Studio Aims and Scope.
Port-au-Prince Bay
Study area within Port-au-Prince.
After striving to meet the immediate needs of survivors and grieving for those who perished during the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010, it was possible to take stock of the extent of the destruction. Several historic neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, including Bois Verna, Pacot, Turgeau, and Bas Peu de Choses, suffered notably less damage than many other parts of the city, and these areas have likewise been remarkably resilient compared to other areas of Port-au-Prince. Their older Gingerbread architecture was not as prone to collapse as more recently constructed buildings, especially those of reinforced concrete. These turn-of-the-century Gingerbread houses are an icon of Haiti’s rich past, characterized by intricate ornamentation and steeply pitched roofs and constructed in timber, masonry, and combinations thereof. Early assessments undertaken after the earthquake found that traditional construction techniques proved seismically resistant, thereby preventing many Gingerbread structures from collapsing. In addition, their connection to Haiti’s history made the survival of this cultural heritage an important beacon for resilience. As Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Executive Director of FOKAL and former Prime Minister of Haiti, noted: ...saving the Gingerbread houses in Port-au-Prince would represent the conservation of a powerful and unique symbol of urban planning and architecture.... Recently Haiti has gone through political upheaval, periods of violence, and natural disasters that have had devastating effects on every aspect of the country’s historical, cultural, and natural heritage. The Gingerbread houses have not been immune to this overall deterioration. But paradoxically, the situation has at least given us the opportunity to speak out and show once again our unique creativity. In this sense, culture in general remains a factor for social integration, in that it is a uniting force, situating us in terms of our history, our collective memory and the present time. In return, memory and history nourish culture in its infinite variety of expression and show the way forward into the future. Making this cultural wealth the subject of research, creation and education can be hugely beneficial in recreating Haiti’s social fabric. In a country whose developing citizenship is looking for roots, culture can help transform our relationship with ourselves, with others, and with our surroundings. [1]
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International assistance and government support for heritage conservation have been extremely limited in the five years since the earthquake, with most aid going to shelter, feed, and care for the many displaced and vulnerable residents of Port-au-Prince. Early post-earthquake efforts sponsored by World Monuments Fund (WMF), the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the Prince Claus Fund, and the Fondation connaissance et liberté (FOKAL) sought to assess the damage suffered by the Gingerbreads and promote their recovery.
