Preface

The Brief...

Houses Of Stone - An insight into fine Zimbabwean architecture…

Introduction... Architecture, the art of building, is perhaps the best example of the partnership and basic identity of a fine and a useful art; beauty and utility; form and function. The primary concern of the architect is the definition and articulation of exterior space and the spanning and enclosure of interior space. It represents human history, manifests the culture of its time, and is a combined product of both art and science. Scientific enough to quantify yet soulful enough to feel, Le Corbusier (1887-1965)defined it as the art whereby "you employ stone, wood and concrete and with these materials you build houses and palaces; that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart. You do me good, I am happy and I say; this is beautiful. That is architecture". But just as a house is not in itself a home, a building is not in itself architecture. Great design alone without environment, emotion, culture or tradition is meaningless. While most of the best known architects, have evidently emerged from and left deep imprints in the western worlds, Africa represented a new challenge. Through centuries of trials and tribulations, indigenous and foreign designers evolved many variances of the art in different regions. Indeed, 'architectural historians have shied away from writing a history of African architecture because the subject is vast and no one knows exactly where to begin and where to end' (Elleh, 1986). Zimbabwean context... Nnamdi Elleh wrote that 'there is a presumptuous belief that Africans do not have the ability to build any magnificent structure and that any architectural monument in Africa is of Euro-Asian origin'. While colonial, political, geographic, human and social factors have influenced the path taken by various forms of African architecture, each has been moulded from and by its diverse populous. Zimbabwe is peopled predominantly by the descendants of the Shona (of Bantu origins), that migrated from the north before the 10th century and the Ndebele (ex Zulu), who settled in the south-west in the mid 1800s. A land rich in both natural and synthetic beauty alike, Zimbabwe provided a 'womb' and soul for such great creations. Great Zimbabwe - dzimba dzemabwe - afforded a sturdy base and yard stick from which to gauge the country's advancement. It is a symbol and testament to Zimbabwe's history, traditions and culture - a lasting icon of early Zimbabwean architectural ingenuity and harbinger of better to come. The bitter sweet trials of a nation became wholesome ingredients for the moulding of a unique dialect in Southern African architecture. A vocabulary, that imitated the stone masons of the madzimbabwe, fused it with seemingly diverse and non complying western parlances, together with an environment that was fully accepting of this new surrogate. From Masvingo, to Khami and from Ziwa to Harare, a nation was swept with (albeit uneven) a distinctly intrinsic brand of creations. The resultant forms, ranging from the lesser madzimbabwe of the late 17th century, right through to today's hi-tech towers are a reassuring statement of the progress achieved thus far. Our intention... 'It is not actually necessary to know anything about architecture to experience its pleasures' (Neville Quarry). Such pleasures are the essence of this production. This website has been created to promote the appreciation of fine Zimbabwean architecture in all of its forms. It is an attempt to try to define the progress of (if any) an indigenous Zimbabwean architecture by tracing its history through images of the buildings that shaped a nation - dzimba dzakaumba nyika yeZimbabwe. *The Author* (November 1999) Sydney , Australia





















<Previous Page		Next Page >