Reintroducing tropicality to St. Maarten

A residential typology rooted in the soil of the past

Master thesis (2020)

Authors

B. Rooijakkers Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

M.J. Smit Architectural Engineering - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 1)
E.J. van der Zaag Design of Constrution - Architecture and the Built Environment (supervisor 2)
R.R.J. van de Pas Architectural Engineering - Architecture and the Built Environment (coach)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2020 B. Rooijakkers
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Published Date

22-06-2020

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

St. Maarten has been subject to outside influences since its existence. From the indians that traveled through the caribbean and made their stops on the island 3500 years ago, until the time that the economy started to influence the way that life is lived. From the 1950s onward, the tourism sector started to grow which provides income for the largest part of the people on St. Maarten. This economical prosperity increased the total population from a little over 2000 inhabitants in 1955 to around 42.000 people today, excluding the illegal immigrants (which is said to be around 30.000 more people). This accounts only for the dutch side of the island.

St. Maarten has had to expand very quickly from the 1950’s and these expansions resulted in relatively monotonous urban environments where public space is scarce and social interactions do not occur alot. The buildings are built in a farely standard way which are mostly bungalows constructed out of concrete. The buildings and neighborhoods do not respond to the tropical savannah climate that they are in and when walking through a typical middle class neighborhood you would not expect these buildings in a tropical climate.

This way of building was not always a normality. Before 1950 the buildings on the island looked like they did in the picture in the top right border. Buildings were constructed using a wooden frame and wood finishes placed on a foundation of local natural stones. This way of building fits the natural climate better because these buildings are light and have more openings in the facades to let i natural ventilation. Yet, there is one aspect of the climate that made these buildings disappear which is the hurricanes that occur once every couple of years. Concrete ofcourse is a stronger material and quickly became more popular when it became more affordable than wood.

This project is a exploration to design a residential typology which not only responds to all aspects of St. Maarten’s climate but also its context and culture.