This blog highlights the
architecture of Port-of-Spain which ties culture and history to this space. It
is quite interesting to read other blogs and link all the concepts and
perception together. Port-of-Spain was seen as a religious center at one point in
time, which contributed to the traditional church architecture of the
city. The rising importance of economic activities has encouraged modern, high
rise architecture to assert its dominance in the city. There are still however,
much unutilized public spaces in the core which shows that a lot more can be
done to improve the design of the CBD and to address the needs of the public. Everything
is therefore related in the city and its multi-functionality and
interconnectedness is reflected here in how history, an evolving economy and
abandoned public space have all affected architecture and design in
Port-of-Spain.
Friday 11 April 2014
A Cross-section of Port-of-Spain
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| View of Port-of-Spain from West to East
|
When the architecture of
Port-of-Spain is analysed from a West to East perspective starting from One
Woodbrook Place through the CBD to the Beetham Gardens (urban slum) as this
blog does, a general trend is observed in the architecture and design. One Woodbrook
place represents the Global North's perception of 21st century, sustainable
architecture. The historical urban neighbourhood of Woodbrook transitions to
traditional architecture by the abundance of colonial houses and businesses
seen. Port-of-Spain's CBD has a combination of traditional, modern and
vernacular architecture since this area reflects the vibrancy and rich culture
of the city, where a bit of everything is found. The east and eastern boundary
of the CBD houses mainly lower class housing schemes
and oppressed areas so vernacular architecture is dominant in those areas.
One common feature throughout
this cross-section is that all of the aforementioned spaces contain
green or recreational areas. This shows that the aesthetics and ambiance of
Port-of-Spain is important and tremendous effort is being made to foster social
integration in this way. Port-of-Spain's architecture is certainly a must see
for tourists interested in structural design and it certainly reflects the
politics, economy and culture of Trinidad.
One Woodbrook Place: New Urbanism
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| One Woodbrook Place
|
One Woodbrook Place is
located at the western boundary of Woodbrook where St. James begins. One
Woodbrook Place offers 2 and 3 bedroom apartments with security, either for
rent or sale. Its modern, state of the art design incorporates leisure, dining,
shopping, banking and entertainment for the convenience of residents in this
built community. Real estate websites convince the consumer that they enjoy
the best of two worlds by living above the excitement of a city that never
sleeps while still being in the midst of it.
While this contemporary
structure adds a different element to Woodbrook and St. James since it is the
only strikingly modern feature, I question the relevance of it to this urban
area. This alludes to Lara (2011) where he pointed out that cities in Brazil
that incorporate New Urbanism, already have high density, mixed uses
and reduced automobile dependency and so this concept is irrelevant to their urban space.
Woodbrook and St. James are both multifunctional, have high densities and are
easily accessible so living in these areas already makes access to everything
easy. The concept of New Urbanism in this area in my opinion is redundant and
unnecessary as it seems to be an imitation of the ideas from the Global North
without assessing the real housing needs of the area.
Reference List
Reference List
- Lara, Fernando. 2011. "New (Sub) Urbanism and Old Inequities in Brazilian Gated Communities." Journal of Urban Design 16 (3): 369-380.
Woodbrook
Woodbrook is considered
to be middle to upper-middle class residential area situated west of
Port-of-Spain’s CBD. The Port-of-Spain City Corporation classifies this area as
an urban neighbourhood. As one exits the CBD heading west along Park Street,
the historic, colonial architecture of houses and businesses is a telling sign
that you have entered Woodbrook. The traditional architecture of these
buildings has been maintained since the houses were built in the early 1900s. Woodbrook
was a large sugarcane estate owned by the Siegert family and then sold to the
Town Board in 1911 where land was leased thereafter to be developed into a
residential area.
Something that has
captivated me since I first visited Woodbrook is that businesses, bars and
restaurants which are continuously growing in that neighbourhood have
maintained the colonial architecture of the buildings as seen below. A resident has confirmed
that bars and restaurants along the famous commercial strip, Ariapita Avenue
has only taken place within the last decade. This is a sign of gentrification
occurring because businesses are being established in the midst of this
residential area which raises the value of the properties even higher than it
is already worth. According to Hall and Barrett (2012, 145) certain businesses
that occupy conserved buildings can outperform more ordinary modern schemes in
terms of rental income. Old buildings and
historic urban quarters are revitalized in order to attract new business
investment or to encourage urban tourism and leisure pursuits. This is the case
with Ariapita Avenue since the recent establishment of upscale restaurants,
casinos and bars have made it into a ‘mini Las Vegas Strip’ and possibly the
most popular nightlife area in Port-of-Spain.
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| Stir Fry King Chinese Restaurant (left) and Melange Restaurant (right) on Ariapita Avenue
|
Issues associated with
gentrification however, such as displacement and exclusion of residents from the area
have not yet surfaced. Perhaps property tax has not been an issue because residents have not been paying any taxes since the political
parties changed government office. Even prior to this, property taxes were very low because the tax was based on the original evaluation of the land, which was a significantly lower value than now. Therefore, residents are not affected by the increasing number of businesses occupying colonial houses in this area.
Reference List:
- Hall, Tim, and Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. New York: Routledge.
- Port-of-Spain City Corporation. Final Draft Development Plan: A Strategic Planning Framework For Metropolitan Port-of-Spain. Volume 2 Implementation Plan, Port-of-Spain.
The National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA)
A gigantic, modern
structure situated across the southern end of the Queen’s Park Savannah, adds
contemporary architecture to this otherwise historical area. This majestic structure embodies the art and cultural expression of the people. According to Urban
Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (2006) the architectural design
is reminiscent of Trinidad and Tobago’s national flower, the Chaconia. This
facility offers modern classrooms, practice halls, teaching rooms, a
performance hall, state of the art lighting and acoustics, a hotel for visiting
performers and parking. The location of this majestic facility around the
largest traffic round-about allows easy vehicular and pedestrian access, which
is in sync with the design and layout of Port-of-Spain.
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| The National Academy for Performing Arts (NAPA)
Reference List
|
The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven
adds to Port-of-Spain’s rich architecture by portraying robust traditional
architecture with their late Victorian and Edwardian designs. These structures,
located on the western end of the Queen’s Park Savannah are major tourist attractions
now and many are astonished by the intricacies in these buildings designs. They
were built mostly by elite French and British families who owned plantations in
this area when Trinidad was still a British colony. Whitehall, Stollmeyer’s
Castle and Mille Fleurs are under restorative work by the government in an
effort to preserve these historical landmarks.
Queen’s Royal College
has been restored and is a prestigious all boys secondary school.
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| Queen's Royal College |
Hayes Court is the home
of the Anglican Archbishop and has very intricate stone and glass work.
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| Hayes Court |
Mille Fleurs or
Salvatori House was once a private residence but was sold to the government in
1979. It is now undergoing full restoration as a public museum and headquarters
for the National Heritage Trust.
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| Mille Fleurs |
Ambard’s House, also
known as Roomor is a black and white chateau-like house which is still a
private residence. It was built by a French architect in 1904 and all of the
building materials were brought from France and Italy.
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| Ambard's House |
The Archbishop’s Palace
was built by an Irish architect and its design seems more modern in comparison
to the other structures.
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| The Archbishop's Palace |
Whitehall was built by a
merchant called Joseph Leon Agostini, a cocoa plantation owner and its design
is that of the Moorish Mediterranean style. This building once housed the
British Council Cultural Center, the Trinidad and Tobago Central Library and
was the Prime Minister’s office from 1963 to 2010.
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| Whitehall |
The last of the
magnificent seven is actually a castle. The Stollmeyer’s Castle was modeled
after the Balmoral Castle in Scotland and was built by Charles Fourier
Stollmeyer as a wedding present to his son. It is now government owned and is
under restorative works.
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| Stollmeyer's Castle
Reference List
|
Green and Recreational Areas
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| Woodford Square |
Green areas are my favourite contribution to cities since they are such visually pleasing pockets and foster social integration. Sandstrom (2009) found that green spaces are important for sustainable development and for human well-being. There are a few green
areas within the CBD of Port-of-Spain. Photographed and shown are
Woodford Square above and Queen’s Park Savannah below.
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| Queen's Park Savannah |
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| Benches around the Queen's Park Savannah |
The Queens Park Savannah is one of the most pleasurable green areas to visit as one can enjoy fresh coconuts from coconut vendors, local foods and snow cones. The large circular design allows vendors to be comfortably spread out and also allows people to play various sports across the field. A truly aesthetically pleasing place to be while playing the very important role of connecting Port-of-Spain to St. Clair, Maraval, Belmont and St. Ann’s since its design is that of a round-about.
The last photograph of Brian Lara
Promenade below, while not a green area is certainly a popular recreational stretch
in downtown Port-of-Spain. Men gather around a table playing the local board
game draft, while some people stroll casually and others relax on the benches.
A perfect spot to be in the center of the capital and allows one to enjoy the
ambience. These green areas, interspersed within the hub of commercial areas
allow a similar experience especially since the design of Port-of-Spain is
pedestrian oriented.
 |
| The Brian Lara Promenade
Reference List
|
Churches
All of the churches
highlighted hereunder contribute significantly to the historical architecture
of Port-of-Spain. Most, including the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Greyfrier’s
Church and Holy Trinity Cathedral were built by the country’s first civilian
governor, Sir Ralph Woodford (Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Development Company Limited). The location of most churches in downtown Port-of-Spain signified the importance of religion to Britain at the time. The location of these beautiful historic churches in the CBD adds not only to the city's style, but also its peaceful ambience and perhaps its moral. All of the churches are considered to be
traditional architecture as the styles mimic structures from Britain since
Trinidad was a British colony at the time.
The Holy Rosary Church construction
started in 1892 and is gothic revival style. The stained glass lancet windows
came from Toulouse, France.
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| The Holy Rosary Church |
The All Saint Anglican Church was built in 1886 of
stone from Laventille quarry. Although this church was built with local
materials, the authentic English design classifies it as traditional
architecture.
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| The All Saints Anglican Church |
Greyfrier’s church was built in 1837 to accommodate the first set
of Presbyterians in Trinidad under British rule.
 |
| Greyfrier's Church |
The Holy Trinity Cathedral is
Late Georgian style mixed with Gothic as well as elements of the Victorian age.
It was the first Anglican Church in Trinidad, was swept by fire in 1808 and
rebuilt in 1816.
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| The Holy Trinity Cathedral |
Last but not least, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
located on the eastern end of the Brian Lara Promenade was completed in 1836
and is one of the oldest Catholic Cathedrals in Trinidad.
 |
| The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Reference List
|
Port-of-Spain's Central Business District
 | ||
| One of the high rise twin towers |
 | ||||||||
| High rise buildings on the Western end of the CBD
The photograph
below captures Charlotte Street which is one of the main commercial and retail
streets in the CBD. Architecturally, the buildings in this part of the CBD are
2–3 storeys high and are multi-functional. They are planned to accommodate the
pedestrians by their walk-through design to connect one street to the other.
Bradford City Mall in this photograph for example connects Charlotte
Street to Henry Street, another commercial hub. In addition, the second photograph
below shows Plaza Espermaria which has the same walk-through design. Shoe
Avenue is also highlighted on Henry Street where many different varieties of
shoes can be bought in this area bustling with commercial activity.
The division of the CBD
into a commercial and administrative part can be compared to that of New
Orleans where Brooks and Young (1993) described that Poydras Street housed
offices mainly of the petrochemical industry and Canal Street was the retail
core. It is also worth mentioning that the Hyatt Regency Hotel (seen in the
photograph below) is the main commercial building at the waterfront and it also
forms part of the high rise buildings on the western end of the CBD. This
waterfront design is classified as modern architecture and can also be compared
to New Orleans’s riverfront which over time developed into a main tourist
attraction.
|
Housing in the Central Business District (CBD)
As one passes the
Beetham Gardens traveling in a westerly direction into Port-of-Spain, the first
residential area encountered is the low income housing area of Port-of-Spain’s
CBD as seen below.
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| Working Class Apartment Buildings |
This area houses the working class neighbourhood and is rarely seen by the
public because many people do not venture into these areas. Hence these
photographs were taken while the vehicle was still in motion because of the
reputation of high crime and violence. This neighbourhood which reflects that
of George and Nelson Street was specifically chosen to highlight because having
walked through the CBD recently, I realized that I never took note of the type
of housing associated with this hub of commercial activities. The location of
this working class residential area is indicative of Ernest Burgess’s
concentric zone model although Port-of-Spain does not have a factory zone. The
CBD similarly, is the center and is surrounded by the working class residential.
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| One of the access routes between the Neighbourhood and the CBD |
The buildings are
visibly compact and it can be seen that some attempt at redevelopment has been
made as seen by the newly applied paint on the buildings below. The architecture
however is classified as vernacular since it is very simple and common
materials are used to portray the culture of the people.
 |
| Refurbished Housing |
According to Pacione
(2009) the attitude of the government towards these settlements has varied
considerably, ranging from hostility, to suppression, to toleration and
occasional support. While these housing developments were initiatives by the
government to supply housing to the working class areas, we see discontent by
the residents in this video and article.
Reference List
- Pacione, M. 2009. Urban Geography: A Global Perspective. London: Routledge.
Monday 24 March 2014
Placecheck Findings of Port-of-Spain's CBD and Belmont, Trinidad
Placecheck Findings of
Port-of-Spain’s Central Business District (CBD)
What do I like? What needs
protecting? What would I like more of?
When
one stands on the Brian Lara Promenade which runs from east to west along the
CBD, one can appreciate the diverse culture and ethnicity of Trinidad and
Tobago. People of all ages and walks of life can sit on the benches provided
just to enjoy the inner city ambience and people passing quickly by.
 |
| The Brian Lara Promenade |
 |
| The checkers board painted on the table at the Promenade |
As
one walks through the heart of the city, a vibrant, flourishing retail and
commercial hub invades your space. Charlotte Street, Henry Street and Fredrick
Street are flooded with street vendors and stores which all provide a range of
goods to supply the local market such as textile, shoes, jewelry, clothes,
fruits and vegetables, grocery items, art and craft etc.
 |
| Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain |
 |
| Woodford Square |
What don’t I like? What needs
changing now? What is getting worse?
Two
chronic issues in the CBD appear to be inadequate accommodation for homeless
people and street vendors. Many homeless people are scattered about the Brian
Lara Promenade and their trolleys are stored there as well. High stench of
urine at trees and toilet paper is also seen which indicates that there isn’t
facilities for them to use or to stay in the city.
 |
| Issues with homeless people on the Promenade |
 |
| No pedestrian crossing facilities at busy corners |
What needs to be improved?
In
the short-term, parking facilities need to be improved both in appearance and
number. There is insufficient parking for the number of cars entering the city
and many people resort to double parking on the roads, creating more traffic.
Perhaps multi-storey parking lots can be built in the short and medium-term.
Some empty lots of land in the CBD are used as public car parks but most of
them are very old and unkempt. A passer-by who commutes every day to and from
Port-of-Spain was asked what he dislikes the most. He indicated that transport
within the city is not efficient enough and he thinks that a shuttle service
should be put in place. This can be a medium-long term solution. However,
certainly I think that a future goal of this city should be to restrict motor
vehicular traffic within the city and put in place more pedestrian friendly
infrastructure, bicycle rentals and an efficient shuttle service.
Placecheck Findings of
Port-of-Spain’s first Suburb, Belmont
What do I like? What needs
protecting? What would I like more of?
Belmont
or Freetown as the slaves called it is oozing with history and culture of freed
slaves since 1834 and even before. According to Scantlebury (2014), slaves
gathered in sheds of Belmont and played the instruments to ease their pain.
These sheds are still part of the architecture of Belmont and exist as mas
camps where Carnival bands, costumes, jab jab, robber mas and jouvert originate
in this ‘Mas Capital’ of Trinidad.
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| Glendon Morris Copper Works & Mas Camp |
 |
| Trinidad Theatre Workshop |
In
this suburb of Port-of-Spain, low income housing intermingles with high income
housing side by side which indicates that people of different class and
standard of living exist within the same space of Belmont. Government services
such as maintenance (CEPEP) spills over from Port-of-Spain so the people of
this area benefits from this. The old architecture showcasing the heritage of
Belmont needs to be preserved and maintained for both short and long-term
timeframes. A museum can also be erected showcasing artifacts to further
highlight the culture and history of the area. These measures will benefit
tourism in the future.
What don’t I like? What needs
changing now? What is getting worse?
The
high level of land pollution is an eye sore in Belmont. Perhaps youth projects
can be developed to create awareness of the problem and to clean up the area of
excessive garbage.
 |
| Issue of littering in Belmont |
 |
| One of many dilapidated buildings |
What needs to be improved?
The
area of Belmont needs open public spaces such as parks and savannahs to
encourage integration among the youths. This was a concern of one resident
since they have to share the Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain with other
surrounding areas. Security appears to be a serious issue as seen by the barbed
wire, high walls of the Belmont Boys Secondary School.  |
| Secondary School with high, barbed wire walls |
Perhaps,
this community can establish a neighbourhood watch and patrol to aid as a crime
deterrent. Youth empowerment through projects and public spaces will also help
the crime situation in future. Street signs need to be redone since most of
them are either very old or turned the wrong way. Pedestrian crossing has to be
made a priority since no provisions of this nature were observed.
Assessing the CBD of Port-of-Spain
and Belmont according to Jane Jacobs’ principles of Good Neighbourhoods
Both
areas prove to be good neighbourhoods when Jane Jacobs’ principles are applied.
The CBD fulfills all the criteria of being multi-functional (commercial,
retail, recreational, residential), mixed blocks with different buildings of
different ages and conditions (old churches and buildings alongside modern,
majestic structures), having streets with short blocks and numerous streets and
having a dense concentration of people of various ages occupying the space for
different purposes. Belmont fulfills these criteria also, but it is characterized
as more of a residential area with commercial activity in the form of small businesses
scattered between houses. There is a dense concentration of people living in
the area as seen by the nucleated settlement pattern, however not much
pedestrian traffic is observed. Therefore, Jane Jacobs’ principles define both
areas as good neighbourhoods in different ways. While her principles prove to
be mostly successful in highlighting good neighbourhoods, they do not take into
account security and pollution which seem to be major issues in Belmont in
particular.
What makes a successful CBD?
In
my opinion, Port-of-Spain is a successfully functioning CBD where it is a
commercial and retail hub and also provides a recreational environment for
commuters as seen at the Brian Lara Promenade and Woodford Square, among
others. Government buildings such as the twin towers and parliament are also
prominent which shows that the government has a strong base and provides
numerous services in the capital. Its design promotes pedestrian traffic and
walking from one street to the other can be done with ease by the numerous
connected streets and blocks and walk-through malls. However, the needs of the
public such as proper vending areas, pavements catering for elderly and
disabled people and facilities for homeless people need to be addressed to make
Port-of-Spain an even more efficient CBD.Monday 10 February 2014
Urban Slum: A part of
urban architecture and design?
 |
| The Beetham Gardens, Port-of-Spain Trinidad |
The
Beetham Gardens, captured in the above photograph is the first scene that
invites one into the capital city of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad from an easterly direction. This photograph was taken in motion since this is known to be a very violent area, however, I felt that it was important to highlight because this is a depressed area of the city. This scene
reflects dilapidated houses with collapsed roofs, unpainted walls and an
extremely degraded, polluted environment. This is referred to as an urban slum.
UN-Habitat defines a slum in many different ways but most simply as a
heavily populated urban area characterized by sub-standard housing and squalor.
It is the most visible indicator of urban poverty in developing countries and
generally lacks clean water, electricity, sanitation and other basic amenities.
Is
this heavily populated area of sub-standard housing and squalor a part of the
urban design and architecture of Port-of-Spain? Majestic structures in this
capital such as government buildings, churches, schools, hotels and businesses are
built with specific forms that fit into the design of the city to make it
functional, attractive and sustainable. Some of these structures are categorized
as traditional architecture which refers to architecture as an art and is
associated with the design of great buildings. Others fit into vernacular
architecture which refers to everyday buildings not designed by professionals
(Hall and Barrett 2012, 190). Urban architecture in general, is said to give
space a cultural expression (Glassie 2000).
The
Beetham Gardens is a space that reflects a culture of poverty, crime, overcrowding,
unemployment and poor structural quality. Mumford (1938) believed that in
western civilizations, slums were formed due to rapid mechanization in urban
areas, which caused an influx of people from rural areas. He believed that
because the city did not plan to accommodate such masses, they spilled over
into degraded areas and slums. In Trinidad, this urban slum may have been
formed due to rapid industrialisation, the decline in the number of persons working
in agriculture, an influx of illegal immigrants and insecure land tenure to name a few.
However, regardless
of the causes of the urban slum formation in Port-of-Spain, its design certainly
cannot be classified as that of stylish, modern or even that of great
buildings. Rather, it falls into the category of vernacular architecture
because its design is determined by local conditions, and style plays no role in
its look. It is built by the people who settle there to provide shelter and
satisfy very basic needs since many of them are ‘squatting’ or have no
ownership of the land on which they dwell. Slums may be considered the eye sore
of a city and certainly are not a part of any urban design but they do
contribute to a city’s indigenous (vernacular) architecture and by extension
its cultural expression.
Reference List
- Glassie, Henry. 2000. Vernacular Architecture. Indiana: Material Culture.
- Hall, Tim, and Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. New York: Routledge.
- Mumford, Lewis. 1938. The Culture of Cities. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.
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