Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The first French settlers naturally brought with them building styles from home. Over
the years the architecture gradually evolved until it became supremely well suited to the
hot, humid tropics. It's for this reason that so many of the grand plantation houses have
survived the ravages of time.
In many of these buildings, flourishes that appear to be ornamental - vaulted roofs and
decorative pierced screens, for example - all serve to keep the occupants cool and dry.
The most distinctive feature is the shingled roof with ornamental turrets and rows of attic
windows. These wedding-cake touches conceal a vaulted roof, which allows the air to cir-
culate. Another characteristic element is the wide, airy varangue (verandah), where raffia
blinds, fans and pot plants create a cooling humidity.
The roofs, windows and overhangs are usually lined with delicate, lace-like lambre-
quins (decorative wooden borders), which are purely ornamental. They vary from simple,
repetitive floral patterns to elaborate pierced friezes; in all cases a botanical theme pre-
dominates.
Lambrequins , shingle roofs and verandahs or wrought-iron balconies are also found in
colonial-era town houses. The more prestigious buildings were constructed of brick, or
even stone, and so are better able to withstand cyclones and termites. In Port Louis,
Government House and other buildings lining Place d'Armes are all fine examples.
At the other end of the scale, traditional labourers' houses typically consist of two
rooms (one for sleeping, one for eating) and a verandah; because of the fire risk the kit-
chen is usually separate. Nowadays they are built of corrugated iron rather than termite-
resistant hardwood, but are still painted in eye-catching colours that offset the white lam-
brequins . The garden overflowing with edible and ornamental plants is almost as import-
ant as the house itself.
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