Colonial Buildings Research Articles

Farms are not zoos: A post-colonial study on enclosure and conservation of military heritage buildings in Hong Kong

This paper explains the importance of distinguishing de facto from de jure property rights, confused by some economists, in heritage conservation planning. A comparative study on three Hong Kong examples of British colonial military buildings is used to show how neither de jure private property rights nor de facto close access is a solution to the problem of open access to heritage buildings. Also, a government museum is only a partial solution to the problem of promoting an authentic historic sense of history in a post-colonial environment. The examples to be examined are the coastal gun batteries on Devil’s Peak, the coastal gun batteries on Cape D’Aguilar, and the Museum of Coastal Defence inside the old Lei Yue Mun Fort. With the help of site photos, the case studies demonstrate that heritage buildings can only be preserved when at least three conditions are satisfied: (a) there is an intention to conserve; (b) there is a viable scheme to conserve; and (c) there is effective regulation of access. Open access, however, can have some merits as a process of information discovery by members of the public.

Narrative Strategies of Self-Definition and Voice in Leila Abouzeid’sReturn to Childhood

This article presents an analysis of the Moroccan writer Leila Abouzeid’s Rujuʿ ila al-tufula (1993; Return to Childhood: The Memoir of a Modern Moroccan Woman , 1998) through the prism of relational theories of autobiography. It exposes narrative strategies of voice and language to bring out the autobiographical subject’s struggle to identify with and against authority figures while forging her own voice. It highlights Abouzeid’s mother’s powerful presence voicing indigenous and traditional perspectives and the father’s silent (and silenced) voice, despite his patriarchal dominance. It unfolds the dynamics of “giving voice” to Abouzeid’s illiterate mother and grandmother while challenging the content and principles underlying their utterances. These dynamics are further complicated by her father’s formative yet problematic political stances. The final section discusses Abouzeid’s engagement with tensions triggered by colonial encounters and postcolonial nation building.

Trazando un paraíso. Las ceibas como axis mundi de la evangelización dominica en Chiapa de los Indios, siglo XVI

The font of Chiapa de Corzo is one of the best known colonial buildings inChiapas,Mexico. It has sometimes been said that represents the crown of the Spanish Catholic Kings, or that his style is Mudejar to the Renaissance; and the Dominican architect Rodrigo de Leon was the designer.In this paper an alternative interpretation of the significance of the fountain as a memorial to the departure of the first friars preachers of Salamanca,Spaint oChiapas province.This edification also carrying the stemma liliatum, the emblem of the dominican order manufactured with bricks and her meanings are intertwined with the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, and Liria’s miracles of San Vicente Ferrer.And the trace of ancient Chiapa is intrinsically hinged to the seat of fountain, the ceiba trees located within the town and the surrounding hills. As also suggested in the article, that the the builder was the Dominican missionary Tomas Casillas.

'Some dozen raupo whares, and a few tents: remembering raupo houses in colonial New Zealand'

This article traces the genealogy of colonial raupo buildings in New Zealand, and also charts their decline. This decline was in part attributable to the passage of the colony’s earliest building legislation, ‘an ordinance for imposing a tax upon raupo houses’. It draws on census data and settler reminiscences to demonstrate that collective memory of raupo houses became essential to settler New Zealand as a benchmark against which to measure colonial progress. It also shows how, in the early decades of the twentieth century, health concerns were mobilized as the official rationale for both the removal from raupo houses of those few Pākehā who continued to occupy them, and the wholesale destruction of many Māori-occupied raupo homes. By the 1930s, few New Zealanders continued to occupy raupo houses, and their extensive use by early colonists was conveniently forgotten. Remembering raupo houses in colonial New Zealand contributes to recent scholarship theorising the existence of a ‘middle ground’ in the colony, at least until 1840 and potentially up to the 1860s.

R&D in Latin America: RF and Microwave Research in Latin America

Latin America is a vast region of the American continents, spanning the southern part of North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, covering 21 million km <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> or roughly a little over twice the size of the United States, as shown in Figure 1. Close to 600 million people inhabit the area and go about their daily activities in Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, and a considerable number of autochthonous languages and dialects, varying from region to region. The area presents all types of geography and weather, from deserts to tropical rain forests, from very high temperatures to the very cold at the southernmost points bordering Antarctica, from beautiful beaches to high peaks. Its legacy dates from the early inhabitants, who settled several thousand years ago, leaving impressive rock constructions throughout. Adding to these archaeological ruins, the impressive colonial buildings in most cities make a very important destination for the savvy traveler, who can then glimpse the richness of the area's historical past to understand the incredible cultural and ethnic diversity that Latin America offers the world. Through this article, the authors aim to present, at a glance, the state of development in the fields of RF and microwaves in the following countries: Argentina, Mexico, Perú, and Venezuela. The authors do not claim to be exhaustive, since no doubt there is a lot more research being performed in other countries.

Case Study of Colonial Building Restoration in China: Astor House Hotel Protective Restoration Project

Astor House Hotel is China's earliest foreign-related hotel, a national key historical relic preservation unit, and one of the last remaining examples of colonial architectures in Tianjin. The early architectural form of the old building was a typical representation of Tianjin's British concession, with a high degree of international popularity. The remarkable historical evolution of the hotel over the past 150 years made this restoration project important, and the construction research and design, being extremely complex, aroused the great attention of the government, cultural relic protection agency, academic circle, non-governmental organizations, and the public. Thus, the protective restoration objectives, methods, and processes were of high sensitivity. The restoration design took into comprehensive consideration various factors, focusing on the hotel's historical value and symbolic significance as a typical representation of China's earliest foreign-related hotel and early colonial buildings. Based on multidimensional historical research on the hotel, The design restored the appearance of the hotel's old building to the state of the original period. The restoration project also used proper technology to enhance the security of the old building. The hotel's historical and cultural value and aesthetic significance was enhanced comprehensively through spatial representation, functional improvement, and rational organization of the cultural relic exhibition.

Evaluation of Atmospheric Corrosion of Two Bells from Campeche´s Cultural Heritage

ABSTRACTIn this study electrochemical and surface analysis were carried out in order to provide preliminary information to diagnose the state of conservation of two bronze bells from two Colonial religious building from San Francisco de Campeche City: The Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción and the Ex-temple of San José. Small corroded bronze samples were retired from each bell and analyzed by using optical microscopy in order to observe the distribution of the oxides over metal surface. Complementary XRD analysis was used to identify crystalline phases formed as a consequence of bells interaction with the urban tropical environment of this city. Electrochemical techniques such as linear polarization resistance (Rp) and potentiodynamic curve (CP) were conducted “in situ” in order to evaluate the behavior of bell bronze patinas under the action of two artificial solutions that recreate typical electrolyte formed over corroded metal surfaces in urban environments.

Buildings of Texas: Central, South, and Gulf Coast by Gerald Moorhead

BOOK REVIEWS Gerald Moorhead. Buildings ofTexas: Central, South, and GulfCoast. Charlottesville and London: University ofVirginia Press, 2013, 608 pp., 351 black-and-white illustrations, hardcover, ISBN 9780813932552. Texas is unique. Senator William Blakley observed that it is neither southern nor western. "Texas is Texas," he said.1 Its enormous size and cultural diversity, and its long and colorful history challenge the historian to come to terms with its rich architectural heritage. Gerald Moorhead embraces this task in Buildings of Texas: Central South, and GulfCoast, the first oftwo volumes to document the architecture of Texas as part of the Buildings ofthe United States (BUS) series. Moorhead, a noted architect, writer, and architectural photographer, edits the volume and does the photography. A strong group of collaborators assist him: James W Steely, W Dwayne Jones, Anna Mod, John C. Ferguson, Cheryl ARRIS 64 § Volume 25 § 2014 Caldwell Ferguson, Mario L. Sanchez, and Stephen Fox draw on their expertise with specific areas of the state, while Steph MacDougal, Patsy Pittman Light, and Rob Walsh also contribute. There are many books about Texas architecture. Most are specialized treatments; few attempt to be comprehensive because the task is daunting. Even surveys such as Architecture in Texas, 1895 - 1945 by the late Jay Henry narrow the focus to make the subject manageable.2 Buildings of Texas, which takes on half the state's architectural landmarks, defines a niche that others have not filled. Those wanting more should consult its excellent bibliography. Moorhead organizes the book geographically, by region, because at one level this is a guidebook, and it can serve as a portable-if weighty-companion for those who travel the state. In that regard it does not disappoint, offering more than enough architectural highlights to fill any itinerary. Yet more is expected from the Society of Architectural Historians' BUS series, whose audience includes academics and professional architectural historians. The scholarly orientation of Buildings of Texas is clear at once: a substantial introduction provides the historical background and context for the architecture treated in the following chapters. Moreover, each chapter begins with a lengthy essay about the history of the region in question, explaining why it is distinct from other parts of Texas and showing how the forces of geography, history, and culture shaped its identity. Aided by maps, a thorough description for each landmark follows the introductory essay, beginning with the city that anchors the region before moving outward to surrounding areas. The authors begin in the center of the state with its most distinctive region, the rugged land known as the Texas Hill Country. Its gateway is the capital city, Austin, home to the state government and the sprawling University of Texas campus. Recently, it has become known for its thriving music scene and its booming high-technology industry. Yet many of the landmarks chosen for the discussion ofAustinwell -known government and university buildingsare predictable. More interesting are the surprises found on the byways of central Texas. The churches, courthouses, and pavilions of Brenham, Round Top, Schulenburg, and other small towns are a testament to the influence ofthe German and Eastern European immigrants who settled the area. Their architectural legacy includes some unusual building types. The large polygonal dance halls-eighteen of themare said to be unique to Texas and receive extended discussion. South of Austin is San Antonio, the largest city in South Central Texas. San Antonio is one of the oldest settlements in Texas and is now a mecca for tourists drawn by its deeply Hispanic character and its Spanish colonial buildings. Its oldest structures date from the eighteenth century. They include the Alamo, a former Spanish mission and site of a pivotal battle for Texas independence; La Villita, a restored Spanish village; and the Spanish Governor's Palace. Nearby are many nineteenth-century commercial buildings and the King William District, a well-preserved neighborhood ofnineteenth-century homes. At the heart ofit all is the Riverwalk, a portion ofthe San Antonio River lined by hotels, shops, and restaurants. South of downtown is a group of four eighteenth-century Spanish missions that comprise the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Although San Antonio is a modern and thriving metropolis and is the state's...

Abundant Sunshine Isn’t Only Reason to Practice Psychiatry in Puerto Rico

Abundant Sunshine Isn’t Only Reason to Practice Psychiatry in Puerto Rico

Ciencia y arte en dos publicaciones astronómicas novohispanas del siglo XVIII

En 1769 ocurrieron varios fenómenos astronómicos que fueron observados desde la ciudad de México. José Antonio Alzate Ramírez fue uno de los que los estudió y la información que obtuvo la publicó en dos hojas sueltas ilustradas con grabados. Una de ellas muestra una muy bien lograda imagen de las casas del cabildo o ayuntamiento de la ciudad de México. En la actualidad esos documentos, que son valiosos desde el punto de vista estético y astronómico, son práctica-mente desconocidos. Por la información que contienen y por su belleza, nos hemos interesado en su estudio y en su rescate, pues sin duda son una clara muestra de la actividad científica que se desarrolló en el México del siglo XVIII, así como de la calidad alcanzada por los grabadores que entonces había en nuestra nación. Este trabajo también aporta nueva información sobre el edificio colonial que actualmente ocupa el Departamento del Distrito Federal en el extremo suroeste de la Plaza de la Constitución de la capital del país.

OPTIMASI DESAIN PENCAHAYAAN RUANG KELAS SMA SANTA MARIA SURABAYA

Lighting is one of the most important aspect of designing a room. A good school should be designed so that it can increase the effectivity of the learning process. The lighting design standard of classrooms in Indonesia is 250 lux – 350 lux. Meanwhile, the type of lamp recommended in a classroom is one with a neutral white lamp color that could blend well with natural daylight. The schools in Surabaya that occupies old Dutch colonial buildings today generally have problems in lighting intensity. The evaluation result in SMA Santa Maria Surabaya on January 9, 2010 showed that all of the classrooms have lighting problems since they did not fullfil classroom lighting standards. Among 19 classrooms evaluated, 13 classrooms didn’t fullfil the standar d (too dark) and the other 6 were overbright. Hence, the lighting designs in these schools need to be corrected to solve vision problems. This research was done using the quantitative method of approach, and correction will be performed with simulation and optimation method to achieve the optimum lighting standard.

ESTETIKA FASAD PADA BANGUNAN KOLONIAL 1920-1940

Fasad is the face of a building, a front or outer appearance, especially a deceptive one . To judge a facade is a very subjective matter. However to design for public also means having the correct way in doing it. Building faces, display windows, and stage backdrops are also parts of facade to design. By using aesthetic theory we can create facade with proper visual for public, and analyze which facade is aesthetically balance. Colonial building’s facade is a facade with spesific character which posess good visual language. This research will study about the uniqueness of colonial building’s facade by using aesthethic principle theory. The balance in colonial bulding’s facade will become an exemplary on how a good facade is suppose to be, a facade with an aesthetic unity. Keywords : Building’s Fasade, Aesthetic Value, Colonial Buildings

What is “French Style”? Questioning genealogies of “western looking” buildings in Vietnam

“It is such a pity that those awful architectural cake-houses spread in Hanoi like mushrooms, while colonial buildings are destroyed.” I often heard this reflection expressed in different ways while I was doing field research for my dissertation on architectural exchange in Vietnam during the colonial period. Houses in the “New French Style” (fig. 1 and 2), a kitschy patchwork of unidentified architectural styles that mixed neoclassical, Haussmanian, and regional styles were subject to sharp ...

PEMBERIAN CIRI LOKAL PADA ARSITEKTUR KOLONIAL LEWAT ORNAMEN PADA AWAL ABAD KE-20

The purpose of this initial study is to show the existence of efforts in giving local characters to colonial architecture buildings which were built at the end of 19th century and early 20th century. One way is through the use of ornaments or decorative theme themes applied to the building which is using local characters. Some of the ornaments turned out out to be designed by famous artists of that era. The existence of these ornaments slowly disappeared because of the doctrine of modern architecture such as ornament and crime or form follow funtion, etc. which seems to forbid the existence of decorative ornaments on the building. This initial study also identifies people behind the beautiful ornament designs whom are now less well known. They are WOJ Nieuwenkamp (1874-1950) and Jan Toorop (1856-1928) as well as a stained glass maker Jan Schouten (1852-1937), as a leading world-class artists of this era. These people participated in building the colonial buildings in Indonesia early 20th century.

Bourgeois Self-Fashioning in India: Domesticity, urbanity and consumption

Bourgeois Self-Fashioning in India: Domesticity, urbanity and consumption Anoma Pieris The Bungalow in Twentieth Century India: The cultural expression of changing ways of life and aspirations in the domestic architecture of colonial and post-colonial society. By Madhavi Desai, Miki Desai and John Lang. London: Ashgate Publishing, 2012. A Joint Enterprise: Indian elites and the making of British Bombay. By Preeti Chopra. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2011. India’s Middle Class: New forms of urban leisure consumption and prosperity. By Christiane Brosius. New Delhi: Routledge, 2010. It is nearly three decades since Anthony King offered us a fascinating study of the global proliferation of the bungalow as a type originally derived from the traditional village house in Bengal but destined to influence detached houses across the world.1 King’s emphasis was typically on the socio-political dimension of built space—the objectification of power structures through the artifact or the complexities of race, space or difference explored in postcolonial scholarship. More recently, in 2012, Desai, Desai and Lang locate the bungalow within a longer history of detached houses within India, indigenizing it as a phenomenon local to the sub-continent. They describe the bungalow as a signifier of individualistic colonial values in India that would transform the meaning of the house as an artifact and accommodate heterogeneous variations of the form. By bringing the discussion of the bungalow back to its indigenous roots and documenting the resilience of its formal attributes as a vehicle of middle class mobility, this significant and timely study supports a recent resurgent interest in bourgeois self-fashioning. An example of this trend would be Christiane Brosius’ India’s Middle Class: New forms of urban leisure consumption and prosperity—a cultural anthropology of Indian society following economic liberalization. Preeti Chopra’s A Joint Enterprise: Indian elites and the making of British Bombay discusses similar processes of elite formation during the colonial period and through public architecture. This review locates these three publications within a broader context of recent spatial histories of South Asia in order to understand how they engage with the region and more specifically the sub continent’s colonial past. They respond to distinct types of spatial analysis that can be organized according to the following three schemas. The first model is of survey histories based on close empirical studies such as that by Desai, Desai and Lang. These straddle the boundary between historical and design monographs, and require a close understanding of the contemporary context. They are frequently collaborative research endeavors between local and international researchers located in professional programs of architecture or urban planning. Research higher degree programs are as yet undeveloped in the spatial disciplines (such as architecture and urban planning) in South Asia and books like these inform and educate future professionals. They are invaluable for drawing attention to colonial or nationalist period buildings that are neglected by archaeological surveys. Such books also play a significant role in replacing colonial accounts of local phenomena with fine-grained and culturally attenuated studies of indigenous material accessible to both local and international audiences. The second model discussed in this essay, and as exemplified by Chopra, belongs to a group of scholars writing on India but located in the West. They are theoretically informed by Edward Said, Frantz Fanon, Michel Foucault and postcolonial theory and follow in a tradition established by innovators in the spatial fields like Anthony D. King and Thomas Metcalf.2 They are intimately involved in the project of decolonization. Spatial histories on South Asian nationalism and on the colonial period in South Asia, such as these, far outnumber equivalent spatial histories on or from other parts of Asia.3 The scars of colonization appear to run deeper and produce a far more pervasive spatial dialectic on the subcontinent, when compared with spatial histories on Southeast Asia, for example, where neither nationalism nor colonization takes centre-stage. Conversely, Southeast Asian spatial histories appear to be predominantly concerned with postcolonial phenomena linked to the regions rapid economic growth and national developmental policies.4 The absence of that kind of content in twentieth century spatial histories of South Asia is highlighted by their relatively late emergence, in the...

Moisture expansion associated to secondary porosity: an example of the Loseros Tuff of Guanajuato, Mexico

The old mining city of Guanajuato in middle Mexico preserves one of the most important historical legacies in colonial buildings, the UNESCO declared the city World Heritage Site in 1988. Practically all the colonial constructions were built with natural stones from the neighbourhood, of which stands a greenish to reddish vulcanite, called Loseros Tuff. Although the Loseros Tuff is widely used in historical buildings in the city. It shows significant deterioration and weathering effects, principally in the parts where the tuff shows a coarse grain size. The petrographic, petrophysical, mineralogical and geochemical properties of the Loseros Tuff were analysed in order to determine the causes, effects, behaviour and response to deterioration of this volcanic rock. The results of the investigations suggest that in addition to the parameters like the grain size and the porosity properties, the pore radii distribution is decisive for the effectiveness of porosity and the water transport into the rock. It is recognized that once the liquid water invades the rock the dissolution of the matrix occurs, which is accompanied by a sudden moisture expansion favoured by the newly formed secondary porosity and the high content of expandable clay minerals.

GAYA DESAIN PADA INTERIOR RESTORAN DEWA NDARU CULTURE RESTO DI SURABAYA

Dewa Ndaru Culture Resto is a restaurant designed with different interior styles to invite visitors to enjoy the cultural values and nostalgic experience of the past. Although the various styles have been implemented separately in terms of location, the design of the restaurant reflects a connection between the form and colour used in the interior space. The objective of this research is to analyse the combination of styles and how they have been applied in order to gain more knowledge regarding design styles, particularly in this restaurant. It is a qualitative mode of research which will be descriptive in its critical analysis to obtain verbal data and will depend on comparisons in which the findings would be in the form of a conclusion drawn to answer the summary of issues addressed previously. From the research findings, it has been found that Dewa Ndaru Restaurant has adopted cultural values from Traditional Java, Chinese houses, Colonial buildings and Modern restaurant designs.

Protecting Heritage in the Caribbean (review)

995 BOOK REVIEW Philip W. Scher University of Oregon Peter E. Siegel and Elizabeth Righter, eds. Protecting Heritage in the Caribbean. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2011. 232 pp. Early on in their timely and well-organized volume, Peter E. Siegel and Elizabeth Righter bring up what may be the key issue in Caribbean heritage preservation: that is, the idea of what kind of heritage is “valuable ” to local constituencies. In the Caribbean, historic preservationists have often faced a difficult situation-namely that the buildings they have sought to preserve are often looked upon with hostility by the public. In the post-independence era, especially in former British colonies, colonial buildings were seen as unwanted reminders of a deeply oppressive past. The promise of independence carried with it the promise of a modernity free of colonial baggage. In that regard, the kind of heritage that was most actively pursued was what we would now call “intangible cultural heritage.” The legacy of songs, stories, crafts, festivals, folk medicines , native architecture, and the like were elevated in such government programs as Eric Williams’ Best Village competition in Trinidad and Tobago. This event continues to this day with communities nominating themselves each January to be judged in categories such as: Traditions of Carnival; Handicraft; Food and Folk Fair; Village Olympics; Village Chat—Short Stories, Poetry; Folk Theatre/Folk Presentation. The preservation of historic buildings was generally left to private sector organizations run by either expatriate or elite local whites. In the postindependence era many of these organizations whose focus was somewhat narrow to begin with, became even more marginalized. However, the climate for heritage and preservation has changed in recent years. Increasingly, all aspects of heritage in the Caribbean are gaining greater support at the governmental level as well as in the private sector. This is still a rather slow and imperfect process, as many of the essays in this Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 85, No. 3, p. 995–999, ISSN 0003-5491. © 2012 by the Institute for Ethnographic Research (IFER) a part of the George Washington University. All rights reserved. AQ_v85#3_p973-1000_BKRV_5Reviews.indd 995 7/25/12 11:51 PM Peter E. Siegel and Elizabeth Righter, eds. | Protecting Heritage in the Caribbean 996 volume attest. Public indifference, insufficient penalties for destroying heritage sites, lack of enforcement, and pressures from developers and other interested parties, as well as sometimes limited forms of legislation still exist as challenges to protecting heritage in the region. The reasons for the increase in interest in heritage as well as the difficulties in defining it are primarily addressed in the volume’s final two chapters; however, many of the other authors address these significant issues briefly in their contributions. The chief strength of the collection is in presenting the overall issues and problems that face heritage scholars from a pragmatic point of view on a country by country basis. For that alone, the authors must be commended. Contained in one volume, researchers may find excellent, brief histories of the preservation and cultural heritage management efforts of the major Caribbean islands. This is no small contribution as there are a dizzying array of organizations and entities with greater or lesser power throughout the region that are meant to be responsible for historic buildings, archaeological sites, monuments, intangible cultural heritage practices, etc. For the most part, these articles are written by archaeologists and museum officials and, as such, they focus primarily on the built and natural environments. The book is organized into 18 chapters with a preface. Each chapter is written by well-known and experienced individuals in the fields of archaeology and heritage studies. With the exception of the preface and final two contributions, the book deals with individual nations or groups of collectively administered islands from the major colonial language groups: English, French, Spanish, and Dutch. They include The Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and others. The most obvious omission in the collection is Haiti, which is ironic given the rich heritage of the island and its lack of resources. However, the editors dutifully lament and explain its absence (x). Although...

Identification of Microorganisms Associated to the Biodegradation of Historic Masonry Structure in San Francisco de Campeche City, México

ABSTRACTTropical climate create ideal conditions for the development of microbial communities associated with biodegradation of historic buildings made with stony materials. This is the case of Fort San Carlos, a historic colonial building representative of military tendencies during the XVII century in San Francisco de Campeche City. In this study the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), was used to identify microorganisms related with the biodegradation of its masonry structure. Specific primers for amplification of 16S and 18S ribosomal RNA genes were used for organisms identification by PCR. Amplification products were sequenced and after that compared with GENBANK nucleotide database using-BLASTn. Results indicated that microbial communities associated to biodegradation of the Fort San Carlos are bacteria from the Phyla Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria.

Affective Infrastructure

Hospitals are designed as spaces of improvement. Yet an accumulation of infrastructural projects can lead over time to the emergence of a layered landscape made up of multiple incongruous planned spaces. This article focuses on Madang General Hospital in Papua New Guinea as one example of such a landscape. Here, deteriorating colonial buildings jostle against new gleaming constructions built with donor funds. The layered effect of the postcolonial landscape draws attention to enduring racial and class inequalities; the colonial past is rendered present in the buildings of the future. Drawing on recent work on affect in anthropology and cultural geography, the author argues that this landscape impresses affects of hope and disappointment on the people who inhabit it and shapes ambivalent attachments to national and state futures. This double movement of improvement and decay is analyzed as a process of ruination that is intrinsic to modern spaces of improvement.