Construction chronology of the “box balconies” built on the Peruvian coast between the 16th and 18th centuries

The “box balcony” was a transcendental element in the definition of the urban landscape of the Spanish-American cities founded on the Peruvian coast. Because of the continuous improvement of the construction processes of this balcony, a carpentry tradition was forged, which developed mainly between the 16th to 18th century. Despite its importance, the study of the “box balcony” has been approached mainly from the perspective of formal styles, leaving a gap in the chronological analysis of its construction characteristics. Precisely, this paper undertakes the construction study of the “box balcony” on the Peruvian coast, for which an architectural survey of existing balconies mainly in the cities of Lima, Lambayeque and Trujillo was carried out, as well as a compilation and analysis of archival documents. This information made it possible to determine the construction evolution of the “box balcony” and to understand the functioning of its various pieces.