Style 63

Proyect: Colombian Afro Pacific: Architectural Heritage for all.

By: Universidad del Valle, Universidad del Pacífico, with the support of the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID).

It shows traditional housing in the Colombian Afro Pacific.

In the Colombian Pacific, the way in which the houses are built and inhabited is a unique manifestation of its people.

Modeling spaces to nature´s rythm; a cultural heritage of a culture that colors its dreams and inhabit them.

The houses are made of natural materials. Their design and collective building give them a particular architectural character.

These homes are constructed with native wood that becomes resistant to the wheather after it comes in contact with water.

Their design is planned to make the most of the sea breeze and the favorable lighting conditions of the Pacific coast of Colombia.

Families made up of grandparents, parents and children live in these traditional houses. Most make their living through the same nature that provides their homes.

The arquitechtural design of the houses allows the strengthening of family ties. It is directly related to the landscape, its elements and its rythm, as well as to other cultural aspects like music, literature and oral tradition, customs, myths, rites and games, etc., of this particular society.

Many of these traditions have migrated from the country to the city, where they persist and evolve sheltered by the breeze, the sun and the sea. It is a heritage that lives and is transmitted to generations through every inhabited space.

The homes of the Afro-descendants of Colombia give cultural, emotional, physical,historical and technical value to our way of being Colombians.

This is why the houses of the Colombian Pacific are a true cultural patrimony that has to be studied, understood, preserved and shared.

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This is a promotional video about African Colombian architecture of the Pacific coast. It is part of the heritage that enriches Colombian diversity. Vibrant colors, structures that salute nature, amazing woodwork, and creativity of a culture that colors its dreams and inhabits them.