Ground and structure
Andean terrace
agriculture garden hillside park housing on a slope
It is a horizontal terrace cut into the hillside and held by a wall, repeated in steps.
What it solves
It turns a slope into flat ground for farming or living. It slows erosion, holds water and passes it gently from one level to the next.
Today
Give each terrace a slight slope and a planned path for excess water. Plant deep-rooted species along the edges to bind the soil.
Common mistake
Cutting terraces without drainage in clay soils, which become saturated in a downpour and slide.
Tomorrow
In hillside neighborhoods, terraces can return as shared gardens that slow water and hold the soil. Caring for them together turns a difficult slope into a meeting place.
Where it comes from
- 1Wari state Ayacucho, Peru, since the 6th century
It began the large-scale construction of terraces in the central Andes. - 2Collaguas Colca Valley, Peru, since the 11th century
They built the terraces that still shape the valley. - 3Inca Andes, 15th century
They improved the stone walls and the layered fill that drains rainwater. At Machu Picchu some terraces serve to control erosion. - 4Ifugao people mountain ranges of the Philippines, about 2000 years
Rice terraces irrigated with water that comes down from the summit forests.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Ground and structure
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.