Discover Suriname : Architecture (and design)

Colonial era

It was mainly the Dutch colonists who left their mark on Suriname. This presence took the form of what is known as the Dutch Colonial style. The particularity of this style is that it takes up certain codes of Dutch architecture of the time, notably in its Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical influences, while adapting them to the local climate. Sandstone, wood and red brick are the key materials. In terms of housing, houses in this style can be identified by their square brick base on which the wooden structure of the walls rests. Roofs are usually gabled. The facades are punctuated by finely wrought wooden or wrought-iron balconies, sculpted triangular pediments and impressive colonnades leading up to elegant stone staircases. To adapt to the tropical climate, windows are multiplied to ensure constant natural ventilation, but are fitted with wooden shutters or louvers to avoid direct exposure to the sun, and large verandas are added to provide both a reception area and a structural element for ventilation and shade. The dazzling white of the main structures contrasts with the bright colors of the roofs, doors and shutters. Excellent woodworkers, the Dutch settlers were also masters in the art of urban planning and the mastery of hostile, often wet and swampy terrain. The capital, Paramaribo, whose historic heart had been designed on the ridge lines of a promontory offering a dry, unspoilt development zone, was later able to expand thanks to work to drain the surrounding marshy areas. In terms of urban planning, the city still proudly bears its checkerboard layout, where wide, tree-lined streets lead to the fountain-adorned Place de l'Indépendance, and also serve numerous parks and green spaces, including the superb and famous Jardin des Palmiers. Among the treasures of the capital, whose historic center has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002, don't miss : the Presidential Palace, with its superb galleries, porticoes and terraces; the Ministry of Finance, with its monumental brick structure featuring a classical portal and belfry; the Amadya Mosque and Neveh Shalom Synagogue, the country's only synagogue, which looks like a bourgeois house, but whose façade is punctuated by a portico with 4 Ionic columns and topped by a sculpted triangular pediment; not forgetting the sumptuous St. Peter and Paul Cathedral-Basilica, which boasts a splendid view of the city.The sumptuous Cathedral-Basilica of St. Peter and Paul is one of the largest wooden cathedrals in South America. This unique edifice bears witness to the way in which local wood species can blend harmoniously with the expectations of European styles: see the round arches and neo-Romanesque colonnades, the high neo-Gothic bell towers (44 m tall, after all!) and, above all, the capitals with their astonishing motifs carved by Creole carpenters. Since its renovation in the 2000s, the Cathedral proudly dominates the city in its yellow and blue-grey hues. Another point of interest is Boulevard Waterkant, one of the capital's oldest and most important streets. Among the hundreds of superb, immaculate white wooden buildings, whose interlacing balconies and galleries give rhythm and movement to the street's perspective, two buildings in particular stand out. The Banque Centrale du Suriname and the Balance Municipale, two first-rate commercial buildings, were erected in plastered brick and stone. Solid constructions to symbolize the permanence and power of economic power! An economy based on the plantation system, to which Suriname still bears witness. Somewhere between a farm and a pre-industrial settlement, plantations were designed to develop land for speculative purposes. Stone windmill towers, boiler sheds and other brick warehouses, dykes and transport rails line the landscape of these large estates, in the midst of which often sit grand mansions whose splendor contrasts with the housing for slaves and then workers, a sort of rough-and-ready hut surrounded by small gardens. Concordia, Frederiksdorp and Mariënburg are among the most interesting plantation sites to visit. The plantation system was also the foundation of the former Jewish colony of Jodensavanne, where the remains of the Beracha Ve Shalom synagogue, built of imported bricks and the focal point of a geometrically laid-out village, still stand. The village also boasts an astonishing cemetery with elegantly decorated tombs, some made of European marble. Not far away was Post Gelderland, part of a defensive system stretching from the colony to the coast. A military architecture of which Fort Zeelandia and Fort Neuw-Amsterdam, a stone fortress built on earthen foundations and featuring a 5-point bastioned structure, are the finest examples.

Vernacular architecture

Little remains of the habitat of the original Arawak, Carib and Wayana peoples. However, in order to preserve this heritage, the country is increasingly focusing on so-called indigenous tourism, which is based on respect for and ongoing involvement of local communities, as well as educational work, particularly in the transmission of cultures and traditions. In Kalebaskreek, a site only accessible by boat, a project has developed involving the construction of houses on stilts, recognizable by their thatched gable roofs. Since 2015, in the south of the country, in the middle of the jungle, architect Paul Spaltman has been working with the local Wayana community on a major project including a women's center, a visitor center, numerous chicken coops, individual houses, a college and amazing tree houses for visitors. To get the community on board, the architect opted for the clear, realistic rendering of 3D, allowing everyone to project themselves. The local inhabitants are responsible for selecting and working the various types of wood. The structures are made of planks joined with ropes or natural materials, but never with nails. Decorative balustrades and roof shingles are also made of wood. Bungalows on stilts, multi-storey cabins supported by a single powerful central pillar... the possibilities for wood are endless! At the same time, Suriname has also seen the development of a very particular type of architecture: that of the maroon slaves who fled the terrible living and working conditions on the plantations by taking refuge in the jungle, and then of their descendants. In the villages of Pingpe and Semoisie, you'll discover wooden plank houses built on raised foundations, with steeply pitched gable roofs made of either wood or corrugated iron that reach almost to the ground, projecting slightly to protect the façades. The latter feature beautiful alternations of light and dark woods creating rhythmic patterns, or are sometimes adorned with brightly colored paintings, a tradition borrowed from Caribbean peoples, but whose motifs illustrate the power of a very particular art: Tembé art. A pictorial, textile and sculptural art, Tembé art is both a decorative art and a means of communication. For these largely illiterate populations, geometric lines and shapes, and bright colors (red, white and black at first, then yellow, green and blue to symbolize the elements) become the letters and words of a powerful language displayed on house facades and pediments. In many ways, these houses are reminiscent of the legendary Creole hut. Initially with rammed earth floors, cane leaf roofs and facades of woven wooden panels, these huts were later "perpetuated" with hard foundations, wooden rather than thatched roofs and the addition of structural elements, foremost among which is the veranda... a modest but refined habitat!

Modern and forward-looking

It's hard to imagine that beautiful Paramaribo, in the heart of its colonial splendor, is home to an all-concrete architecture... and yet! Between 1950 and 1970, Dutch architect Peter Jacobus Nagel was commissioned to design a number of large public and commercial buildings. He was also the first to set up an engineering and architectural firm here. With his clean lines, immaculate whiteness, Art Deco-inspired decorations and sculpted patterns in concrete, and glass and steel structures inherited from the International style, the architect left an astonishing mark on the city. The modern building of the Bank of Suriname, a large rectangular concrete monolith hollowed out to create an effect of depth and to highlight the large bay window punctuated by concrete "spacers"; the Main Post Office, made up of simple rectangular volumes with imposing rows of windows, but housing inside halls and counters with sublime frescoes and ironwork decorations; the National Assembly, with its simple volumes surmounted by a sort of small pavilion with a curved roof; or the Suriname Stadium.. all modernist creations by Peter Jacobus Nagel! This sense of simplicity and purity can also be found in a much more contemporary building: the new American Embassy, with its various square or rectangular pavilions punctuated by canopies and other protruding elements, and linked by footpaths, green spaces and water features. It's a sober contrast to the glitz and glamour of the Kaizerstraat Mosque. While the central building retains a simple square plan, it is topped by an imposing bulbous dome, surrounded by powerful colonnades and flanked by three minarets, themselves punctuated by stunning decorative elements. However, these contemporary achievements should not obscure the fact that the country continues to suffer the consequences of decades of economic and political crisis, leaving the riches of its heritage to decay. To reverse this trend, the government joined forces with NGOs and the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) to launch the Paramaribo Urban Rehabilitation program in 2017. This involves revitalizing the historic heart of the capital in order to preserve its UNESCO listing. This involves not only renovation work, but also reflections on better traffic management, and the promotion of economic and residential activities to bring back residents who had deserted the center in favor of the outskirts. The reconstruction of the Parliament Building, the transformation of Elisabeth Samson's beautiful mansion into a museum, and the creation of shops in Heerenstraat, which should also benefit from better lighting, improved pedestrian accessibility and signage to highlight the city's heritage treasures, are among the first visible achievements of this project. At the same time, the country is turning to contemporary architecture, combining technical innovations and natural materials, traditional motifs and local know-how. Suriname is the first country, along with Bhutan, to achieve carbon neutrality, absorbing more_CO2 emissions than it consumes. Architecture enthusiasts can't wait to discover the next innovative, sustainable and resolutely local achievements of this astonishing little country!