Roofing in Venezuela

Venezuela stretches from the Caribbean coast and the Andes across the Llanos grasslands to the Guiana Highlands and the Amazon. Its roofing traditions range from the ring-shaped palm-thatched houses of the Yanomami to the earthen colonial town of Coro and the modernist concrete of Caracas.

Climate and hazards

• Earthquakes, addressed by the national seismic code.
• Heavy rain in the south and in the rainy season; unusual rains in 2004 and 2005 badly damaged the earthen buildings of Coro.
• Heat and humidity in the lowlands.

Roofing history

Indigenous. The Yanomami of the far south build shabonos, communal houses formed by a ring of lean-to roofs thatched with palm leaves around an open plaza. The Budapest University of Technology and Economics' Habitatio resource gives diameters of 15 to 60 m (50 to 200 ft) and notes that shabonos usually have to be rebuilt every one to two years because of insects, heavy rain and wind.

Colonial. Coro, founded in 1527 near the Caribbean coast, preserves about 602 historic buildings of earth. UNESCO describes construction in bahareque (mud, timber and bamboo), adobe and tapia (rammed earth), techniques still in use, combining Spanish Mudéjar and Indigenous traditions. From the second half of the 17th century, Dutch architectural influence arrived via the nearby islands of Curaçao and Aruba. Coro and its port were inscribed by UNESCO in 1993 and placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2005 after rain damage.

Modern. The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas, a modernist campus, was inscribed by UNESCO in 2000.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Shabono (see shabono).
• Bahareque and adobe houses with clay tile roofs in colonial towns.

Roofing today

Concrete slabs, metal sheet, fibre-cement sheet and clay tile are all in use.

Codes, standards and regulation

A 2012 comparative review listed COVENIN 1756 (2001) as Venezuela's seismic design standard.

Notable roofs

• Coro and its Port (UNESCO 1993): earthen buildings with Dutch Caribbean influence.
• Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas (UNESCO 2000).

Local roofing terms

• Bahareque: mud, timber and bamboo construction.
• Tapia: rammed earth.
• Teja: clay tile.
• Shabono (also yano): Yanomami communal house.