Sankofa is an Akan (Ashanti) word meaning, “ We should look to the past while moving forward to the future,” and is symbolised by a bird in flight with its head turned backwards. It’s the name given to a home in Carriacou, owned by African- American businessman Cecil Hollingsworth, and designed by young Grenada architect Bryan Bullen.

Carriacou, just north of Grenada, has just 6,000 inhabitants, a population descended mainly from African slaves and a handful of Scottish sailors. Here, where land and sky meld perfectly with the blue of the Caribbean sea, Sankofa stands as testimony to the richness of the past and hope of the future. It is situated on a gentle slope in the district of Craighton, overlooking the ocean as it stretches northward to Petit Martinque and the other Grenadine islands. From a narrow road, the driveway, bordered by lily ponds, dips down towards the concrete and wood building. Sankofa was built entirely by local artisans and there was generous use of local hardwoods and Carriacou stone.

The building was conceived as a series of pavilions, linked by a continuous wooden balcony. The pavilions house the kitchen, living and sleeping areas and guest room/study.

The owner of the house likens it to an African village-perhaps a collection of small huts whose residents are liked by kinship while the whole compound is enclosed by a wall.

The house itself is approached by a small bridge , connecting the entrance driveway and truss-roofed carport with the veranda.

Bullen had always been fascinated by the Caribbean habit of building homes with verandas (or galleries as they are sometimes called) that face the road, rather than a more private side of the home or a spectacular view. This, he says, is because of the closeness of Caribbean community life; people call out as they pass by, sometimes dropping in for a while or to share a meal.

The veranda at Sankofa has a public side but wraps around the house to afford privacy on the sea side. From the street, the house seems fairly enclosed but the opposite side opens wide through louvred wooden doors to take in the expanse of sea and sky. The cantilevered balconies create the effect of a house built right over the water and just under the sky.

Bullen sees the design of Sankofa as bringing together the traditional Caribbean great house and chattel house. There are no grand rooms in Sankofa but instead a series of intimate living spaces-several chattel houses, if you will, made into one plantation house.

Pigmented concrete is used over much of the building, giving it a rich, ochre colour. Wood rafters, louvres, doors and walls complement the earthly tones. Translucent white awnings shade the balconies and offer a gentle glow in the afternoon sun.

The kitchen is a stunning example of the manipulation of colour and light. Lemon-green walls contrast with the dark wood of the heavy carved door from India and its translucent corrugated roof brings the blue sky down into the heart of the building. Bullen relied on indigenous materials because he wanted the house to appear to emerge from its site rather than sit on top of it.

The home is furnished with African and Indian furniture, art objects and fabrics, as well as some quirky antique pieces of sentimental value. There are many personal touches: shells collected from the beach; a playful mural; and even a piece of brick from Mrs Hollingsworth’s late grandmother’s house embedded in the wall at the entrance.