Vernacular architecture
The Iron Age dwellings were built on solid stone foundations and consisted of mud-walled huts with thatched roofs supported on logs, with no openings other than a very low entrance door. The ruins at Mmamagwa date from this period. The archaeological site of Dombashaba demonstrates a perfect mastery of dry-stone architecture, consisting of an ingenious assembly of stone made without mortar. Here you can see low walls delimiting areas of private dwellings and the remains of soil made of a mixture of earth, cow dung and clay. At this site, as at Majojo, the chief's residence, the kgosi, is situated on top of a hill. Tswana architecture is a direct descendant of these traditions. Although each of the tribes of this great people has its own architectural traditions, it is nevertheless possible to draw a portrait of the Tswana habitat. The villages are the symbol of a very codified social organization maintaining a well defined limit between public and private spaces. They are composed of different properties, themselves made up of several housing units. These properties are surrounded by an enclosure to preserve privacy, while each unit is connected to the others by a small adobe wall. The dwellings are round huts, called rondavelles, which can be recognized by their conical thatched roof. The structure is made of wood, while the walls are most often made of hand-moulded mud bricks. The walls are then plastered with a mixture of earth and lime, which is then painted and decorated in local patterns called lekgapho. The courtyard at the front of the huts or lolwapa is the central feature of each property. The different properties are organized around the heart of the village: the kgotla, which serves as a village council, a court of justice and a meeting place. This is where the residence of the kgosi is located. Examples of this vernacular architecture have been reconstructed in the National Museum in Gaborone and in the Phuthadikobo Museum in Mochudi, the town having also preserved its original heart with its kgotla, where the ruins of the kgosi 's residence can be seen, as well as two grain silos, which were key elements for this farming people
Colonial heritage
The architecture of the colonial period alternates between an extreme simplicity of form and materials - the buildings being mostly made of earth and adobe, as is well illustrated by the "Village" of Gaborone where the first earthen fort and the police station can still be seen, and the kgotla of Kanye with its tribal offices, all dating from the 19th or early 20th century - and a more European style of architecture, particularly for buildings such as schools, churches and administrations. The English used the very eclectic Victorian style, recognizable by its use of red brick and Gothic fortress-like buildings. The ruins of the London Missionary Society in Old Palapye are the most striking examples of this style. The Dutch influence can be seen in the Cape Dutch style buildings, which can be recognized by their immaculate white or lightly coloured gabled walls, their four-sided roofs made of red-painted corrugated iron and the frequent presence of verandas on the front façade. The Phuthadikobo Museum in Mochudi is the most famous representative of this style. The Dutch presence can also be seen in the importance given to the churches, often white and of a great sobriety of style. The colonial period also saw the development of industrial and mining towns. Francistown experienced an extraordinary boom with the first gold rush on the African continent, while Labatse has the oldest tarmac road in the country, built in 1948 during a royal visit! The rural areas also see the development of vast ranches often imagined as real palaces.
Contemporary Botswana
After independence, Botswana saw a proliferation of modernist buildings with simple, unadorned volumes and a strong emphasis on concrete. The National Assembly in Gaborone is one of the most famous representatives of this movement. With its vast rectangular floor plan and pristine white concrete arches, it is impossible to miss. The Trinity Church in Gaborone is also a model of modernism. This period was also accompanied by an urban renewal with the development of the new Gaborone around its Mall, the economic centre of the city, and its large squares lined with the city's key buildings, a mixture of glass, aluminium and concrete. Residential areas also flourished with the development of bungalow-type housing, following a rectangular plan and using mainly cement and concrete. New towns appeared around newly discovered diamond deposits, such as the town of Orapa. Most of these towns are secured by compounds. In general, Botswana has experienced a very strong urban growth since the 1990s, which was done in a somewhat anarchic way with the development of shantytowns around the cities and urban villages. Today, the capital is trying to find an urban coherence, especially around the Central Business District, whose skyline is constantly changing with the appearance of ever taller buildings, such as the i-Towers. But Gaborone has also chosen green and sustainable architecture, as shown by the Botswana Innovation Hub project designed by the American agency SHoP, which specialises in green technologies and has created an energy cover designed to have a minimum impact on the environment. The same thinking can be found in the eco-lodges that are being developed in the major nature reserves. Sustainability, use of natural and local materials, respect for nature, these are the key words of the Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the country. Between tradition and innovation, Botswana has not finished reinventing itself!
