In Search of Identity, Christiansted, St. Croix

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21-23 hospital street, christiansted, st. croix

field work report investigation - survey - documentation february/march 2016

The report is produced by Amal Ashur, 8. semester Rudi Hønborg Benkjer, 8. semester Dilja Rannveig Boasdottir, 8. semester Benjamin Erben Casper Friis Hildegunn Gønningsæter, 9. semester Irene Vestergård Hansen, 9. semester Ruben Kramer, 9. semester Victor Perleheden, 8. semester Maria Danielle Zachariassen, 8. semester Carsten Kronborg Hald Olesen Simon Sjøgaard Professors: Mogens A. Morgen, Professor Architect MAA Jan Fugl, Architect MAA Maj Dalsgaard, Architect MAA Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark 2016

Content 1. Preamble 2. Method Total Station Theodolite Line Laser Levelling Photogrammetry Sources of error Photo registration Atmosphere description 3. Technical condition 21 Hospital Street 23 Hostpital Street 4. Research Archives Litterature Local testemonies 5. Historic context History of St.Croix Layout of Christiansted 6. Typologies of Christiansted Vernacular architecture Spanish and French influence Danish classisicm 7. Parallels to Danish military architecture 8. Materialities on St.Croix Wood Local stone Surface treatment Iron Danish bricks 9. Climatic conditions Traditional adaption Modern convenience

10. Location of the site 11. Historical Development of Functions Garrison Hospital Military barracks and administrative building Highschool Police station and Department og Labour 12. Architectural descriptions The site 23 Hospital Street 21 Hospital Street 13. Historical development of the site 21 Hospital Street 23 Hospital Street 14. Conservation value assessment Method Architectural values Atmosphere Original substance and narrative value Enviromental values Primary conservation values Reflection Recommendations and potentials

Preamble This report is a historical, cultural and architectural documentation of the building complex on Hospital Street 21-23, Christiansted, St. Croix in the former Danish West Indies. The report has been created on the basis of three-week studytrip in March 2016 measuring and doing surveys and studies at the site and its surroundings.

The complex was founded as a Danish military hospital no later than 1779. From here on the complex has expanded with several buildings, and the function of the buildings has changed several times. In recent years, the buildings have been dismantled and abandoned and today it appears partly as a ruin.

The point of departure for our work has been the upcoming 100 anniversary in 2017 of Denmark selling the West Indies to the United States. To celebrate this, the Aarhus School of Architecture and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts is collaborating with the organization BYFO, with the aim of granting the islands a gift from Denmark on the occasion of the upcoming anniversary. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts has worked with the Jarvis School on St. Thomas, while Aarhus School of Architecture has worked with the historical complex on St. Croix. The vision of this project is to raise money to create a school of architecture and crafts on St. Croix as part of the University of the Virgin Islands.

Christiansted is a unique cultural environment, where Danish materials and architecture meets the Caribbean climate and culture and unite in a unique narrative. Sadly many of the old buildings of the city is in a technically poor condition, not least because of Hurricane Hugo, which in 1989 devastated the city. In the absence of any

craft courses on the island, the task of recreating and restoring the buildings is a challenge.

Hope is that this initiative will not only contribute to the restoration of the architectural heritage but also create new relationships and joint initiatives between the US Virgin Islands and Denmark in the future.

In addition to a building survey, the report also unravels the architectural and cultural history of Christiansted and makes a valuation of the complex, which serves to qualify the students’ different proposals for a future architectural transformation of the building complex.

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to the project, and will express our gratitude to the people of St. Croix, which during our three weeks on the island met us with the greatest helpfulness and hospitality.

We also wish to thank the many official people who helped us through the whole process by contributing with knowledge, material and practical help.

On behalf of the Aarhus School of Architecture, Studio Transformation and Architectural Heritage Simon Sjøgaard, Carsten Kronborg Hald Olesen, Jan Fugl, Maj Dalsgaard and Mogens A. Morgen

Students and teachers on site, Christiansted.

From back left: Benjamin Erben, Rudi Hønborg Benkjer, Casper Friis Irene Vestergård Hansen, Maria Danielle Zachariassen, Ruben Kramer, Carsten Kronborg Hald Olsen, Victor Perleheden Professor Mogens A. Morgen, Hildegunn Grønningsæter, Dilja Rannveig Boasdottir, Amal Ashur, Simon Sjøgaard

Method The purpose of the fieldwork is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the site, buildings and context, through documenting current conditions and clarifying historic alterations.

The methods applied include both digital and analogue measuring, along with a building-archaeological survey.

Plans, sections and elevations are drawn in the scale of 1:50, siteplan 1:200 and detail drawings 1:10/ 20.

Analogue drawings were drafted partly on site and partly in the studio. Digital drawings were drafted mainly in the studio.

Total Station Theodolite The TST reads distances from the instrument to any given point and, through triangulation and referencing between multiple TST-positions, creates a CAD-file specifying points on construction elements along the x, y and z axis.

Subsequently, above points were connected using CAD-software in order to construct a precise 3D-model of the site, which in turn, served as a measurement reference for drawings like elevations and site plan.

fig. 1 TST measuring principle

Line Laser Levelling The string system was supplemented by line laser levelling instruments, that indicate horizontal and vertical lines aligned with the main orthogonal string system.

The line lasers allow the main string system to be easily translated into the interior spaces of the buildings and relocated orthogonally as required, ensuring that the various positions are carefully mapped and referenced to the main string line.

From the individual line laser positions, measurements were read diagonally to corners, openings and other relevant detailing of the interior spaces. Distances to the same points were read from at least one other reference point within the room, making it possible to define the position of a given point by use of triangle trigonometry.

Concurrently with the proces of measuring the structures, analogue plans and sections were started on site, using above readings.

fig. 3 placement of main string system

fig. 4 interior position of line laser instrument

fig. 5 cross-referenced point on structure

Photogrammetry As a supplement to the measured drawings, the Photomodeler software was used to translate a series of photographs in to orthographic elevations of selected faรงades.

This technique has proven useful, especially with regards to the faรงade facing Church Street, where the steep-sloping conditions would have made extensions to the orthogonal string system excessively time-consuming.

Furthermore, the orthographic representation enables a high degree of accuracy and detail in registration, documenting and retaining the condition of the structure along with its historical traces. More so, than is typically achieved through analogue and TST readings, in that, detailes can more easily be drafted directly with the orthographic photo as underlay.

Sources of error As the orthogonal string system forms the basis of all measuring, and interior line laser positions are referenced back to it, accuracy in the mounting of the strings is crucial.

During the on-site drafting, an overlay of the ground -and 1st floor plans for the L-building revealed a significant divergence over the length of the southern wing.

This was ascertained to stem from the elevation of the string system from ground level onto the 1st floor, and a faulty reading of 4 cm on the tape measure at ground level. This lead to a partial re-drafting of the 1st floor plan.

Furthermore, the layout of the L-building is

divided in to many separate rooms, which makes it nescessary to relocate line lasers multiple times, thus increasing the margin of error, with regard to correct referencing back to the main string system. As for the former hospital, the floor structures of the once 3 storey building, have been demolished, leaving only the walls on the ground -and 1.st floor levels. This made accurate referencing to the string system at ground level easier, as the line laser positions here, were visible on the 1. floor.

fig. 6 orthographic photography of sloping north faรงade

fig. 7 number of line laser positions 1st floor plan and main string system at ground floor level

Photo registration In addition to the measuring of the buildings, photos have been used as a method of registration, capturing and keeping information about elements not shown in the drawings, such as materials and colors, light and shadow and historical traces.

Each room has been photographed in a certain way - all four walls being documented along with floor, ceiling and openings. The facades of the buildings and the different situations of arrival have been systematically registered too. Details have been photographed with a folding ruler to keep information about the size of the detail.

These photos have then been used when adding details to the digital drawings.

Atmosphere description In addition to the documentation of the building through measured drawings and photographs each student has made their own individual description of the atmosphere of the place. Using their senses and paying attention to the intangible elements that gives character to a place, such as light and colors, smells, sounds, temperature and the experience of proportions, the students were asked to note down their first impression of the atmosphere when they entered the buildings.

These notes were afterwards written down as a one-page atmosphere description. Along with the text the students were allowed to take one photo to support the written text.

Technical Condition The site consists of three main structures; perimeter walls, portals and stairs, the 21 Hospital Street and the former hospital.

Perimeter walls, portals and stairs Wall structure; plaster on brick (Flensborg and standard danish formats), local stone and coral Secondary elements; steel fences and gates.

The perimeter walls, portals and stairs, overall, appear structurally sound.

Surfaces generally display extensive damage to plaster due to lack of maintenance and plants growing on the walls. locally, the underlying masonry is heavily damaged.

21 Hospital Street Wall structure: sprayed plaster on brick (Flensborg and standard danish formats) and CMU (extension) Roof structure: Cross hipped roof Floor structure: concrete slab on steel girders Primary structures 21 Hospital Street has served several functions over recent years, which has caused major alterations and extensions to the original structure.

Primary structures, such as roof and floors, have been replaced and are therefore in a good state of maintenance.

Surfaces The original flush lime plaster on exterior and interior walls, has been replaced by cement based, spray-applied plaster.

23 Hospital Street Wall structure: plaster on brick (Flensborg and standard formats) Roof structure: collapsed/ demolished Floor structure: collapsed/ demolished Primary structures Previously a 3 1/2 storey bulding, the former hospital is now reduced to ground floor and 1st. floor walls.

Trees have been allowed to grow within the building, causing serious damage to remaining walls, many of which have been mounted with supports to prevent further collapse.

Surfaces The original lime plaster has generally fallen off, leaving mostly areas that have been replaced with newer, cement based plaster.

Church Street Hospital Street

Number 21

fig. 8 site plan showing main structures

Number 23

Portal on hospital St.

L-building

Main welcoming stairs to complex

Exposed masonry and cement-based plaster

Temporary supports

Detached arch due to tree roots

Masonry posts and fence

Research Archives In the effort to gain more knowledge about the history of the buildings on No. 21-23 Hospital Street a search for historical records in archives on both St. Croix and in Denmark have been conducted.

Carol from St. Croix Landmarks Society Research Library and Archives, located at the Estate Whim Museum, has been helpful finding material about Christiansted and No. 21-23 Hospital Street.

The archive contains copies of several maps of Christiansted from different periods along with a number of historical photographs and drawings.

At the Danish National Archive consultant Poul Olsen has given an overview of the material related to St. Croix and Christiansted stored in the archives. In the archive it has been possible to find drawings of both the town and the site dating back to 1779.

The Danish National Archive is currently developing a web page called Virgin Islands History that aims to make all the material stored at the archives available for the public in 2017.

The web page is presenting an overview of the history of the islands along with drawings from the archives.

Literature One of the main literary sources used for historical research is the book “St. Thomas and St. Croix”. It is written by Thorkild Dahl and Kjeld de Fine Licht and published by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture in 1961 after surveys done on the two islands. It contains drawings and descriptions

of a number of buildings in Christiansted, including the buildings on No. 21-23 Hospital Street.

Additionally the Landmarks Archives on St. Croix provided the students with copies of the book Three Towns: Conservation and Renewal of Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted and Frederiksted published by the Royal Danish Academy of fine Arts in the sixties. The book describes the town of Christiansted through a series of sketches and diagrams.

Two other books were acquired on St. Croix, given to the students as a present; Christiansted at 275 edited by David Hayes and Emancipation

by Erik J. Lawaetz.

Local testimonies During the field work on St. Croix a lot of knowledge about the history of the buildings has been gained from the locals stopping by at the site. People would tell about how their parents went to school in the building in the 1950’s or how the ruins of No. 23 once was a police station - information proving valuable when establishing a historical overview of the buildings.

One of the locals who must be mentioned is Edgar O. Lake, former president of The Society of Virgin Islands Historians. Along with stories about the history and use of the barracks he had collected many historical photographs that he presented to the students.

Christiansted National Historic Site ranger Benito Vegas held a very informative city walk where he would describe local building traditions, the challenges of building in the environment of St. Croix and the vernacular architecture of

Edgar O. Lake sharing his knowledge about the history of the barracks.

Historic Context History of St.Croix Christopher Columbus was the first European to visit St. Croix on November 14th 1493, where he entered Salt River Bay. Various European powers had control over St. Croix during the following centuries until it came into possession of the Kingdom of France in 1650. In 1733 King Louis XIV ordered the French settlers to abandon St. Croix in order to strengthen the defense of Haiti.

St. Croix and the other two Virgin Islands St. Thomas and St. John were bought by the Danish West India–Guinea Company (DWI&G) for 164.000 Danish Rigsdaler. There were still traces of French settlements and plantations of that time. They would soon become the towns of Frederiksted and Christiansted. Frederiksted was the site of an older French settlement while Christiansted was the site of an old plantation Grande Princess.

DWI&G Company saw the opportunity for a settlement because the natural harbour had great potential for easy defense due to the long reef that almost completely surrounded the bay. In the following years Christiansted outgrew Frederiksted and became the island’s “capital.” The brick fort Christiansværn was built between 1734 - 1749 on top of old French dirt ramparts. From here the Danes would have complete control of the harbor due to cannons pointing directly at the opening of the long reef with support from two small bastions on Protestant Cay. On the other side of Gallows Bay the protection from unwanted visitors like enemy nations and pirates was complete. Only once did the enemy enter the harbour during the colonies surrender to the British navy during the Napoleonic wars.

Danish interest in the island of St. Croix started and ended with sugar and cotton production. In 1750 there were 250 plantations and 64 sugar mills. There was room for a larger production on St. Croix compared to the other islands due to large areas of the island being relatively flat. St. Croix is mainly made from ancient fossiled coral reefs while St. Thomas and St. John geology is formed from volcanic activity.

Like other European nations with colonies in the

West Indies, Denmark participated in the triangular trade: Ships sailed to Africa with firearms that where sold to African War chiefs who waged war against rival inland tribes. Men, women and children from conquered tribes were sold into slavery and transported to the West Indies and the American colonies to work as free labour for the plantation owners. Finally the ships went back to Europe with goods from the colonies such as tobacco, cotton, minerals and in the case of St. Croix: sugar and rum.

The population of St. Croix were 10.000 people and 90% of the population were African slaves.

The Crown took over the administration from the DWI&G Company in 1755, and between 1760 and 1820 the colony experienced its golden age of economic growth. The governor-general Peter von Scholten abolished slavery after much pressure from the local slave population almost 15 years before the American civil war. Due to advancement in sugar production in Denmark and the abolishment of slavery the sugar production in the Virgin Islands was no longer profitable and in the second part of the 19th century the Danish West Indies experienced a economic decline.

In 1917 in the final years of World War One the United States of America had a growing concern that the Prussian Empire would gain a foothold in the Caribbean and bought the islands from the Danish government. It was bought NOT for agricultural values but for the island’s strategic location.

Today the US Virgin Islands is part of USA - not as a state but as a territory. There is still rum production in some degree although the molasses is imported. The main industry in St. Croix is tourism. The Old Danish buildings in Christiansted are still preserved such as the Government House and Fort Christiansværn and many churches and other buildings. It is a popular hotspot for American and Danish tourists alike here. There is both cultural and natural heritage from the iconic sugar mills to the coral reefs around the island.

Danmark

Dansk Vestindien Ghana

Map showing the dividing of land on St. Croix and the original layout of Christiansted and Frederiksted

The town of Christiansted with fort ChristiansvĂŚrn in the front

Layout of Christiansted Like many other European founded settlements in the Americas, Christiansted and Frederiksted are planned cities and has a strict grid plan system. This system was popular among the city planners in the 17th and 18th century due to the easy way to defend a city. The grid structured roads has no blind corners where the enemy could hide from musket and cannon fire. The grid structure of Christiansted also served a more mundane purpose as it served as protection from the northern wind by turning the roads in North East and North West directions.

Christiansted harbor is defended with its main defense; the fort of Christiansted and two smaller redoubts in Protestant Cay and on the coast of Gallows Bay. This strategy is similar to how the Lagoon of San Juan in Puerto Rico is defended.

The Neighborhood of Gallows Bay’s name has a very literal and grim connection to its historic past as a site of punishment and execution. Today that connection is luckily in name only.

It is still easy to find the historic connection to the Danish monarchs and the West India Company in many buildings and neighborhoods in Christiansted. Most streets still have their name originated from the Danish period. Street names like Kingstreet/Kongens Gade, Queens Cross Street/Dronningens Tværgade and Company Street/Kompagnigade are obvious examples.

Many historic buildings in Christiansted are build from Danish bricks also known as “Flensborg bricks” named after the former Danish city from which the brick originated. In return Flensborg harbor became the entry point for rum from the Caribbean and became the unofficial rum capital of Denmark.

The design and material of the old buildings in Christiansted are Danish. The buildings themselves where build with slave labour.

Although the Emancipation Proclamation of the Danish colonies happened in 1848 there were already a minority of free people of color, but they did not have the same rights as the white Danes.

They had to live in a specific neighborhood at the time called Neger Gut, later renamed Free Gut. Some of the original buildings in the Free Gut neighborhood are still visible and play an important part of the local Cruzan’s identity and history.

Oxholm’s map from 1779 showing the layout of Christiansted

Typologies in Christiansted Vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture is generally referred to as unpretentious, traditional structures made of local materials. These are buildings for daily life, made with the local knowledge and craftsmanship to suit the context in wich it is built. Today, the vernacular architecture in Christiansted is primarily found in the southern part of the town, where the free gut area was situated in colonial times.

The vernacular architecture of Christiansted is recognized by its wooden framework and are rarely more than two stories high. Originally, local wood like mahogany and guaiacum would be used, as these are resistant to termites and the warm humid climate. The local wood was a natural choice in the early colonial time as it was cheap and easy to provide.

The foundation was normally built in natural hard rock or brick and raised over street level, to protect the houses from heavy rainfalls and water running down the slanting streets.

The roof was originally covered with wooden shingles. Today many of these are covered with a tin roof. To accomodate the warm climate, hip roofs are used to create airflow. The doors and windows will often be seen with shutters to protect the buildings from hurricanes and storms as well as the sun.

Example of vernacular architecture in Queen Street, Christiansted Drawing by Maria Zachariassen

Spanish and French influence The Caribbean has during the last centuries undergone creolization of cultures. Creolization meaning the process of assimilation in wich neighboring cultures share certain features to form a new distinct culture. In St.Croix, the architecture and culture in general holds influences from the former Spanish and French settlements on the island, as well as later influences from other Spanish and French colonies in the Carribean.

In the records from St.Croix, previously called Santa Cruz as a Spanish colony, there are no mention of permanent settlements in the area where Christiansted is situated today. On the other hand, there are buildings in Christiansted that were built by Puerto Rican immigrants between 1930 and 1950. 52B Company Street was built in 1937, and shows some examples of this typology. The facade is decorated with colorful tiles, the doors and windows are protected with ornamented iron grills. On second floor the openings are provided with simple cornices. It has a colonnade with beams, in stead of arches and archade.

Under French rule, they made use of structures from the former European settlements on the island. They also constructed new buildings in the area where Christiansted is situated today. These were buildings holding necessary functions as weighing of goods, courthouse and public houses. They also constructed a church. These buildings might have been used and transformed later during the Danish colonial time.

Example of spanish influence: 52B Company Street Drawing by Maria Zachariassen

Danish Classicism A great part of the existing buildings downtown Christiansted was constructed during the danish colonial time, and has later undergone renovation and transformation to different extents.

During this period of time, the founding of the Academy of Fine Arts in Denmark took place, and classicism was highly represented in Danish architecture. Classicism endeavours to express formality, symmetry and strict lines, and it is often seen in official buildings.

The ideals and thoughts of classicistic architecture was brought to St.Croix with the Danish architects, and used for building and planning the city of Christiansted. The buildings of lower King Street and Company Street are today good examples of the danish classicistic influence.

The Government House in King Street shows an official architecture, detailed with cornices in three stories and presents a formal entrance stair. Some of the other buildings in this area has a more subtle appearance with only one or two stories and less detailing, still with classicistic arches and archades. The facades are strictly composed with symmetric openings. The material is mostly Danish bricks and lime mortar, sometimes combined with local stone and corals.

Where the colors used in Danish classicism would be white or light warm tones, the colors used in Christiansted today are more bold and adventurous in combination with the classicistic elements.

There are some distinct differences between classicistic buildings in the Virgin Islands and in Denmark. This is likely the result of adapting the ideals of classicism from the Danish context and transferirng it to St.Croix. Both the climate, culture and the local building traditions are likely to have influenced the classicism in Chris-

tiansted and St.Croix. One noticable difference between classicism in Denmark and St.Croix is the use of arches and beams in the facades.

Where the arches and beams in Denmark is often placed in direct contact with the actual window or door, in Christiansted the colonnades and archades are used as covered transition areas between inside and outside. This creates shade as well as airflow for the interior and the areas outside the buildings. The classicistic buildings in Christiansted also share some features with the vernacular architecture. Solutions developed to the local climate like shutters in front of openings, are used in combination with the strict classicistic elements.

Examples of danish influence combined with local tradition and materials Drawing by Maria Zachariassen

Parallels to Danish military architecture With the Danish acquisition of St. Croix in 1733 a strategic plan for the island began. Governor Frederik Moth found the natural harbor, protected by a long reef, on the northern side of the island to be a good placement for a city.

He planned it to be as regular as a city can be with inspiration from ideals of the European fortification cities. Moth formed his town plan after the European Renaissance and Baroque ideals with orthogonal streets and symmetry unfolded around an important and powerful element in the city.

The orthogonal streets of Christiansted follow the ideal Renaissance and Baroque town plan but differ with the placement of the big town square. The town square was, and still is today, in connection with the fort of Christiansted in the east mouth of the city. In the center of the orthogonal grid system two market places were planned.

In Denmark comparable Renaissance town plans can be found in many cities and areas as Christanshavn and Frederiksstaden in Copenhagen, and in Fredericia to name a few. Fredericia and Christiansted in particular are similarly subdivided, planned and build.

They were both fortification cities strategically planned to harbor a city around the military settlement. Primarily the important thing was the placement of the fortress in connection to a harbor secondarily the commercial possibilities of the city.

Oxholm’s map of Christiansted, St. Croix 1779

The facade of Fort Christiansvaern towards the city, 1797

Map of Fredericia, Denmark

The yellow Fort ChristiansvĂŚrn in Christiansted is perhaps the most significant building in the city of St. Croix. The establishment of the fort began in 1738 and with a slow building process the fort was completed in 1749. Several restorations have been necessary due to hurricanes and service change. Today the fort is a part of Christiansted National Historic Site.

water and the city in case of a slave rebellion against the authority in Christiansted.

The fort’s primary function was to indicate that the island was settled, and to demonstrate its administration of justice with armament of cannons and firearms. It had to be intimidating to pirates, smugglers and other colonial sovereigns or rulers. As St. Croix was a slave colony the fort also had to be a discouraging element on the island. This was to prevent rebellion among the slaves and to show, that it was an institution of punishment with dungeons, areas of torture and guarded by soldiers.

Within the outer walls the fortress is more open with big doors and windows with good ventilation. The inner spatial sequence is exciting and alternating with arcades, stairs and green areas.

The architecture of the fort is based on geometric forms as circles, squares and triangles. A universal fortification ideal is size and grandeur but the fort in Christiansted is smaller than its colonial brothers. In comparison, the Spanish fortifications were much bigger, which demonstrates the Spanish superiority as a colonial power. However the fortifications on St. Croix did fulfill the requirement of the Danish military.

Fort ChristiansvĂŚrn is built from architectural fortification ideals of the Renaissance. The fortress is built with a thick outer wall with embrasures that provide space for cannons to aim in different directions. The outer wall is furthermore built with bastions, which eliminates the blind spots previously caused by the round towers of the medieval fortifications.

The embrasures on the outer wall face both the

The outer wall encircles a main building with a basement, weapon rooms, guardrooms and an inner courtyard. The weapon rooms are, because of the embrasures, dark and were used as guardrooms with firearms and cannons.

The rooms of the main building have views to the city and to the courtyard in the middle of the fortress. Windows and doors are covered with wood shutters and wrought iron. The brickwork of the fortress today is lime washed with a yellow color but has previously been red. The yellow color, called government house yellow, symbolizes military and public buildings.

Main building of Fort Christiansværn

The main building of Fort Christiansværn with natural ventilation, big doors and windows

Plan of Fort Christiansværn, 1797

Main building with big openings and the thick outer wall with embrasures, Fort Christiansværn

Pavement of Danish bricks on Fort Christiansværn

Materialities on St. Croix Wood

Local stone

When the first colonists arrived at St. Croix, they were in need of empty fields for plantations.

St. Croix was covered by rain forest and the immediate available local building material was wood, as the rain forest had to be cleared and the ground had to be prepared for farming.

Another local building material was limestone as the substratum of St. Croix and the near seashore reef consist of limestone formed by corals – so called coral stone. The coral stone is a highly used building material as it was easily accessible. The stone was soft and could be cut in big blocks. This material has the ability to resist the tropical climate better and longer than bricks, but was often either lime washed or plastered if it was used for facades.

The wood that was found on the island was “hardwood� which is a description given to hard, slow growing wood that are resistant to the tropical humid weather. In particular mahogany was used, as it is both resistant to humid weather and termites, which is a challenge for wood structures on the islands. Mahogany is dimensionally stable, which means it will not twist and fling when it dries. Due to the unique characteristics of the mahogany, it was used for structure of houses, lintels on doors and windows, roof construction and for wooden shutters.

Concurrently with the popularity of mahogany increased in Europe and in the rest of the world, it became very expensive to use mahogany as a building materials on St. Croix. Instead the wood was shipped to Europe and to the nearby islands.

After mahogany became expensive pitch pine from North America was often used as a building material for the structure of houses. Pitch pine is a relatively hard type of wood, which like mahogany is resistant to termites when dry.

The wooden shutters that are a characteristic architectural element of St. Croix housings is often painted pitch pine.

Surface treatment The coral stone was also used because of its ability to absorb humidity in its porous and open structure. Corals along with conch and shells were burnt and mixed with sand and water. This makes up the lime mortar that was used in building constructions on the Danish Virgin Islands. By thinning the mortar it can be used as whitewash. By adding iron-sulfate to the whitewash, it will change to the government house yellow as seen on the Fort in Christiansted.

By adding iron oxide, the mortar will become red as seen on Fort Frederik in Frederiksted.

The paint used on wood, as seen on shutters of windows and doors, is produced by linseed and is called linseed oil paint. By mixing linseed oil with colorant it is possible to create many different colors. The oil has the ability to protect the wood from decomposition by the light. This painting hardens by the impact of sunlight.

Iron Iron is used to mount and hinge shutters, doors and gates. It is wrought iron craftsmanship of a very high quality and can stand for centuries and be re-used from building to building.

The wrought iron on Fort Christiansværn is the original iron from 1749.

Danish bricks Many of the existing buildings and ruins on St. Croix consist of bricks. Bricks were a highly used building material, which the empty ships from Denmark brought as ballast before loading the ships with sugar for the journey home.

The ships had around 10.000 bricks as ballast pr. crossing. In Denmark the heavy large medieval brick was used until the end of the 1600s after which the smaller “Flensborg” brick measuring 4 x 10,8 x 22,8cm were used. The large medieval brick is bigger, measuring 7 x 13 x 27cm, but it was the small and handier Flensborg brick that were transported from Denmark to the Danish Virgin Islands.

Later, the Danish ships transported regular Danish brick measuring 5.5 x 10,8 x 22,8. In many buildings the masonry is a mix of both regular Danish brick and Flensborg brick. The small Flensborg brick is in particular used for corners, edges and sockets on windows and doors as it has the perfect size for decorative elements and it is easy to adjust.

The masonry buildings were often whitewashed, lime washed or plastered to protect the brickwork, as the tropical climate is very harsh on the stones.

However many buildings are a mix of many building materials both brick, coral stone and wood (Lunn, 2012).

Climatic conditions Traditional adaption On St. Croix there has been a tradition to build with the rough climate in consideration.

The windy and warm weather require the buildings to facilitate cooling, airflow and stability.

Originally foundations of buildings were made of coral stone and as this material is porous and open in its structure, it was known for its ability to absorb humidity in the walls and vaporizing by the sun thus cooling the buildings. This method of building was widely used.

A characteristic architectural element in the cities of St. Croix is the arcades facing the orthogonal streets. The arcade besides being a landmark, are also climatically suitable for both good and bad weather. In the powerful sun they provide shadow and assist in the building being cooled down, as the sun is not affecting the inner walls directly which makes the arcade an integrated solar screening. On rainy days it provides shelter, as the arcade also is the sidewalk, Before the arrival of Danish bricks, the main building material was wood, primarily mahogany and later pitch pine. Wooden structures were good for the indoor climate as the wood quickly releases the heat when the sun is not shining.

Due to long hurricane seasons buildings need to be resistant and strong. Originally houses were built with aerodynamic shaped roofs to transport the wind away such as the hip roof.

The wooden structure of hip roofs is light and flexible and the slender rafter and battens of pitch pine with shingles became very common.

This type of roof is more resistant to hurricanes compared with the tile-covered roofs. The rooms inside were cool as the heat was able to rise up under the ceiling.

Diagram showing aerodynamic built houses and how they transport wind away

Modern convenience Numerous of the buildings existing today are built of both coral stone, Danish bricks and wood with air-condition to cool the rooms inside. Many buildings have been modernized with cement and plastic painting. This means that the humidity is trapped in the wall where it is accumulated and makes the wall decompose. The decomposition is furthermore increased by the use of air-condition, which makes condensation of humidity on the inside of the wall to create mold. The use of air-conditions and destructive building materials have led to devastation of many buildings. This is a consequence of the “modern convenience� that is demanded by many.

The hurricane Hugo in 1989 revealed how modern buildings were built without any consideration of the local climate. Many buildings are for instance built with overhangs, which in the hurricane seasons can be very damaging. The overhang creates a great opportunity for the wind to rip off the roof.

Diagram showing that buildings with overhang can create a great opportunity for the wind to rip off the roof

Location of the site Christiansted - St. Croix Christiansted, which is located on the northern coast of St. Croix, is a planned city, where the streets are parallel with long orthogonal views.

The orthogonal street system, is a heritage from the past military town planning, which still dominates the central Christiansted. In the old town and the central Christiansted, lies the old port / marketplace, next to the harbor and the fort, and right outside of this historical site, lies Hospital Street.

The site where the old barracks where, are located at 21st - 23rd Hospital street, only 350m South-East of Christiansvaern, in the eastern part of the city.

On 21th Hospital Street is the remaining ruins of the northern part of the site, and on 23rd Hospital street, is a L-Shaped building. Both buildings lies in the western side of the street and are connected with an outside staircase and a 4,3m high wall. The part of the street where the barracks are located, is a relatively open street towards east, with only a few buildings still remaining.

The side towards the hills and mountains, looks closed and creates a boundary, this is due to the buildings and walls alongside Hospital Street.

Hospital Street, is one of the only streets in the old town system, not 100% parallel to the rest of the surrounding streets and have a slight turn to the east, immediately after the barracks.

The site is surrounded by the following streets; Church Street to the west, which elevates drastically due to the hills and New Street on the south-east, which mainly contains private housing and small companies. It is built at the foot of a steep slope and situated on a corner site for the old ”Østergade”, now part of Church Street and Hospital Street. In the opposite end of the site, is

right next to an old storm drain, that runs under Hospital street and towards the shoreline of Gallows Bay. The site consists of a ruin to the north of the site, a long wall along Hospital Street that connects a southerly lying L-shaped building.

Because the site is on a slope, the ground is on a higher level behind the buildings. On the raised level there is a parking lot that connects all the buildings with the old administration. From this parking lot there is access to all buildings. The site is only 100m from the coastline of Gallows bay, an old fishermen’s district and as the name indicates, a place where convicted criminals were hung, in clear view for the population and visitors of Christiansted. From The Barracks you have a clear view over Gallows Bay and the harbor square in front of Christiansvaern. There is also a partial view of the ocean and reef in the front of the site, and the old administration buildings, which is located on the western side of the site, just behind the barracks.

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Historical Development of the Buildings´ Functions A historical description of the changing fuctions of the site.

1999 Out of function 1989 Hurricane Hugo

1969 Department of Labour Police station

1935 Christiansted High School

1917 The Virgin Islands sold to US

1914 Fire in the complex

1835 Military Complex

1759 Garrison Hospital

Overview of the historic development of the building functions of Hospital Street 21-23

Garrison Hospital 1759-1836 The first documentation of the hospital complex is found in von Rohr’s map from 1760 (fig. 1). According to the book For the Health of the Enslaved: Slaves, Medicine and Power in the Danish West Indies

by Niklas Thode Jensen, the two hospitals on St. Croix were built between 1759 and 1772, the first hospital was built on St. Thomas in 1743. Presumably, the garrison hospital was built in 1759, which could have given the street name Hospitals gade (Hospital Street). On the von Rohr map, a building volume lies next to the street, which most likely is where No. 23 Hospital Street is located today.

Oxholm was at a time the governor of St. Croix, when he was lieutenant in the army he was commissioned to map out the Virgin Islands for the Danish government. In Oxholm reports from the islands are the hospitals in St. Croix recorded the garrison hospital in Christiansted is described in a more detailed way where No. 23 Hospital Street was used as the hospital matron’s residence. The structure connected to the left was a water reservoir. Behind the main building were buildings for the sick, the slaves and a smaller kitchen.

One of the reports Oxholm made describes the hospital in Frederikssted from 1780, which provides an insight into what this type of hospital looked like, and how it was arranged. The hospital building itself was approximately 25 meters long and 6 meters wide. It was built of pine logs and the roof and walls were covered with pine shingles. Today some of the buildings in Christiansted are still clad in this way. There were large windows on the building’s north

facades, so the wind could keep the temperature down inside. The foundation was made of brick.

Von Rohr’s and Oxholm’s, On both maps, The cadastral where No. 21 Hospital Street is located today is shown as private land (fig. 1 and fig. 2).

The watercourse, still located today, is shown on both maps on the down right side, which directs excess rainwater from the mountains through town and into the ocean.

(Oxholm original report has its place in the National Archives, specifically in the Generaltoldkammeret, Ældre del, Vestindisk-guineisk renteskriverkontor, Dokumenter vedkommende forsvarsvæsenet og fortifikationerne i Vestindien I-II, pakke 46w5-466.)

Fig. 1 Part of von Rohr’s map, 1760. Rigsarkivet

Fig. 2 Part of Oxholm map from 1779 showing Christiansted. Rigsarkivet

Oxholm map from 1779, the garrison hospital in Frederikssted. Rigsarkivet

Oxholm map from 1779, the garrison hospital in Christiansted. Rigsarkivet

Military barracks and administrative building 1836-1935 In the years around 1836, the garrison hospital was subject to a greater extension and functional change. Architect Albert Løvmand extended and modified the garrison hospital into a larger barrack complex, the galleries being added in this period. It is assumed that the complex is built in this period because of an inscription on one of the larger entrances mentioning the year 1836 (Pic. No. 1).

The text followed by Pic. No. 2 it is mentioned that No. 23 Hospital Street was Captain Herman Osterman’s residence, who was the commander of the complex and the police inspector of Christiansted, that indicates the building has been used for the officers. In the period between 1900 - 1910 the dormer attics were replaced and the third floor was added as shown on Pic. No. 3.

An administrative building for the military was placed, behind the officers building.

In 1917, Denmark sold the Virgin Islands to the USA. The Americans continued using the complex for military purposes puts the building in bad technical condition but reveals the historical traces better.

Fire in 1914 In a chapter by William Flemming Cissel in a book called “Christiansted 275” - Celebrating the 275th anniversary of founding of Christiansted, St. Croix it is described how the administrative building and part of the barrack complex burned down in 1914. Due to Captain Christian Høyer, commander of the West Indies gendarmerie, debt kept piling up over the years. He amassed a

considerable gambling debt in Europe and in the Belgian Congo during a foreign colonial posting there. To help postpone the repayment Høyer discretely took out private loans, but was also tempted to skim the payroll at the administrative office of the barracks. When the cover up was about to be revealed, he decided to destroy the evidence by setting fire to the office one night.

The fire spread out of control and burned down most of the barrack complex. Miraculously no one was injured or killed.

Pic. No. 2, The officer building, southeast view from Hospital Street, dated around 1900. National museum’s picture archive

Pic. No. 3, Southeast view from Hospital Street, dated around 1910.

National museum’s picture archive

Pictures showing the fire in progress and the damages. Landmarks Archive

Pic. No. 1, two men talking in front of gate entrance. The Landmarks Archive

Highschool 1935-1967 From 1935 the whole complex served as a high school, called Christiansted High School, which was the main school of the town. The whole area are also represented as high school area on a map from 1940. Pic. No. 5 shows the front faรงade, which seems unchanged since 1900, except for some minor details, as the placement of the shutters in the galleries.

In 1961 The Copenhagen Royal Academy of Fine Arts, made a survey program of St. Croix, where they made drawings of the existing buildings.

Pic. No. 5, front facade shown in Hospital Street 21. Landmarks Archive

Elevations of Hospital Street 21 and 23. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts, 1961

Policestation and Department of Labour 1969-(1989)1999 The buildings would get new functions around 1969, 21 Hospital Street becoming the Department of Labour’s offices and Hospital Street 23 becaming a police station.

Pictures from the period shows that the gallery openings are being closed, instead of having the lightweight shutters.

The Department of Labour was closed down sometime around 1999. It was closed after the personnel discovering strange symptoms such as hair loss and rashes. When labour inspectors were called in, they closed the building with immediate effect and everything was left behind In 1989 Hurricane Hugo devastated the islands and the buildings in 23 Hospital Street was not maintained after this event and became a ruin as it still is today.

Southeast view from Hospital Street showing the police station, date is depicted sometime from the eighties. The Virgin Islands Daily News

Southwest view from Hospital Street showing Department of Labours offices and the police station, dated 1971. National Museum’s picture archive

Southeast view from Hospital Street showing the police station, dated 1971. National Museum’s picture archive

(1989) - 2016

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Graphical hypothesis of the building mass - Historical development of the buildings (reconstructed by images and drawings)

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Hand drawing of the site today Drawing by Jan Fugl

Architectural description The site The site is made up by two main buildings built in classical architectural style, partially enclosed by a wall. It is situated at the bottom of a steep hill on the corner of Hospital Street and Church Street.

The wall surrounding the site is built in a mix of three types of brick; Flensburg brick, larger medieval sized bricks and coral stone. The composition of the wall is visible and the wall has five ports located on three different sides of the wall, leading to the site.

The two buildings appear as a single entity, connected with the wall that runs along Hospital Street and around the site. In the center a grand double staircase sits, giving access to the second level parking lot that lies behind number 23. Both buildings and most of the wall have the characteristic yellow color as the old administrative buildings in Christiansted .

23 Hospital Street The building on 23 Hospital Street, originally a hospital matron housing, has gone through many conversions and uses through time, is virtually a ruin today. As one of many victims of hurricane Hugo in 1989 the building is left without a roof and the first floor outer walls are crumbling down. The slab between ground floor and first floor is completely gone and so are most inner walls, all doors and windows.

Construction The building is constructed in a mix of Flensburg bricks, large medieval sized bricks and coral stones combined with lime mortar. The bricks are visible in many places where the cement plaster finish has fallen off or where building elements

are now missing. A one-story arcade faces Hospital Street and on the balcony above traces can be seen suggesting another arcade. The arcade is constructed from seven three-centered arches, standing on a stepped column footing. The archade is open in each end that provides a good airflow and gives shelter from sun and traffic.

Floor construction between ground and first floor are all but gone. Traces can be seen throughout the ruin where the beams lay. They give a clear indication of how the floor slab was constructed between the two floors, combined with a few beams that are present over the small rooms in the east side of the building.

Facades The characteristic St. Crioxian arcade on the ground floor and arches on the fist floor distributed across the front facade, follow a clear repetition and a strict rhythm, one arc following the other, separated by a column. The arched facade is symmetrically built around a vertical axis located in the middle of the buildings faรงade.

The six openings on the ground floor are placed directly in each arc and change between door and window. The main door opening is located in the center and is almost double the width of the other door openings in the building.

Windows and door openings are square. The first floor window and door openings are arched but on the southwest outer wall the three windows have been modified to a square shape, presumably to hold a window frame. On the inside you can see the original arches and from the outside a squared cement plaster. Boards now cover the openings to keep people out and from harm. The outer walls have remains of lime wash and peeling painted

Facade of the site

Facade of 23 Hospital Street

Facade of 21 Hospital Street

Ports

1. Port on the surounding walls north side

2. Port leading to the courtyard at 21st Hospital Street

3. Port and welcoming stairs on north facade

4. Port on vest side leading to the parking lot

5. Port on the south side of the sourrounding wall

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surfaces in yellow. Above the arcade and between levels a double white cornice with detail adorns the facades.

Room structure At 23rd Hospital Street the spaces can be divided in two main groups either small and large or roofed and open spaces. (Most of) the spaces are open to the elements, apart from the cistern and the ground floor arcade that are roofed. The cistern is vault shaped and has a door opening covered with a vraught iron grill door. In the center there is an opening in the ceiling that has been closed off, where rainwater had access to the former rainwater storage. It is painted white inside and has rough cement flooring.

The ground floor arcade is a long narrow space with the feeling of inside and outside. The ceiling, rear wall and eight columns and higher flooring than the street in front give a protected feeling of being inside even though in fact you are not.

The ceiling has exposed construction iron rods and the plaster finish is crumbling off. All surfaces are painted yellow apart from floor which is a concrete slab.

Other spaces are open to the elements and therefore bright and never ending it seems where you can look up to the blue skies. The boundaries between the ground and second floor are almost non-existent as the walls starts at the ground floor and continues up through the first floor.

This adds to the experience of the spaces being even bigger than they really are. The traces from the floor slab can be seen from missing cement plastering on the walls were the bricks are now visible. Holes from where the floor beams were fastened into the walls can clearly be seen.

At first glance it seems as the construction is square but at closer look it can be seen the east facade is askew, parallel with Church Street.

Registration of room 3 in 23 hospital street Drawing by Hildegunn GrønningsÌter

Elements Colors A great richness of natural and painted artificial colors are found on the walls and arches of No. 23. Layered paint coats, red and yellow bricks, colored tiles and different types of plaster and mortar display a bright palette of colors and patina. Shades of blue, azur, turquoise, green, mint, yellow, coral and pink are among the represented, and can by documentation of their layering indicate a change of use and original room structure.

Sketch of the decay in one of the arches in 23 Hospital Street Drawing by Hildegunn GrønningsÌter

Arches The arches in number 23 can be divided in four main groups with different dimensions and shape.

1. Round arches

2. Segmental arches

3. Narrow segmental arches

4. Bucket arches

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21 Hospital Street 21 Hospital Street is a two story building with a hipped roof. As No. 23 it is abandoned but the construction is intact, only a few broken windows. The building is L shaped and has a courtyard, accessible from Hospital Street and from the parking lot. In spite of widely different conditions of the two buildings the same classical architectural features can clearly be seen between the two houses, even despite of the arcades have been bricked up around windows contrary to the ground floor in 23 Hospital Street, where the gallery is open.

Construction The building like other elements on site, is constructed in a mix of Flensburg bricks, large medieval sized bricks and coral stones combined with lime mortar. We can see the roof and the slab between the floors have been rebuilt in recent times. The floor slab is cast on a corrugated steel plate that rests on a lattice beam. The hipped roof structure also seems to rest on an iron lattice beam.

Facades As in 23 Hospital Street, the front facade has the characteristic St. Crioxian arcade, but on two floors and it is closed. The front faรงade is built around a vertical and horizontal axe.

The seven three-centered arches are distributed evenly across the faรงade and the middle arch is wider than the others giving the faรงade a distinct symmetrical vertical axe. A white cornice the sits above and arcades and connects them with a small detail.

Room structure Ground floor room structure seems original in the north wing, consisting of small spaces with old doors to the courtyard and you can recognize when you are in the former gallery that has been divided into narrow rooms. South wing consist of a large room, a long narrow hallway and two restrooms. To the far north a narrow space runs through the wing visually connecting the courtyard and green area east of the building.

First floor room structure is very similar apart from where the large room is located it holds 3 rooms instead. The south wing is larger and holds two restrooms, storage and an additional room that is accessible from the parking lot level.

Elements GrionVault (Toilet ceiling) In the L-building’s ground floor, there are 3 small rooms; 2 toilets and a little corridor. In these room’s, there are vaulted ceilings, surrounded by arches on all the four sides. This is the only place in the whole building complex we see this kind of decoration in the ceilings. The are some newer walls, that separates these 3 rooms and cuts off the full size of the ceiling and the vaults, but it seems, that the vaults are created for only one room. The size of the whole ceiling, without the walls is 3.3m * 5.7m. The ceiling is divided into three rectangular elements (vaults), each of which is approximately 1.6 m. wide and 80 cm. high. The vaults are still in good shape and create an exciting space, which is different than the rest of the building and rooms.

Ceiling plan 1:100

Visualization of the form

Color The colors are primarily yellow shades on the exterior of No. 21. There are wear and patina areas in some places that produce red and white colors due to plaster, mortar and bricks underneath.

Because of the walls are repainted several times over the years, there are several different shades of yellow, the walls of the courtyard is greyish, while the first floor exterior is almost orange.

The interior is dominated by wood and the warm colors. These wood panels are not original and in some places they have been torn down. Behind the wood panels, there is plaster of the same material as the outer walls. The color yellow is dominating throughout the whole building, inside and outside, mixed with the white windows and cornice.

Stairs There are two stairs cases in No. 21 and a few small steps lead into a narrow room from the courtyard. All stairways in this part of the building are outdoors and have yellow solid railings.

The staircase leading to the first floor is the most distinctive, because it absorbs much of the space in the courtyard. The staircase is narrow and has curved railing ends, opposite the stairs that lead up to the administration building behind No. 21, which is wedge-shaped and has visual bricks.

Doors At No. 21, there are three different doors to find where the one is a gate made of steel, then a proper door. The most distinctive door is the white wooden door measuring 100cm x 224cm.

These doors have a locking device that goes across the door. These special locks are often seen around Christiansted and are characteristic for the area. The doors are both single and double doors and have the same color and expression as the windows in the building, causing the house to look authentic and it fits well aesthetically to the whole complex. Inside the house there is only general wooden doors of laminate, which are inserted in recent times. They do not match the house exterior nor the story of the present, but they clearly show the changing periods and the use of materials.

Windows The windows in the building at No. 21 are all rectangular and with white shutters. They are all assembled by either vertical or 45° angled wood.

The shutters have special and beautiful locks that look authentic. Almost all windows are fitted with grilles that are made from black painted steel.

The window size do not vary much, but in some places they are found in half width compared to the rest, where the normal window is 112cm * 155cm. On the exterior facade facing Hospital Street, the windows are located under the arches, which look retrofitted, but they still fit dimensionally to the building.

Historical development of the site A brief documentation of the physical structural traces found in the buildings followed by a hypothetical narration of the volumes and sites development. It is divided into the two main buildings respectively and chronologically ordered.

21 Hospital Street Ground floor scale 1:200

Overview of the different traces indications of modifications.

17xx-1835 1-3 1835-1935 4-7 1935-1969 8-9 1969-1998 9-11

Historical traces in 21 Hospital Street

1) On the south eastern facade towards the raingutter traces of an older foundation or part of a retaining wall are found. Here coralstone is worked into the the wall as well as bricks.

2) Another argument for this is visible in the form of the arch openings in these walls. The openings are wider towards the inside of the building, so as much light as possible could get inside. This was a method normally used in outer walls.

3) The stringcourse on the facade is different between the rear part of the building and the main facade towards Hospital Street. The two parts are clearly distinguishable in the form of the stringcourse and after some inspection of the brickwork underneath the plaster, we find they do not lie in bind.

4) The intertwining of the different works of masonry is evaluated another time here. Besides the bricks not lying in bound, it is visible that the dimensions of the facade ornamentations are different on the gate and the building, so the gateway and the backpart of the building are most probably not built at the same time.

5) By removing the plaster between the ground and first floor we found that the building once stopped here towards the rear. The ground floor of the buildings rear part is probably added by Løvman in 1835.When observing the stringcourse on the other side of the building, the south east fascade, the rear part matches the main fascades ornamentation, further strengthening this case.

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6) The ceiling in these rooms show an old crypt form, which indicates this part of the building is not newly added, and further indicating this being a special passage once.

7) The arches towards the street are clearly closed later on in the buildings life as the brickwork of the collumns and the brickwork in between do not bind. Hence this part of the building has functioned as a more open archade once, similar to the one on number 21.

8) Cracks in the plaster reveal an old arch that has been closed with bricks. This also implies that at this location there has been a connection between the yard and this side of the building.

On the side of the building towards the yard a closed arch is still visible.

9) The first floor towards the rear is a newer addition to the complex made up of poured concrete and lightweight concrete stones. This is easily visible with the naked eye in the late afternoon, when the sidelight makes the contours visible.

10) Concrete lies at the side of a door, indicating some changes being made to the door. Possibly the brickwork was deteriorated too much at the sides.

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Sources of error Most of the existing documentation is either in the form of maps and drawings from the mid 1700s, the very beginning of the building complex existence, or from after 1900, when photography became more widespread, hence only show the newest modifications on the exterior appereance of the buildings. A great deal of the historical development of the building mass is therefore qualified guesswork, underpinned by material analyses and investigations. The exact dates of modifications can not be determined exactly.

Further challenging the work to reconstruct the historical development is the fact that the fascades on part of the complex, building number 21, are substantially better maintained. All the walls of the building are covered with a thick layer of spray-on plaster. Inside of the building most of the walls are covered with a laminate cladding, making it even harder to dig up traces of materials and modifications. Lastly the ceilings were covered with tiles of a suspended ceiling further hiding the structure lying behind.

23 Hospital Street Ground floor // scale 1:200

Historical traces in 23 Hospital Street 1) Large medieval sized bricks are used for the construction of the cistern. As this material was not commonly used by the Danes, this either means the stones have been salvaged from another location and reused for the construction of the cistern, or possibly indicating that the cistern was built before any other parts of the building, when the French owned the island.

2) The crumbled plaster on these walls reveals coral and lime stones and brick, indicating these parts are probably original walls from the very first construction around 1760.

3) Visible traces of an old arch indicate there has been an opening here once. Either there was another room hidden behind the wall, or there has probably been an opening here towards the rearside of the building, to bring water outside from the well in this room.

4) The lower and thicker part of the wall has been added later on and acts to support the original wall outer wall to the back. It was probably added when the terrain towards the rear of the building was elevated to first floor level.

5) Traces of an opening towards the rear side, from the very first construction of the hospital.

It was probably closed up as the terrain to the rear was lifted.

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Conservation value assessment Method The assessment and determination of conservation values in the complex on 21st - 23rd Hospital Street is based on a method created by “Kulturarvsstyrelsen� in Denmark (Morgen, 2016). It aims to register and describe architectural and environmental values, and values of cultural heritage within one building or building complex in its present state. The three parameters will be described as objectively as possible, but will necessarily be interpreted by the students who did the measuring, survey and assessment. Finally, the conservation values of Hospital Street No. 21-23 are concluded with a recommendation for further action and a description of its potentials.

The purpose of the assessment of values is first and foremost to enlighten involved entities such as government, owners and the local society on perhaps invisible potential in the local architectural heritage, and prevent it from passing into oblivion and decay. Secondly, the students at Aarhus School of Architecture will use the assessment as a basis for developing a position towards restoration and transformation of the building in their semester project of spring 2016.

Drawing by Hildegunn Grønningsæter

Architectural values Architectural value is not a term with a single meaning. Searching for architectural values is done by pointing out and analyzing architectural elements of a certain character, function or significance, and interpreting their part in the whole.

Evaluating architectural values includes the consideration of building form, expression/appearance, arrangement of space, material, and the relationship between these. Additionally, the building´s originality and narrative value is described, and finally, the experience of being in it.

The whole complex The most dominating feature of the complex is its long continuous facade towards Hospital Street.

The rhythm consisting of archade, pause, stairs, gate, “archade”, pause, gate is essential to the reading of the facade. The heavy fencing that connects the two buildings has a representational character, in addition enclosing the spaces within.

The complex and its long facade appear alternately open and closed. The ruin in No. 23 expresses an incomplete and dissolving form. Its facade is divided in two levels, where the first floor is modestly pulled back from the outreaching public archade. The building in No. 21 has a complete building form and a closed facade. Though these two buildings alter in form and solidity, they share main proportions.

Three openings in the fencing into the courtyards are emphasized with carefully detailed wrought iron gates. Similarly, window and door openings are secured with wrought iron grills, the oldest being original hospital grills, the newest displaying modern designs.

The complex holds two examples of the typical representative “welcoming stairs”, which the name implies, intend to invite visitors or users in.

No. 23 The archade is the most substantial remaining

architectural element of the ruin in No. 23. The arches open the facade in a symmetrical and repetitive pattern. In addition to facilitating a natural and healthy ventilation for the building, it offers cooling shade and a space to linger.

A great variety of arches open the four facades.

Likewise, a number of yet different arches demonstrate door and window openings between former rooms.

The spaces of the ruin are contrasting in shape, size, openness, sunlight and shadow. Next to the six rooms open to the sky, the old cistern with a low vaulted ceiling, finalize a spatial sequence contrasting of striking yellow sunlight and blue shadow.

No. 21 The building in No. 21 is a closed volume completed with a hip roof. The roof type is an exemplar of local building tradition, shaped interiorly for transporting hot air up and out, and exteriorly for sending off strong winds.

The shape of the building naturally creates an intimate courtyard together with the high wall towards the parking lot.

Its facade has almost the same arch type, symmetry and repetition as the ruin´s archade, but only as a relief.

The ground floor restroom has a groin vaulted ceiling, differing from any other ceiling in the building.

Experience A walk in the area of Hospital Street 21-23 offers a variety of different architectural experiences, where the shifting between openness and invitation and closed gates or facades is noticeable.

The meeting with light is also one of the strongest impacts on space and its observer. As the sun and rain brutally picks the bricks, mortar and plaster off the walls of No. 23 in the middle of the day, the sun casts a direct light, dramatic and revealing, on the decaying materials. A walk on the balcony will hit the wanderer with a flickering of sunlight.

At sun rise or sun set the thick wall openings reflect and soften the light, and leave the ruin in a calmer and more harmonic state, as if it was giving in to natural forces. The sensation of natural air flow is also strong in the ruins of No. 23.

When experiencing the building in No. 21 one is removed from direct sunlight and natural air flow. A long corridor serves a series of smaller rooms. Lighted from only one side, these rooms vibrate of dusty and gloomy silence. Contrasting with the heavy air within the building, the shaded back garden and the intimate courtyard in front provide more pleasant spaces.

Original substance and narrative value No. 23 has been added to several times, and a great amount of the construction has been covered up in cement plaster and acrylic paint.

However, the withering of these unsuited modern materials exposes the construction´s core in many places, and makes it possible to discover its construction materials and building stages. What is left of the building has a high amount of original substance.

The case is quite different in No. 21, where all exterior surfaces are covered in cement plaster and painted. Interior surfaces are covered in lamina panels and disguise construction and traces of modification. This makes it difficult to determine the amount of original substance. Its narrative value is limited to the story of the facade, further described in values of cultural heritage. A curiosity about No. 21 is the Danish students´ experience of the building as unhealthy coinciding with later knowledge of its health damage to personel and the immidiate abandonment.

Environmental values Environmental values refer to buildings´ positions in their physical environment and how they influence their surroundings, and vice versa.

Arrival at the site is done from either north or south of Hospital Street, along the complex, or down the steep hill from Church Street. Coming from Hospital Street the complex is dominating in its physical surroundings as a heavy single colored body. Coming from Church Street one looks into the voids and behind the fences and discover its fragility. The porosity and ruinous state of No. 23 is a striking sight one is constantly reminded of, as Hospital Street is one of the main entries to Christiansted.

The whole complex The complex is built facing north with harbor view. It makes use of the steep hill that goes from Church Street to Hospital Street by letting the two buildings cut out voids in the terrain. The parking lot plateau is left one story above Hospital Street, accessible from the representational stair.

Only the barracks in No. 22 is separated from the rest of the complex by the two lane Hospital Street. As it is highly trafficated with cars and pedestrians, it gives movement and pulse to the otherwise slow area.

The voluminous building situated southwest of the site encloses the parking lot space in the form of a courtyard.

The ruin The ruin lies swept in earth of the Church Street hill, connecting with the parking lot on the first floor. Its north facing orientation and dug down

south facing facade ensures less sun heating and allows for stay in the shaded archade.

No. 23 The building´s shape together with the parking lot create an intimate lowered courtyard. Its southeastern facade provide for a shaded and comfortable back garden together with an old silk cotton tree.

No. 22 The barracks lie extremely close to the road, only separated by a narrow sidewalk. It leans down a natural slope towards the harbor, surrounded by a parking lot on the northern side and a meadow and trees on the southern and eastern sides.

Primary conservation values

Recommendations and potentials

By determining the main conservation values one seeks to emphasize the significance of certain features. The main architectural conservation values lie in the many different spaces and the contrasting experience they provide. Furthermore, elements such as the “welcoming stairs”, archade and different arches are of high importance.

These concluding recommendations regard the buildings´ health and survival. By prolonging their life and reviving them, they can gain substance and significance as public institutions, and reach their new potentials.

The main cultural values are found in visible construction material, and the classicistic language of the complex. Together they narrate historically and conjure an image of colonial times.

Environmental values of high importance are firstly the entire complex´ exploitation of the terrain, secondly, and as a result of this, its out door spaces, and thirdly, its orientation towards the harbor and away from the sun.

Reflection Naturally, this “objective analysis system” is subject to interpretation. Danish students taught at a Danish institution within a certain intellectual and cultural environment will use their acquired knowledge and practice to describe the discovered values in 21-23 Hospital Street. The approach to appointing architetcural and environmental values is of general or universal character, while in evaluating the cultural heritage the analyst acts inclusive of the multicultured history of St. Croix, and seeks to be neutral to nationality.

However, there is recognition of the fact that other analysts may conduct the assessment differently.

The most critical factor for conserving the complex is rescuing building mass and construction in No. 23 and No. 22 from further withering.

A structure completing its form or protecting its construction and interior from the elements should be built.

Regarding the building in No. 21 it is recommended to remove the laminae panels that conceal original construction and space arrangement. Furthermore, it would be preferable/ desirable to remove air condition installations and facilitate a natural air flow to improve indoor climate and a sustainable use of energy.

Concerning the whole complex one should seek to use natural materials for plaster and paint.

Using such covers will secure a diffusion-open construction that does not alienate and part with its skin, but patinates more naturally and beautifully. Still, some of the visible construction parts in No. 23 have great narrative value, culturally and historically, and should be considered left uncovered.

The complex holds great potential for housing a new public function in its spatial possibilities, location and historical significance. A next chapter in the buildings life will draw strength in its already multi faceted story, as a part of Christiansted´s historical heritage and identity.

A new school in Hospital Street will hopefully draw people and life into Christiansted, and create a fruitful synergy with the town and the rest of the island.

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Hayes, David. (2011). Christiansted at 275. The society of Virgin Islands Historians Rezende, Elizabeth and Walbom, Anne (2009) St.Croix - Historic Photos 1860-1917. West Indian Society Svenson, Ole (1964) Three Towns: Conservation and Renewal of Charlotte Amalie, Christiansted and Frederiksted. Copenhagen. Danish Royal Academy Websites Barnow, F., Zahle, K. and Thornval, S. (2014). Byplan og byplanlĂŚgning - historie. [online] Denstoredanske.dk. Available at: http://denstoredanske.dk/Kunst_og_kultur/ Arkitektur/Arkitektur_og_bygningskunst/ Byplanl%C3%A6gning/byplan_og_byplanl%C3%A6gning_(Historie) [Accessed 11 Apr. 2016].

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Other Sources Vegas, B. (2016). City Walk.