Couleurs Locales and the African Winter Light in Maputo (Mozambique): the making of Mobilarte (2013/2014)

<p dir="ltr">Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique with close to two million inhabitants. Maputo, named after the river Maputo, is a large port on the Indian Ocean and its major economy is all centered around the harbour. Therefore, the city is also known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” and as the “City of Acacias,” because most of its large avenues and streets are lined with acacia trees which provide a special light filter (Figure 1). The central area of Maputo corresponds to a planned city with square blocks and wide avenues, with some distinctive architecture of different periods. During its formative years at the turn of the 20th century, Maputo attracted all kinds of trendsetters. The city’s strong artistic spirit appealed to some of the world’s most innovative architects such as Gustav Eiffel, Herbert Baker and Pancho Guedes, among others. While the earliest architectural efforts in the city focused on classical European designs, during the 1960s and the 1970s, Maputo became the center of another new wave in architecture spearheaded by the famous Portuguese architect Pancho Guedes. His designs are a combination of modernist clean, straight and functional structures fused with local art schemes which give the city’s buildings a unique Mozambican look. Most of the properties that were erected during this second construction boom have similar stylistic characteristics. Recently the city has known another major construction boom with a series of new high-rises, modern office buildings and some major restorative projects that are all part of PROMAPUTO, a long-term infrastructure project funded by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank.</p>