Living in Mauritius: Traditional Architecture of Mauritius

Marigny, Isabelle Desvaux De;Lagesse, Henriette Valentin

ISBN 10: 0500236038 / ISBN 13: 9780500236031

Published by Thames & Hudson, 1990

About this Item

Dj. shows some shelfwear, rubbing, , no tears. Light edgewear om bds. Clean, tight pages, bright, unmarked. 208 pp., nice color photography.

Seller Inventory # 21174

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Living in Mauritius: Traditional Architecture of Mauritius
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500236038
• ISBN 13: 9780500236031
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good +
• Seller catalogs:
  • Architecture

About this title

Synopsis

English (translation)
Original French

Reviews

The wooden houses of Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, may have evolved in part as an architectural reaction to such facts of nature as tropical downpours, humidity and cyclones. But however mundane the cause, the results are charming and take in a surprising amalgam of divergent yet harmonious styles. Color photographs and sketches pay homage to the European influences in a provincial Eden, explained in a clear and attentive text by several residents. The typical Mauritian home combines the impact of the French, the first settlers, who brought ornate wrought-iron balustrades and turreted or gabled roofs with them in the 18th century (their miniature chateaux sport names like "Malmaison" and "Mon Desir") and the 19th-century English, who fancied sprawling open or closed verandahs supported by stately columns reminiscent of American Southern plantations. With their often intricately carved fretwork, these buildings resemble giant white birdcages, silhouetted against a cobalt-blue sky. Halcyon interior shots are also included.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.