A Havana Patio

A little sky behind the façade

An Old Havana doorway can hide another piece of daylight behind the street-facing rooms. A patio puts a little sky inside the house, with rooms and galleries looking towards that opening. ☀️ The façade has its balconies and ironwork; the building keeps another arrangement behind it. A rather good reminder that a house has more going on than its photograph from the pavement suggests.

Shade helps, but air still needs somewhere to go. Covered galleries shelter the edges of a courtyard, while doors and windows connect it with the rooms. In Old Havana's compact streets, neighbouring buildings can get in the way of useful breezes. An attractive patio does not automatically cool every room. The air, unfortunately, is not obliged to cooperate simply because the architecture is beautiful.

San Ignacio 360, on Plaza Vieja, gives the story a very concrete address. A rehabilitation promoted by Havana's Office of the Historian and the Junta de Andalucía was completed in 2011 for fifteen family households. The work recovered the patio, rear courtyard, staircase, galleries and landings. This was about making a residential building work, not merely sending its façade out looking presentable.

These common areas sit between the city and the home. A gallery gets someone to their door, but also keeps them beside the open air and the rest of the building. 🌬️ Maintenance and residents' needs remain part of the picture. Not every Cuban house has a grand patio, either.

The columns may attract the camera; the passages, openings and shared spaces have the everyday job of helping the place remain a home.