Gallery
The photos show the before of after of this gingerbread house property of the Assad family, built more than 100 years ago with the second floor fully restored in 2019. Gingerbread Houses of Port-au-Prince were included on the 2010 and 2012 World Monuments Watch in order to raise international awareness about this unique architectural heritage, seismic-resistant model, reminders of creativity and prosperity times and the inspiration to make Haiti flourish once again.
The second floor was restored by the engineer Alice Baussan, grand daughter of the architect Georges Baussan one of the creators of this Haitian architectural style in late 19th century. This project was directed by Philip Salnave and his wife Gucy Urra, the latter has participated in the recovery and art decoration of 3 heritage houses in the Port of Valparaíso-Chile (UNESCO site), which now are the business www.casaverdelimon.com and www.casavioletalimon.com
For us, the restoration of this building is important as a contribution to the architectural heritage and tourism in Port-au-Prince. In addition, this gives the possibility to world travelers experience this unique style of architecture which has survived the earthquakes and time. Also, we want to inspire others, to put hands in work, the gingerbread neighborhood is the start point to make Haiti flourish. Finally, we want to thank all (owners and workers) which did the final work possible, because it is the collaborative work which makes dreams come true.
Reference Links
https://www.wmf.org/project/gingerbread-neighborhood
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingerbread_house_(architecture)
https://ht.usembassy.gov/the-u-s-department-of-state-supports-the-renovation-of-maison-gauthier/