In the Peruvian vernacular architecture examples abound where social and symbolic aspects appear intertwined in the constructive process. It is in this conceptual framework that the study of Andean architecture and its transformations is to be placed. Both the changes that take place in the rural world and the new constructions of the so called "young villages" located in the periphery of large cities are of enormous interest for contemporary architectural culture. The present research considers some examples that do not follow local logics of transformation and may put at risk the material identity of vernacular culture. This is by no means a peculiar or local phenomenon, since similar processes are taking place all around the world for quite a few years now. The article discusses the specific case of the development and expansion of Chicha Peruvian architecture and of the transformation of the Andean rural architecture. © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group.