bahareque walls, (**b**) house with stone facade, (**c**) house with wooden facade.

Most of the houses' interior walls are also built of bahareque, resting on a foundation composed of rounded stones that transmit the load of the construction to the ground. Mud mortar is commonly used as a coating, and a refined layer is applied to both the outer and inner surfaces of the wall, enhancing its aesthetic appeal. The tilted roofs of the houses are usually composed of wood and are generally covered with handmade burnt clay tiles.
