4ARCHITECTURE…WITNESS OF THE PAST ?
Guadeloupean ‘s architecture is the first witness of its evolution in the last 3 centuries. It’s an original country with climatic, social and historical influences that we can see through his style and culture.
Now we’ll try to explain it's origin and what has made it so exceptional today.
1)Slavery time
This period still very strong in the west Indians spirits can be consided as the foundation' of all the structure of Guadeloupe island'.
" La case nègre" (the Negro’s cabin)
It was the first European people who introduced the cabin in the archipelago. At the beginning all the people were living in the same home and that has changed only with the end of the 17th century when sugar industries came out.
Then appeared 3 different types of houses : each one representative of a distinct social class. Cabin in woods became a popular way of living, taking important place in the colonial society based on sugar-cane culture. That was a house in woods whose foundations were 4 rocks to keep it distant from the floor.
"L'habitation" (the master's house)
Property of the master, the house was higher and bigger than others to permit supervision of the whole plantation. Before 1848, and even now the master’s house is consided as symbol of the architectural style in the West Indies called : colonial style.
Military structures
Construction in rocks reserved to barraccks, governor residence and administrative buildings.
2)After slavery time
The abolition has changed history and influenced at the same time the architecture. The coming of new investment for the sugar cane industries, encouraged a new more capitalistic exploitation that type of activity made this construction style the mirror of the different people of the West Indies.The more people got freedom the bigger were their house
3)Industrial revolution … overseas departments
The coming of metropolitans, the ascending of the middle class bowled over the urbanisation ; the economic reality moved to new agglomerations: then appeared concrete building in the country.At the same time policy of urbanisation have been encouraged: the guadeloupeans discovered collective habitation on one side and on the other side ,they got access to property. The house became the symbol of success, searching an architecture’s identity according to the reality of that century and modern life Step by step a priority of the constructors and architects to recover colonial style .
"West Indies architecture is certainly the ultimate refuge of the caribbean civilisation with cultural references getting in close relation with historical dynamism. "
