Relationship between our blog “Architecture through time” and the blogs of three of our colleagues:

Cities are a product of time (Mumford 1938). The core theme of our blog is the change of architecture from the past to the present in Trinidad and Tobago. This post will discuss how three of our other colleagues’ blogs relates to our core theme.

Firstly, based on the very informative and well written blog “Pulse of the City” by Kaaria Quash and Jameel Smith, which discussed the features of Port-of-Spain, it included a post on urban architecture. Here, a comparison of the architecture between Stollmeyer’s Castle and Nicholas Tower were seen. Their blog discussed that as time progresses, changes were evident in the city of Port-of-Spain in the form of architecture. This relates to our blog as we explained how the buildings in Trinidad and Tobago changed from traditional to modern but the traditional houses still exists today in Port-of-Spain alongside these modern structures. They also explained using Mumford (1938) and Amin and Graham (1997) that Port-of-Spain can’t be identified as entirely colonial or entirely modern since there are a variety of architectural designs from different eras simultaneously present today in the city. Each of these structures stands out in their own fascinating way like a bouquet of different flowers, unique yet able to complement each other. Thus revealing Port-of-Spain as the heart of Trinidad and Tobago since it is the magnificent incorporation of the old and the new together.

Pulse of the City Blog - http://urbangeographers.wix.com/port-of-spain

Secondly, based on the enlightening blog solely focused on the “Magnificent Seven – History and Architecture,” by Fadilah Ali and Kristi Mendes is the second connection to our blog. We included the magnificent seven as a single post to depict an important piece of Trinidad and Tobago’s architecture. Fadilah and Kristi discussed the means by which the Colonial powers brought their different attributes from their motherlands and established them in Trinidad and Tobago, including their wonderful and amazing architectural styles. These can be clearly seen in all the magnificent seven structures – Queen’s Royal College, Millie Fleurs, Hayes Court, Stollmeyer’s Castle, Roomor, Whitehall and Archbishop’s House.

Magnificent Seven – History and Architecture Blog - http://trinimag7.blogspot.com

Thirdly, based on the intriguing blog “Urban Haven of Trinidad,” by Nicola Mathura and Dianne Mahabir we make our third connection to architecture. They have beautifully incorporated the architectural identity in Port-of-Spain. In one of their posts, “Architectural Histories of Port-of-Spain,” they discussed the colonial history of Trinidad and Tobago and how this led to the different architectural styles evident in Port-of-Spain. They described Trinidad and Tobago’s early 19^th century architecture as Neoclassical and described Millie Fleurs as I’m sure you can recall as one of the magnificent seven currently in deteriorating quality. They described this monumental building as having sentimental values to the spot it is located in and that these colonial structures should be preserved. They have expressed their regard for cultural and historical preservation of Port-of-Spain.

Urban Haven of Trinidad Blog - http://urbanstructurestt2k16.blogspot.com