On Distant Shores Colonial Houses Around the World

by Guaita, Ovidio

• ISBN13: 9781580930512
• ISBN10: 1580930514
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-03-06
• Publisher: The Monacelli Press

Summary

From the era of Christopher Columbus, and even earlier, colonists left their home countries to venture to far-away lands. As they settled permanently into outposts in the farthest reaches of the globe, the colonists built residences that combined the architecture of their countries of origin with the design characteristics of their new lands. Such a synthesis of tradition and regionalism created the unusual hybrid designs of many of the world's most elegant and beautiful houses and estates. For this volume, author and photographer Ovidio Guaita has traveled to dozens of countries to trace the many paths of the colonists: from England to North America, the West Indies, the Far East, and Australia; from Portugal to Brazil, Madeira, and Malaysia; from Holland to South Africa and the East Indies; from Oman to Zanzibar; from China to Korea; and more. Each conjunction of local and foreign cultures formed unique and immediately recognizable styles: British neoclassical architecture in the colors of the tropics; functional European wood structures highlighted by geometric Arabian tracery. Guaita's dazzling color photographs also show decorative elements derived from blending two different cultures. The Omani door, for instance, retains its importance in colonies on Zanzibar and along the coast of Kenya; the distinctive form and color of the Chinese roof, which represent social status, are also present in Korea and Taiwan. The author's fascinating study portrays the rich cultural and architectural legacy resulting from different cultures meeting and coming together.

Author Biography

Ovidio Guaita works in the Department of History and Restoration of the Faculty of Architecture of Florence and is a correspondent for the magazine Ville e Giardini. Among his previous books is Terrestrial Paradise.

Table of Contents

Houses and Colonies	11	(9)
British Colonial Style
North America	20	(14)
Bermuda	34	(8)
West Indies	42	(12)
Mediterranean Basin	54	(6)
Seychelles	60	(6)
Central and Southern Africa	66	(6)
Indian Subcontinent	72	(12)
Far East	84	(6)
Malay Peninsula	90	(8)
Australia	98	(10)
New Zealand	108	(10)
Palladianism and Neoclassicism	118	(4)
Spanish Colonial Style
New Spain	122	(12)
Central America	134	(6)
Greater Antilles	140	(10)
South America	150	(12)
Philippines	162	(8)
Baroque Voluptuousness and ``Tropical Minimalism''	166	(4)
French Colonial Style
Quebec	170	(8)
Louisiana	178	(12)
West Indies	190	(12)
Northwestern Africa	202	(10)
Western Africa	212	(8)
Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands	220	(12)
Beams and Lace	228	(4)
Portuguese Colonial Style
Brazil	232	(12)
Madeira	244	(6)
Melaka	250	(4)
Macau	254	(10)
Four Models for a Fazenda	260	(4)
Dutch Colonial Style
Netherlands Antilles	264	(14)
South Africa	278	(12)
Indonesia	290	(10)
An Exaltation of Pediments and Gables	296	(4)
Ottoman Colonial Style
Middle East	300	(14)
Islamic Forms	310	(4)
Chinese Colonial Style
Korea	314	(6)
Taiwan	320	(10)
Among the Turned-up Roofs	326	(4)
Italian Colonial Style
East Africa	330	(16)
Classical and Futurist Stateliness	342	(4)
Omani Colonial Style
Zanzibar	346	(14)
Sculpted Doors	358	(2)
Bibliography	360