Travels in the 2nd half

Cement tiles in Ecléctika One of my favorite activities in San Juan is to take a tour sponsored by the Puerto Rico Historic Building Drawing Society. PRHBDS is an organization dedicated to recording and maintain the architectural and design history of the island. As part of their mission, they lead tours to highlight that patrimony. On a recent trip to the island I had the opportunity to take a tour that showed off the history of using “hydraulic tiles” in the houses of Old San Juan. Hydraulic Tiles , also known as cement or encaustic tiles, were developed in Catalonia in the 1850’s. The process represented a new way to produce durable floor tiles at affordable prices. Hydraulic tiles are made of two layers of cement, a base layer topped with a layer that has received coloring to produce vibrant and long-lasting patterns. What made them significantly less expensive that previous tiles is that are easy to mass produce. They do not need to be fired in a kiln. They are poured...

 The architecture and design of Old San Juan have many unique characteristics. Founded in 1523, the houses of Old San Juan are some of the oldest on the Americas. That is one of the reasons that I love walking around this neighborhood, I discover something new every time I explore its streets. One unique design feature of the buildings in Old San Juan is the soles trunco . This is a decorative feature placed above doorways to allow air to circulate into and out of rooms and houses. Semi-circular in shape, soles truncos are comprised of individual pieces of carved wood that fit together forming a shape similar to a fan. Its role in interior design is to allow the flow of air and help maintain a cooler temperature in houses. In the era before air conditioners houses stayed cool by using fans and natural air movement to bring cool air into rooms and send warm air out. Many buildings had walls that did not go up to the ceiling. Where that was not practical...