Architecture of Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe does not have a broad architectural style. It is so named to brand the country's continuity of the Rozvi Empire which constructed Great Zimbabwe. Traditional and colonial architecture contributed a lot to its country via its significant history and cultural value.[1] The pre-colonial architecture inspired buildings which were built during the postmodernism and post-independence era.[2] Specifically, the architecture style of Great Zimbabwe plays an important role in creating famous structures such as the Kingdom Hotel, Harare international airport, and National Heroes' Acre.[1]
Traditional Architecture
The homesteads in Zimbabwe have not changed very much from the Great Zimbabwe’s living quarters. A village in Chapungu Sculpture Park uses tall grasses surrounded as a natural fence, just like the Hill complex of Great Zimbabwe. The structure of the fence combined natural and artificial elements to provide a safe space for residents. Traditional houses, especially in rural areas of this country, still have the thatched roofs within mud huts, which also similar to the structure dating back to stone walls of the Great Zimbabwe.The huts in villages, or settlements in earlier times are usually made from clay and sticks with conical thatched roofs. Typically, a home will consist of two huts, one for cooking and sleeping in another.[3]
Nowadays the walls of a house are usually built with accurately coursed sun-dried bricks with rectangular doorways and brushy roofs. As a result of European influences, there are also rectangular buildings with concrete walls and corrugated iron roofs.[3] Some of the walls may decorate with geometric designs which carrying religious and symbolic meanings. Moreover, iron fences are increasingly popular among residents for security and decoration purposes. The practicing of constructing higher sleeping platforms, cooking bench and seats also persists. However, most huts for storage are made of branches and sticks which make them less sturdy than cooking or residential huts.[3]
During the farming season, people move from village residences to their farmhouses. These huts beside the field are lean-to made with wood sticks, and people will need to access them via ladders as houses are often stilts up to nearly nine feet high. They may appear flimsy, but they are enough sturdy to support the whole family during the farming season.[3]
Residential arrangement
The residential areas usually contained circular huts arranged around open spaces. The courtyard served for fire breaking and exposing wild animals or intruders. In the sector of ruling classes, stone walls were separately surrounded family areas.[3] Kitchens are always built in the center of each family area with the well-decorated and painted sleeping hut nearby. There are also spaces for livestock and storage. To ensure food are well preserved, granaries are built high above the ground to prevent dampness, insects, and rodents.[3]
The pre-colonial architecture
Main article: Great Zimbabwe & Khami
During the second millennium AD, Zimbabwe culture was dominated by two traditional stone architecture. First, Great Zimbabwe period architecture, which was an extension of natural elements.[2] The well-coursed and thick stone walls are always constructed on earth foundations. The well-shaped stone was ingeniously used to define the external and internal surfaces, whereas irregular stones were used to fill interspaces.[1] Important people live in residences with nattily-constructed stone enclosures, but also with unwell-coursed walls which is still a proportion of the structure.[4] Second, Khami’s retaining walls, which transform natural elements into eternal built environments.[2] Although the phase structures do share some similarities with the phase of earlier Great Zimbabwe, it is still important to note the retaining walls.[5] The Wall’s top areas provide residential platforms with profuse decoration such as designs of herringbone, chevrons, and check. Over ten terraced platforms were spread over in Khami, which indicating the occurring of a palace.[6]
Post-modernist architecture in Zimbabwe
Post-modernism is considered as an attempt to rebuild the relationship with the past. It can also be seen as to recreate community using vernacular forms; it tries to highlight the concepts of identity associated with local cultures which were marginalised by modernism.[7] Since 1990, some monuments and buildings constructed in Zimbabwe involved features of pre-colonial architecture of Zimbabwe culture. They can therefore be seen as architectural styles vitalised by Zimbabwe’s rich historical and archaeological inheritance, which highlight the role that heritage plays in contemporary architecture.[1]
The Kingdom Hotel
The Kingdom Hotel complex was constructed near the world heritage site named Victoria Falls.[8] It provides abundant entertainment facilities with the excellent architectural context of Africa. The foyer and the entrance courtyard are rounded design, with a domed roof that has grass on it.[1] It is very much like the traditional architecture of Zimbabwe and is significant to evoke the past. There are seven giant columns around the foyer space with carved Zimbabwe birds on each of them. Well-shaped stones were accurately coursed between each column, which remains people about the similar design at Great Zimbabwe.[1] Several timber beams were placed on the roof, with one side leaning on walls and another side slant to a certain angle. Most structures of this hotel are painted in brown or well plastered. There are iron stakes with spearhead surrounded the exterior of the hotel.[1]
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) was opened on 31 May 1996 by Robert Mugabe. It represents the center financial nerve of Zimbabwe, also regarded as the most technologically advanced building of the post-modern era. From the perspective of design, the RBZ Complex modeled the conical tower of Great Zimbabwe.[1] The building was influenced by Great Zimbabwe as well as by Shona tradition. The walls were made with polished granite; images of rural Zimbabwean were etched on them. Also, the design was impacted by the symbolism of Shona rulers which relate to the production of agriculture. The surplus of food reserves needs to be well-maintained to against prolonged or drought period. These food reserves were stored in specially made grain silos which have a broad base but tapering upwards. The conical roof was created to prevent the whole structure from rain, much like the entire design of the RBZ. In Shona society, a king receives grain as tributes, and the grain silos, therefore, can be considered as a representation of authority. Just like the RBZ tower building symbolised the state’s foundations.[1]
Harare International Airport
The Harare International Airport’s new terminal is slightly different from terminals in elsewhere.[1] It was built during the postmodernism era with the inspiration of the decorative design which can be found in Great Zimbabwe. The windows of the terminal station are arranged horizontally with chevron patterns. The most impressive feature of this structure is the control tower. It incorporated the conical feature of the Conical Tower, which can be found inside the Great Enclosure.[1] It can send signals and decode over the airport, and responsible to relay information thus to ensure safety. It also takes charge of guiding all kinds of aircraft to take-off and land. The control tower, therefore, acts as the focal point to keep all aircraft in touch.[1] The conical tower inside the Great Enclosure also symbolised the power of the capital and served as the focal point of the state. As a post-modernist architecture, the Harare International Airport provides a clue to better interpret the meaning of pre-colonial architectures such as the conical tower at Great Zimbabwe.
National Heroes' Acre
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The National Heroes' Acre was initiated about one year after Zimbabwe officially gained independence in September 1981. It was constructed with the assistance of architects from North Korea. It is located 7 kilometers away from Harare. The National Heroes' Acre can be considered as a great structure which was built during the post-independent era.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Pikirayi, Innocent (2006). "The Kingdom, the Power and Forevermore: Zimbabwe Culture in Contemporary Art and Architecture". Journal of Southern African Studies. 32 (4): 755–770. doi:10.1080/03057070600995681. ISSN 0305-7070.
- ^ a b c Pikirayi, Innocent (2013). "Stone architecture and the development of power in the Zimbabwe tradition AD 1270 – 1830". Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. 48 (2): 282–300. doi:10.1080/0067270x.2013.789225. ISSN 0067-270X.
- ^ a b c d e f Bessant, Leslie; Owomoyela, Oyekan (2003). "Culture and Customs of Zimbabwe". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 36 (1): 159. doi:10.2307/3559336. ISSN 0361-7882.
- ^ Huffman, Thomas N.; Vogel, J. C. (1991). "The Chronology of Great Zimbabwe". The South African Archaeological Bulletin. 46 (154): 61. doi:10.2307/3889086. ISSN 0038-1969.
- ^ Waarden, Catrien Van (1987). "Matanga, a Late Zimbabwe Cattle Post". The South African Archaeological Bulletin. 42 (146): 107. doi:10.2307/3888736. ISSN 0038-1969.
- ^ Sadr, Karim (2012). "The Origins and Spread of Dry Laid, Stone-Walled Architecture in Pre-colonial Southern Africa". Journal of Southern African Studies. 38 (2): 257–263. doi:10.1080/03057070.2012.683697. ISSN 0305-7070.
- ^ Harvey, David (1990). The condition of postmodernity : an enquiry into the origins of cultural change. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9780631162940. OCLC 488235967.
- ^ McGregor, JoAnn; Schumaker, Lyn (2006). "Heritage in Southern Africa: Imagining and Marketing Public Culture and History". Journal of Southern African Studies. 32 (4): 649–665. doi:10.1080/03057070600995327. ISSN 0305-7070.