Balcões in Margao,Goa

Photo Credit: Mobissimo Travel

Photo Credit: Irene Fernandez

Photo Credit: Author

The relationship between the street and the house in Goa plays a crucial role in orchestrating social dynamics. Just after a fish-curry-and-rice dinner, the men in the family fill their small glasses with fenny and a dash of lemon soda before they walk out onto the balcõa. It is the perfect time at dusk just after the swarms of mosquitoes have subsided for the night and before the village sinks into black darkness. A good time to enjoy the cool breeze after a long day. People walk by the gate of the house, most of them family. Each waves; and then stops to gossip.

The women stay inside; planning the next day’s meal.

A simple road trip around Goa’s villages will familiarize you with 18th to 20th century Indo-Portugues houses where visitors are warmly greeted and welcomed into the homes while still adhering to privacy. Dean D’Cruz, a native Goan and architect, says: “The key aspect of traditional Goan architecture is its scale and relationship to the streetscape. The front of the building facing the road, being the most important, is treated with formality. But as one moves through the house, spaces and rear elevations start becoming much more informal.”

A clear separation between the front gate and the front door establish the public and the private realms respectively. The balcões play the role of the dynamic interstitial space between the front courtyard and main gate and the elevated veranda that allow for seamless movement from outside to the inside of the home. Designed to be a place to “see and be seen”, the built-in seating on the balcõa becomes a inviting place of gathering; a place to stay. The balcões of Goa bring to attention the transition between the dwelling place and the city which is often lost in the front yards of North America.

Photo Credit: Author