New Amsterdam Architectural History

-


Due to its colonial history, the majority of the architecture found in New Amsterdam is that of British colonies with a vernacular specific to the climate and location. Residential houses are of wooden construction with steep roofs which are elevated about 10 feet off the ground by concrete posts. The windows of these houses were originally casement windows that swung outwards some of which were converted to operable horizontal glass louvers. The louvers allowed for air and indirect sunlight to enter the space while providing protection from the elements.

Public buildings like the town hall and Mission Chapple are all of wooden construction from the ground up which feature arched and regular casement windows along with wooden louvers. These buildings do not cater to the floods New Amsterdam experiences which usually leaves their ground floors to be flooded during rainy seasons and high tides. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Site Location and History

-
     Guyana is a Caribbean country located on the northern coast of South America. It is broken down into 10 regions that includes 6 major towns, one of which is "New Amsterdam". The town of new Amsterdam has a population of about 35,000 people and is located right next to one of the 3 main rivers that runs through the country, the Berbice river. The river is 370 miles long and has been one of the main sources of food and transportation for the town's people. The site is located at the edge of this river as it is common for societies to settle near water and it provided food and proved to be a good communal space where goods could be sold. After the market place was established, it began branching out to the corners of the street due to a lack of space. Because of the popularity of this space, vendors began setting up shop down the street opposite the market making the area become a kind of street mall.        The Town New Amsterdam was originally a Du...
Read more

Refined Thesis Abstract

-
Being located on the low coastal plain, New Amsterdam is one of the major towns in Guyana that experience floods during high tides and heavy rainfall seasons. Within this town is a marketplace that serves as a primary source of goods and services which range from taxis and mini-buses to food and clothing. This market is however, located next to one of the three main rivers that run through the country and empty out into the Atlantic Ocean, the Berbice River, which causes the space to be prone to floods quite often with the highest flood on record being 2'. (needs to be fact checked) Having been in existence for around 127 years, the Town Council tower of New Amsterdam had become a gathering place for farmers and fishermen to sell fresh produce and such where people have eventually created permanent stalls made from used wood planks that eventually became the New Amsterdam Market (needs to be fact checked) . The architecture of the market has not been updated since its inception wh...
Read more