DRAWING A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT: THE GRAPHIC METHOD IN THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE OF THE PLANKED TIMBER VAULT IN THE VICEROYALTY OF PERU

The advent of contemporary materials and the development of modern construction techniques has condemned many of the ancient arts of construction to oblivion, impacting interventions in the built heritage, since ignorance of the ancient construction systems prevents a correct treatment of their materials and understanding of its structural behavior. However, there is an information source that sleeps in the work contracts, but whose language poses difficulties for its exact understanding. The paper shows the application of drawing in the interpretation of the work contracts conducted in the Viceroyalty of Peru to understand the characteristics of the vaults, through the reading of archive texts, the revision of treaties and the development of isometries. It is precisely the drawing that saves the cryptic nature of these texts, allowing a graphic understanding of the writings of the master builders.