To the origins
Classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site, Twyfelfontein is home to one of the largest concentrations of rock paintings and engravings in the world. Between representations of wild animals, footprints and human figures painted with red ochre, the site bears witness to the rich ritual practices of the first peoples of Namibia, whose presence is attested as early as the Stone Age. These masterpieces of rock art were made by the San, also called "Bushmen" or "bushmen", the oldest inhabitants of these lands in southern Africa. Nomads, the San developed a singular habitat: the grass hut. Circular in shape and usually with a domed roof, these huts vary in size, but the most elaborate are characterized by a roof of grass and reeds, reaching almost to the bottom of the structure, and being supported by a frame of thin branches. The San often have several small huts dedicated to different functions (cooking, sleeping...). A reed fence protects these small camps from wildlife. This idea of protection is also found among the Ovambo who surround their villages with fences that look like palisades made of large reed poles. Here again, each hut has a precise function. Circular in shape, these huts are made of mud bricks covered with cob, while a wooden frame supports a conical roof. In some villages, these traditional huts also stand alongside new constructions made of cement and corrugated iron. The focal point of the village is the kraal or cattle pen. This is also the case in Himba villages where all the huts are arranged in a circle around the kraal, a symbol of wealth and prosperity. Among the Himba, it is the women who are in charge of the construction of the houses that can be recognized by their conical roof. Most often made of thatch, more modern elements such as plastic sheeting are often added to improve the waterproofing. The roof is supported by a wooden structure, while the walls are made of a cob mixture of sand, mud and manure. Examples of this habitat can be seen in the village of Kamanjab or in the northwest of the country in the former Kaokoland. The Nama, on the other hand, have developed a habitat that looks like a beehive, again demonstrating the architectural properties of the local materials. The frame of these huts is made of hand-bent wood, while the covering is made of braided reed mats. The reed is known for its insulating and absorbing properties, which makes it a great ally in these hostile climates. It is this age-old vernacular architecture that gives the country its identity. Some have understood this and are developing initiatives to discover it, such as the open-air museum of Tsumeb, which offers a wide panorama of the indigenous habitat, or the Ongula Village Homestead Lodge. Created in 2011, the latter is dedicated to introducing tourists to the Ovambo way of life. You will certainly appreciate its colorful huts with very modern comfort!
Colonial heritage
The impact of the German presence in Namibia is inversely proportional to its duration. In just thirty years, the Germans made a lasting impression on the country, especially in terms of architecture. First a protectorate, then a colony, Namibia was the figurehead of the Deutsch-Südwestafrika, this small empire at the end of the world where settlers and missionaries flocked from 1890 onwards. The Germans wanted to transpose their Germanic way of life to the African land... this explains why many houses and buildings were prefabricated in Germany and then transported to Namibia, like the Lutheran church in Walvis Bay, built in Hamburg. These churches are the great symbols of the colonial presence and one can understand their position in the heart of the cities, or on the contrary their more isolated position, generally on rocky promontories, overhanging the urban areas, like ramparts of faith. The light color of their walls, enhanced by the white of the frames, doors and windows, but also their high gables and their great general sobriety are remarkable. The most representative of this style is the Felsenkirche in Lüderitz. Named after its founder, Adolf Lüderitz, the city is a compendium of Germanic architecture. Here you will find multi-storey villas, often half-timbered, with high gabled walls, tinted white or light colors with red roofs, and often with bow windows and balconies that look like loggias. In the city center, the sandy streets (only the main street is paved!) are lined with one-story or single-story houses, often brightly colored, and whose alignment offers a surprising play of perspective between sharp and rounded gables. Some of these buildings mix baroque, classical and even Jugendstil, the German Art Nouveau. An old-fashioned and unusual charm can be found in Swakopmund with its Hohenzollern Building in baroque style, its long wooden pier, its half-timbered seaside houses and its alignments of colored houses. The mining heritage is also a witness of this colonization. Tsumeb is one of the most important mining towns in the country... but it is the ghost town of Kolmanskop that is the most unusual representative. Entirely invaded by sand, this city was in 1908 one of the most prosperous and modern: factories, shops, hospital, power station and even theater and casino... a small industrial Germany in the heart of Africa! The city of Windhoek also possesses astonishing witnesses of this colonization, in particular two examples of Catholic churches with resolutely European styles. Christ Church is made of brick and is neo-Gothic, while St. Mary's Cathedral is neo-Romanesque. The city is also home to the Tintenpalast, the former governor's residence, which was once surrounded by beautiful gardens. These were clearly a symbol of wealth and prosperity in a largely desert country. The former Liebig House in Windhoek, renamed "the ghost house", was once surrounded by vast gardens with fountains... but today these richly painted walls have been replaced by graffiti. It must be said that the relationship with this heritage is very complex. In 1948, a Commission for Monuments of South-East Africa was created, but most of its members were former German settlers... who chose to classify mainly German buildings, thus making it difficult for the Namibian people to appropriate their past and their history; all the more so since the German-speaking population is still very present and active. The controversy over the removal of the equestrian statue or Reiterdenkmal in Windhoek glorifying the first German settlers is a good example. After the Germans, it was the turn of the South Africans to impose their norms, in particular that of apartheid and its segregated urbanism. The country's townships are the heirs of this policy of separation between peoples. The township of Katutura, described as a colorful and lively area, is not very popular with the inhabitants. Its name means "place where one does not want to live". This is what the Herero called it in the 1960s. Until then, the different ethnic groups had been living in relative harmony in the Old Location part of the city, but then they were forced to move to the new area, where they had to rent houses that they could never own. Katutura was for black people, Khomasdal was for mixed-race people, and downtown Windhoek was for white people. Despite the end of apartheid, these segregations still largely remain.
Contemporary architecture
Since the end of apartheid, Namibia's cities have been under increasing demographic pressure. This phenomenon has led to the proliferation of shanty towns and precarious housing areas, anarchic heaps of sheet metal, on the outskirts of the cities. At the same time, urban centers continue to develop, with office buildings and glass and concrete houses. However, unlike other African countries, Namibia has not (yet) entered the race for height and does not have skyscrapers redrawing the skyline of its cities. On the other hand, the country has some unusual memorials. Obelisks, monumental statues, squares designed for parades, government or military buildings topped with eagles or heroic figures proudly brandishing Kalashnikovs... this very Soviet imagery intrigues. It is to North Korea that we owe it. The latter has financed a good number of projects in Namibia, using and abusing a propaganda architecture that can be found in particular in the monument to the Glory of the Heroes of Independence or even in the new Museum of Independence, built in 2014. An architecture whose purpose would be to finance the weapons program of North Korea ... The UN has multiplied visits to Namibia to clarify the situation, but this relationship continues to embarrass the country. Fortunately, new projects show the other side of Namibia, that of a country proud of its heritage and know-how and which is turning to architecture as a link between tradition and innovation. The Twyfelfontein Visitor Center received the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2018 for its structure inspired by vernacular architecture that integrates harmoniously with the environment. A concern that can be found in the many lodges in the country, like the Game Lodge with its cement floors, plaster and natural red sand walls and large windows opening onto the surrounding nature, or like the Kalahari Anib Lodge whose decoration gives pride of place to local know-how, that of the weavers in particular, which can be found in curtains and hangings made of karakul sheep wool, for example. But the most amazing of these lodges is without a doubt the Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge. The geometric lines of its pavilions and main building, all glass, rock and steel, contrast harmoniously with the surrounding desert relief. The objective is to minimize the impact of the hotel on the environment, while developing sustainable energy sources. An ecological and aesthetic success... that will undoubtedly inspire others!
