OK it is a little rundown but lots of Massawa in Eritrea is (or at least was, in 2003 when I was there).
This is a great house all the same. Three storeys with open and open, curved terrace and a flat roof.
The boxed section at the front of the house has two vertical rectangular panels of windows cut into the corners plus a third panel topped with a semi-circular section of windows. The central panel of windows differs from the other two in that it starts at ground level and the panes are offset rather than in the more usual grid pattern.
.jpg)
.jpg)
I'm wondering if the staggered placement of the windows on the central vertical strip window might be trying to suggest a staircase, especially since it begins at ground level?
ReplyDeleteAlso, on the front entry gates, notice that the upper 'crossbar' is missing inside the central box in the left hand gate. If it could have been made to work, I'd have loved to see the gate built with no bars traversing the central rectangle (but tough to build out of wood)!
Great suggestion Tim. I thought it might have been a ladder of some type but a staircase is a much better suggestion.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the upper left pat of the gate is the original design and the other parts have been repaired. Wish I'd investigated a bit further at the time.
I assume this was an Italian building? How did you find out about this building?
ReplyDeleteI assume so too Eoin. It was close to where we stayed when we visited Massawa so I didn't so much find out about the building as stumble across it and took some pictures.
ReplyDelete