The centerpiece of Mauritian homes, the veranda is a symbol of the Creole art of living. Halfway between interior and exterior, the veranda is an invitation to fully enjoy Mauritian life and its tropical climate. In this article, we invite you to dive into the heart of “living on a veranda”, between tradition and modernity.
The veranda, from navigation to Creole architecture
The floor has its origins in the language of the maritime environment, in which the “floor” designates a structural part in the frame of a ship, a transverse connection between the keel and the hull. During the French occupation, Mauritius, called Isle de France, was inhabited by French sailors who introduced this notion of veranda to name the gallery/terrace of Creole houses. This intermediate space, between the exterior and the interior, between the intimacy of the house and the lush garden, was therefore initiated in Mauritian architecture in the 18th century. Surrounding the colonial houses, like an observation post, the veranda offers an unobstructed view, like the deck of a ship which allows sailors to monitor the horizon.
The veranda, the centerpiece of Mauritian homes
From plantation houses to popular houses, including the famous Mauritian camps, they all share a common characteristic: the veranda. This space illustrates the singularity of Creole architecture, in particular the glazed veranda, which is only found in Mauritius. Its great advantage is that it allows you to fully enjoy outdoor spaces, despite bad weather or the vagaries of the Mauritian climate. Moreover at the time, as today, since a veranda was completely sheltered, the same furniture was placed there as that found inside the house, making it a real living room integrated into the house, comparable to a living room. In Mauritian culture, it is a place for receiving guests and a real theater for moments of life: dinners, lunches, convivial moments around board games or even a place conducive to tasting the famous “tea time” so symbolic on the island. island.
As Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio describes it, the veranda is also an invitation to stroll and contemplate: “Only the music remains, soft, light, almost elusive, united with the light on the foliage of the trees, with the “shadow of the veranda”.
The veranda today, the heritage of island architecture
Many things have changed in Mauritius, but the tradition persists: life on a varangue has its place, more than ever, in the daily life of the island's inhabitants. Architects always show a keen interest in these spaces, inseparable from the Mauritian art of living and inherited from two centuries of experience in residential architecture. Moreover, most of the villas for sale, historic or recent, have a veranda. Imagine yourself comfortably installed under your veranda, immersed in a novel with the melody of birdsong, lulled by a light breeze...
Conclusion
Having become an essential component of local architecture, it symbolizes Mauritian hospitality and conviviality. It is a promise, that of living a sweet life, inspired by the history and charm of Mauritius.