The principals (wooden poles running radially out from the apex of the roof to the top of the rondavel's wall) are fully supported by the circular purlins: First, the principals do not sag in the middle, because sagging only puts the purlins near the middle of the principals under compression. Structurally, no internal struts are required. Apart from pre-fabricated rondavels, the roofing material is nearly always thatch, because it is difficult to make a neat conical roof out of other materials. Rondavels are also quite common as holiday cottages. tool sheds, milk rooms, staff accommodation, etc.). Today, complete homes built in the rondavel architecture are common, and rondavels are fairly popular as outbuildings on smallholdings and commercial farms (e.g. While the traditional rondavel did not have running water, electricity, and/or other modern amenities, many are now equipped with or have been adapted to accommodate these services. They may have concrete foundations, be built with cement blocks or brick, mortared with cement, and/or roofed with corrugated tin. In recent times, with the availability of modern construction materials, the appearance and construction of rondavels have changed. In other places, people leave their rondavels undecorated.ĭevelopments in construction techniques Some people elaborately carve, paint, or decorate the outside wall that has been finished off with dung. In different areas, there are small local variations in wall height, roof pitch and general finish. In Réunion they exist only in public places, for picnics for example. Rondavels can be found in the countries of Southern Africa, including: South Africa, Lesotho (where the hut is also known as a mokhoro), Eswatini, Botswana, and others. A rondavel at a lodge near the Kalahari Desert, Botswana. As each section is sewn, it may be weathered and aged to form a complete weatherproof seal. The process of completing the thatch can take as little as one weekend or up to a year if made by a skilled artisan, as it must be sewn in one section at a time, starting from the bottom working towards the top. The roof covering is of thatch that is sewn to the poles with grass rope. The main roofing elements of a rondavel are spars or poles taken from tree limbs, which have been harvested and cut to length. The floor of a traditional rondavel is finished with a dung mixture to make it hard and smooth. The mortar may consist of sand, soil, or combinations of these, mixed with cow dung. Its walls are often constructed from stones. The rondavel is usually round or oval in shape and is traditionally made with materials that can be locally found in raw form. The word comes from the Afrikaans rondawel. Rondavel is a style of African hut known in literature as cone on cylinder or cone on drum.
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