Overview

Still Standing is a celebration of the vanishing vernacular architecture of Dominica. These small wooden homes, ingeniously crafted and carefully adapted to their environment, have survived hurricanes and earthquakes; in contrast to many modern concrete buildings, they are ‘still standing’. Even so, they are under threat from the forces of ‘development’. The stories and images in this book provide powerful evidence for vernacular conservation that will inspire new respect for the island’s history and culture.

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9781838041588

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Reviews

Still Standing is a small gem of a book, informative, engaging, beautifully illustrated and inspirational, affirming that even the most humble and unassuming buildings will have meaning, beauty and significance, not just as fixed expressions of architectural heritage, but as embodiments of living craft and dwelling traditions that have a part to play in meeting the manifold environmental challenges of the future. Marcel Vellinga, Journal of Historic Buildings and Places, 2024. Still Standing: The Ti Kais of Dominica, by Adom Philogene Heron with photographs by Marica Honychurch, offers a detailed description of the history, construction, and family/social uses of the distinctive Dominican wooden house, including its mobility from one site to another in response to cultural, political, or environmental needs. A dense 15-page essay is followed by extended examples of extant houses, grouped geographically on the island, with information on their past histories and their inhabitants today, accompanied by wonderful photographs. All in all, a truly superb introduction to a traditional, yet evolving, element of Caribbean vernacular architecture and a fine example of creolization in material culture. New West Indian Guide, Spring 2024

Author Information

Dr Adom Philogene Heron is a lecturer in anthropology at the University of Bristol. His work in the Caribbean focuses on fatherhood and family, the social life of storms, Afro-diasporic ecologies and cosmologies. Still Standing is a collaborative study of Dominica's vernacular ti kais (kweyol: 'small houses') alongside SHAPE a Dominican heritage NGO and architecture students. Born in the UK, he has ancestral roots in Dominica. Photographer Marica Honychurch was born and raised in Dominica, and is a documentary and portrait photographer.

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