Wooden cultural heritage of Rio Negrinho: a study on the Casarão Zipperer building tradition

ABSTRACT An important part of the architectural heritage of Santa Catarina consists of cultural wooden assets, among which the historic buildings that make up the landscape of various cities stand out. This type of architectural production in wood evidences cultural processes and traditional knowledge about woody flora, construction techniques and resources. The circumstances around these constructions can explain the building processes with wood over time and the cultural values associated to them. Thus, this paper aimed to understand the environmental and cultural-historical contexts of the time of the construction of Casarão Zipperer, the history of the building, and how it was built. To that end, bibliographical research was carried out from 1850 to 1923. The building techniques were found in the bibliography and by a physical survey. The results show that the architectural production in wood, in regions formed by immigration and European colonies, is the result of the building tradition permeated by knowledge passed down generations by master craftsmen. This tradition was conditioned by the quality of available resources, especially wood and tools. Understanding under which circumstances the building was built, its history, and the knowledge needed for its construction can offer subsidies to understand this building tradition and the historical use of wood as a resource.