Roofing in Ecuador

Ecuador's roofs reflect three very different regions: the Andean highlands, where colonial cities such as Quito and Cuenca were built of earth with clay tile roofs; the hot, wet Pacific coast, with a long tradition of bamboo (caña guadúa) houses on stilts; and the Amazon lowlands. The whole country is exposed to strong earthquakes.

Climate and hazards

• Earthquakes throughout the country. UNESCO notes that Quito has been affected by numerous earthquakes, including one in 1917, while keeping its historic centre largely intact.
• Volcanic ash from Andean volcanoes.
• Heavy rain and flooding on the coast, favouring houses raised on piles.

Roofing history

Pre-Columbian and coastal. Research at the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí traces houses of caña guadúa bamboo and earth plaster, called quinche or quincha, through every period of Ecuadorian history from pre-Columbian times to the present. Documented types include houses on stilts (palafitos), houses on piles with a ground floor for work, the rural montubio house of cane and quinche, and the three-volume rural house of Manabí. Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa described the coastal vernacular house in 1748.

Colonial highlands. The Spanish founded Quito in 1534 on the ruins of an Inca city, at an altitude of about 2,850 m (9,350 ft). UNESCO records that its houses were usually built of earthen bricks covered with stucco, using stone, lime, mud and wood. Quito was among the first places inscribed on the World Heritage List, in 1978, and the historic centre of Cuenca followed in 1999.

18th to 20th centuries. Timber, cane and quinche mansions were built in Guayaquil in the 18th century and Portoviejo in the 19th, and the port of Manta had timber and cane houses in the early 20th century. Concrete, metal sheet and fibre-cement spread through the 20th century.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Clay tile on adobe in highland towns such as Quito and Cuenca.
• Caña guadúa houses of the coast, raised on piles.

Roofing today

The 2022 census counted 5,062,218 occupied dwellings, and a 2025 analysis of its results classed 46.2% as in housing deficit because of poor-quality floors, walls or roofs.

Codes, standards and regulation

A 2012 comparative review listed Ecuador's INEN-5 code of 2001 as its seismic design standard.

Notable roofs

• City of Quito (UNESCO 1978).
• Historic Centre of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca (UNESCO 1999).

Local roofing terms

• Teja: clay tile.
• Caña guadúa: giant bamboo used for frames and walls.
• Quinche: cane and mud wall infill.
• Caña picada or esterilla: flattened split bamboo panels.