Graphic Map** of English Houses in Bogotá (1930–1950)

Abstract

During the first half of the 20th century, Bogotá experienced rapid urban growth and the widespread construction of English-style single-family homes. These houses have had a lasting presence in some neighborhoods; this produced particular urban, architectural, and landscape features whose objective assessment inevitably involves estimating their real impact on the city. This raises questions such as: How extensive was the phenomenon? In which areas and neighborhoods can its presence be contrasted? How many houses were built and how many have survived? This article presents the tools that have been used for the graphic map** of English-style houses in Bogotá. The criteria for delimiting the data to be mapped are derived from different considerations: a territorial urban review, a zonal approach to neighborhoods, and, finally, an architectural analysis of the cases. The study sheds light on the variety in the implementation and interpretation of an “English” style that, beyond a simple ornamental cladding, involved a conception of the house with features determining certain lifestyles and the urban development of the city. To conclude, the article presents graphic map** as a tool for analysis.

This article is an advance of the research study entitled “Genealogía de la casa de tres partes y hall central. Origen en Inglaterra (S. XIV-XIX), presencia en Bogotá (1920- 1945) e influen-cia en la casa moderna (1920-1960)” funded by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Colombia (MinCiencias in Spanish) within the framework of the InvestigARTE 2019 invitation. Autonomous Heritage National financing fund for Science, Technology and Innovation Francisco Jose de Caldas.