Kept on Wikipedia:Architecture of Fiji

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Buildings have an intensive cultural influence on people living under the building in their daily lives. Architecture and culture are inseparable. Fiji is becoming more and more popular as tourist. Also, more and more people concern about the architecture of Fiji. What is special about Fiji's architecture is that the Fijian archipelago culture is the product of a variety of cultures: Fijiannative culture, Indian culture, South Sea island culture, European colonial culture and so on. Different cultures bring different architectural styles. Due to its history, Fijian architecture has long reflected the architectural features of Europe. Today, Fiji's architectural style is influenced by the cultural integration of the colonial era, reflecting the joint efforts of Fijians and Indians in the contemporary development process. Of course, the role of Christian and Hindu religious and cultural influences cannot be ignored. But today Fiji still retains many ancient British public colonial buildings. Even more amazing is that although people from different regions settled here, the formation of a multicultural system did not impact the old rural building culture.[1] There are several sections below to introduce more about architecture of Fiji which are History of Fiji, Fijian colonial period, Typical historic buildings in Fiji, Fijian contemporary architectural culture and Vernacular Design.

Street in Fiji

History of Fiji

The Fiji islands belongs to Melanesia, which is a large region of Oceania. They are located in the easternmost region of this. This Islands can be detected very close to the east part, making the Fiji islands an area of contact for the Polynesian groups. Suppose that the islands were first located by the direct old people of the Polynesian (Kirch, 1997). Although it was previously thought that there was a strong subsequent contact and therefore some absorption of Melanesian influences, the latest evidence does not approve this (Clark&Anderson, 2011). Interestingly, the indigenous architecture found in parts of the island shows that its similarities to the Melanesian architecture type. Rugged landscape and Fiji is divided into some smaller groups, and makes the diversity of architectural form is relatively high, some of the island group and other islands close to degree also plays an important role: for example, the main highland area on the island of Viti Levu, their history most of the time is very isolated, their construction was mainly affected by the local development and the evolution, therefore, some islands like Lau group has been through the dense maritime trade and other areas are linked together, as described above. Tonga group. As a result, liu's vernacular architecture, heavily influenced by the architectural practices of Tonga, can actually be considered closer to tradition than to the architectural culture of viti.

historical architecture of Fiji

Fijian colonial period

Colonial architecture, as an integral part of colonial culture, provides a tangible manifestation of western existence and rule in various colonial environments. Fiji which in tropical colonies, western building was not merely transplanted, but transformed by architecture feature of the western and non-western. Fijian elements include platform guard, interior and exterior reed walls and thatch roofs. The European style includes several glass doors, outer galleries, central human-shaped roofs and top window. Apart from a series of glass doors and outer galleries are architectural innovation in tropical climate, other Western architectural elements are characterized by the Gothic Renaissance style. This kind of architecture is not only the combination of Fiji's native architecture and Western architecture, but also the combination of Fiji's native inhabitants and foreign colonists. Therefore, the mixed colonial architecture played an important role in the social and political function of the colonists and the colonial leader. Nasova House is the main official building of the self-governing Cakobau regime (1873-74) and also is the sample of the British colonial regime (1874-82). The two ends of the Nasova House protrude in order to emphasize the symmetrical structure. It offer a special example of the colonial mix used in Fiji in the late 19th century. [3] In the Fiji islands there are more and more villages and have become densely packed over time, and the Fijian people are impeccably at war, a community set-out for frequent attacks and hostilities. The buildings were built in fenced villages and protected by walls and canals. Sometimes horticultural structures are made for taro plants that prefer wet conditions by turning the settlement's surroundings into marshes to protect the inhabitants. The other location have ditches defending their walls. Houses in Fiji are built around village squares. It was in fact once a small, limited, and affected by the space and topography securable in previous day, when villages were forced to defend themselves from external attacks. Today, it is larger and more rectangular in shape, with houses arranged neatly along it. Actually, there is a typical factors of the many new villages built after the colonial war that can be safely deployed.

Typical historic buildings in Fiji

A form of vernacular architecture, common on the island of west viti (the island of Fiji), pretrasina is difficult to consider architecturally as a product of lapita architecture on stilts: although the shape of lapita building are rectangular, the floor plans are Raus. Rausina is detected. This is a radical difference that needs either local creation of new housing types or strong external cultural effects. Therefore, we can praise local products by creating building types, but it's worth noting that very similar circular structures could be looked near some Melanesian islands, such as New Caledonia. The evidence of archaeologicaldoes not approve a direct link, but the geographic of architecture shape shows that at least some connection between these appearance. The other question is whether the next archaeological research can determine this problems. Over time, the island's inhabitants are becoming more and more dense, Fijians must be militant, and a community need to prepare for attacks and hostilities. The building was built in a village surrounded by fences and protected by walls and ditches. Sometimes, horticultural structures built for taro plants prefer a humid environment, in part to turn the area into a swamp to safeguard the home. Other places need to protect their walls Fiji's home are created around the village square rara. In fact, it used to be small, limited by the effect of the space and terrain, when the village was reinforced to protect them from external attacks. Now it's bigger, the shape is more rectangular, and the houses are neatly arranged. Fijian houses traditionally did not use any nails or joiners' joints. Adze modernized no-one else in Fiji has used one these days. There are some common tools for example, European axes, axes or large bush knives .All the sections are round blocks; Only in the ends of certain sections (for example, the ends of piles) must be machined in such a way that they have flutes or v-cuts to receive other structural factors. First, a pile of houses is buried underground, usually confirm to the earthen platform. In some situation, platforms are built first and piles are dug out. Buildings are often rebuilt on old platforms. These houses also have weather conditions. For example, some Vale Vakaviti has natural air conditioning in the hot season. In the cold season, the houses are warm and comfortable because of the ventilation effect of natural materials. Cool tropical or warm winds move through the house more easily than brick, iron and wood

The modern architecture of Fiji

Fijian contemporary architectural culture

Nowadays, some of Fijians live in the modern house, but some of them still live in the Fiji local architecture. There are many different types of buildings due to different group of people, also, they have different functions in Fijian village. Burenisa is for younger group and Burekalou is the tallest building among all of the villages. Generally, Burekalou has higher foundation and ceiling. Fijian believe that taller ceiling is closer to the god. Inside the Burekalou, there is a white bark-cloth connecting between ceiling and the middle of building. They consider it as the bridge between them and the spirit world. Certain areas have unique house designs that are not lost, such as Vale Kubulolo. It is similar to Polynesian houses in Tonga and Samoa. The semblable of house appearance is the factor to support the intermarriage between prehistoric settlers and the people of these locations. Moreover, Excellent Fijian architects are committed to build the typical Fijian Island architectural traditions with fresh, modern materials and designs. Viti Levu is Fiji's largest island with large population of Fiji. Eastern Highlands of Viti Levu, the buildings in this area are all rectangular plan views. It is different from the Western Highlands, houses in the Eastern Highlands have no intermediate columns. Usually two end posts are used as connecting posts on the connecting beam. The design is like the coastal architecture and usually uses the same name (vasemasema). But, there seems to be the difference in proportion, which results in a slightly special facade. Western Highlands of Viti Levu: Were Rausina. Were Rausina is a type of building that can be dected on the western highlands of Viti Levu. It gradually disappeared in modern history, because before the advent of Christianity, many temples or buildings related to spiritual beliefs were built in the style of Lacusine.

The contemporary architecture of Fiji

Vernacular Design

Although Fiji is known to have been occupied for more than 3,500 years, there is evidence that it was first found and colonized by melanesians, and experiencing a long time isolation, European contact firstly began around 1635 by Abel tasman. It is still a very particular and isolated region on earth. However, it is worth noting that the cultural hierarchy of Fiji is very complex and diverse, with Polynesians living mainly on the inland islands (Viti Levu and Venua Levu) and the Melanesian people living on the eastern outer islands. When the American reached, explorers discovered the island's natural abundance of sandalwood (which was later completely depleted by its popularity) and spread Christianity through missionaries. With many different kinds of wood growing on the island, the particularly durable wood is more commonly used than other woods, teak. This abundance of trees for structural design and boat building is easily approachable to islanders, helping them gain navigation and build strong durable communities which is exist today. With an average life span of 40 years, teak is durable and poroplastic and can be used for many purposes. The other natural plants is abundant which found on the tropical islands of Fiji also helps to create a strong architectural design element that can be seen in many communities, such as open-air structures and huts. While these designs are common, many structures adopt simple architectural methods, including dry leaf covering for thatch roofs and the interior space are protected. Roofs are lay up in large bunches tied together and tightly compressed to help ensure that the structure is watertight and able to withstand inclement weather such as snorter during inclement weather and hard rainfall. This woman collects bark SAP (a kind of gum), uses it to defend and seal dry clay, and then sells it. Note that the circumambient structure has curdle walls and shutters -- a distinctly European design, but with huge wooden structures load-carrying the roof. Some modern designs assimilate these Fijian elements because most of them succeed in bearing and helping to maintain a good balance between natural and man-made features. While you can get options that are structurally more stable and easy to use, the design still conform to many of the earlier traditional features and works well. A resort with a new architectural design, while using thatched roof elements.

Annotations

1.Brij V. Lal. (1992), ‘University of Hawaii Press’, Broken Waves: A History of the Fiji Islands in the Twentieth Century This book divides Fiji's 20th century history into six time periods, the relevant content will be used in the “History of Fiji” section of the Wikipedia page. The content of this book is more focused on Fiji's political system changes, the impact of Fiji in different world political and economic contexts, and the historical status and role of Fiji in different periods. In this book, the author mainly looks at historical changes from the perspective of Fiji locals, and mainly explains the influence of Indians and Europeans on Fiji's historical process. 2. Robbin Chatan, (2003), ‘International Journal of Historical Archaeology’, The Governor's vale levu: Architecture and Hybridity at Nasova House, Levuka, Fiji Islands, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 267-292. The Journal article will be used in the “Fijian colonial period” section, and the specific study of “The Cakobau Parliament complex” in the article will be used in the “Typical historic buildings in Fiji” section. This journal article is a good example of how the architecture of Fiji during the colonial period was influenced by political factors and ideology. This article examines the fusion of Western and non-Western elements in Fijian architecture from the perspective of colonial architecture in the tropics. In the specific study of the article, Nasova House is taken as an example. The author believes that public colonial architecture can more fully demonstrate colonial culture. This architecture based on European architectural style combined with a specific colonial environment fully demonstrates the cultural contradictions of the time. In analyzing the architectural structure of the Cakobau Government Building, this article captures the integration of political and cultural factors embodied in architecture. This articulation of European and Fijian architectural elements in the concept of the Cakobau Government Building provided not only an elegant structure appropriate for the political center of the polity, but it also provided a visual metaphor of the hybrid nature idealized by this fledgling state. 3.G. K. Roth, (1954), ‘The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland’, Housebuilding in Fiji, Vol. 84, No. 1/2, pp. 91-102. This journal article will be used in the “Typical historic buildings in Fiji” section. This long-standing journal article is a documentary and informative article. It can be seen as a record of the construction of a house of Fijian indigenous government officials in the 1950s.The house was built at Naitonitoni on the south coast of Viti Levu island by men of the Veivatuloa Division of Namosi Province. This report contains the working arrangements for the entire construction project, the erection of the frame, the construction plan of the reed wall, and specific construction record. Of particular importance is the author's comparative analysis in the later part of the article. By comparing with the Wanokoroiluva House, Namosi House, and other regional houses, the authors concluded the prominent features of the chief's house at the time in Fiji. From this we can conclude that house is also an important manifestation of social status in Fiji. 4.Ferenc Zámolyi, (2016), ‘Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures’, Architecture of Fiji, 10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_10215, pp.471-499. Vienna University of Technology This journal article will be used in the “Fiji contemporary architectural culture” section. This book is more like an encyclopedia. This article introduces Fijian architecture from the perspectives of origin, culture, and geography. This article discusses whether the origin of architecture in Fiji is influenced by Polynesian culture or the influence of Melanesian culture. Also discussed in detail the village buildings, different House types in the Fiji Islands. The author used a large number of real-life pictures in the introduction. Compared with the previous article, the political factors embodied in this article are very few. 5.Margaret Purser, (2003), ‘International Journal of Historical Archaeology’, The View From the Verandah: Levuka Bungalows and the Transformation of Settler Identities in Later Colonialism, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 293-314. This journal article will be used in the “Fijian contemporary architectural culture” section. The article focuses on residential buildings in Levuka, Fiji and on issues related to colonial architecture. This article reminds us to note one point in the study of Fiji architecture: first to colonial and then to ‘native’ populations. Colonial building was built for people of alien cultures exercising colonial power. The author selected three residential structures to serve as representative samples of Levuka's surviving residential buildings. They include the exquisite early homes of Eastgate House, the less refined Stevens House, and the smallest Levuka house. They were chosen for their diverse structural elements and architectural methods. The method of verifying ideas through the investigation and analysis of physical objects is worth learning.

References

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