The first rammed earth wall in America. Earth in 16th-century Dominican architecture

One of the most striking chapters of the analysis of the processes of cultural translation between Europe and America from the end of the fifteenth century is the identification of European aspects, subsequently integrated into the mechanisms of spatial definition and territorial occupation. The constructive program carried out on the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic) stands out from the others because it is the first instance of the introduction of cultural translation in a dissimilar context between the sending and the receiving territory. Focusing our analysis on architecture, and specifically on the use of earth as a material and rammed earth as a technique, is arguably one of the best examples of the process of cultural fusion to occur in America. This vast area is also an essential point of reference for the nuances that identify this building solution.