Architectonical, morphological, and pathological characterization of Yucatan churches

Abstract

Mexican churches are an important legacy built mostly of masonry, nowadays these structures show some damage and decay that can conduce at collapse. Identifying and determining the reasons for current damage and decay is relevant, in order to mitigate or repair measures can be provided. This research carried out a detailed study on historical Yucatan churches from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The main aim was to identify the most frequent architectonical, morphological, and pathological characteristics of the Yucatan churches. A detailed overview of representative churches is provided in this paper. The description of 1) architectural features, 2) the main characteristics of the structural elements and 3) connections, are presented and discussed. Additionally, an overview of the most common damage and decay patterns is also presented. Concluding that, the lack of maintenance and use of the churches develop successive damages and decay, which conduce tocollapse if no actions are provided.