Pierre-Richard
Villedrouin
Architect
sustainable architecture Haïti, architecture durable
"intérieurs d'Haïti"
Roberto Stephenson
Marie-Louise Fouchard
2004
"Intérieurs d'Haïti" is a captivating photographic art book that explores the private spaces and daily lives of Haitian people across different social classes. Co-created by photographer Roberto Stephenson and writer Marie-Louise Fouchard, the book offers an intimate look at the country far beyond the usual stereotypes of poverty and political unrest.
Key Themes & Content
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A Glimpse Inside Haitian Homes: The book takes readers behind closed doors, from the rural, modest "kay" (traditional countryside houses) and vibrant urban slums to the elegant colonial gingerbread houses and upscale modern villas of Pétion-Ville.
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The Art of Everyday Life: It highlights how Haitians, regardless of their economic background, decorate their living spaces. It shows a profound sense of aesthetics, dignity, and creativity through color choices, religious altars, and furniture arrangements.
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Objects and Memories: Rather than focusing just on architecture, the photos capture the small, meaningful objects that fill these homes—family portraits, plastic flowers, radios, and sacred Vodou artifacts—telling the personal stories of the inhabitants.
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Light and Atmosphere: Roberto Stephenson uses natural light to create a deeply respectful, almost meditative atmosphere, capturing the warmth and unique soul of Haitian domestic life.
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3 pages feature architect Villedrouin's private residence Bathus Logos.
From the authors:
With this book we wanted to pay a tribute to all of the authentic and simple beauty, often ignored, bearing witness of a people's determination to live and survive in dignity, to respect their culture in a country where only the bright sun is a given.
le salon
la salle de yoga
la chambre d'amis
From the introduction by FRANKÉTIENNE
"Perhaps beauty and aesthetic fascination through the shapes and colors of objects, sometimes simple or complex, often strange or ordinary, remain the last stronghold of resistance against the tentacles of despair and the suction of death.
In these times of galloping distress beauty ought to remain an ideal as well as a life practice, a challenge against the hideous tendencies of invading ugliness and the mortal attractions that carry us towards abysmal depths.
Honor!
said I.
Respect !
came the answer..."
