Curacao Reflections

This series came to life during the course of 2016-2017, and culminated in a joint exhibition with another architect/artist, Willem Snelder, at the iconic cultural institution of Landhuis Bloemhof in Curacao, in the spring of 2017.
With the theme of celebrating the beautiful classical architecture of Willemstad, the capital of Curacao, and a World Heritage Site, we each pursued aspects of the spatial quality, facades, classical detail and unusually bright colors that give this place its unique architectural and experiential character.

​Willemstad, Curacao, has a rich cultural heritage, primarily influenced by the Dutch colonial presence. The architecture is a Caribbean version of 17th, 18th, and 19th century tall rowhouses with neoclassical detailing. What makes them distinctive from their Dutch counterparts is their finish treatment of plaster over the masonry construction, which is often painted in bright colors.

Similarly, the "suburban" mansions near town, and the plantations houses scattered across the island, were also splendidly designed neoclassical buildings, often with gallerias and/or porticos and formal floor plans. They offer very elegantly arranged, comfortable living, taking into account the local environmental conditions.

The colors are what make all these beautiful structures so unique. They offer a distinctly Caribbean flair to very familiar classical motifs, bringing into focus, in a fresh way, the detailed ornate elements against a bright ground.