Tranovola
Tranovola was first built in the Rova compound for Radama I in 1819 by Gros, then later reconstructed by Jean Laborde in 1845 on the orders of Queen Ranavalona I for her son Radama II. The origin of the name Tranovola, meaning "Silver House", derives from the silver ornamentation used to decorate the exterior of the building. Sources have offered varying accounts of this silver decoration, including silver nails reportedly used to affix the roof, silver ornamentation on the window and door casings, tiny silver bells hung from the roof, and tiny mirrors embedded in the interior and exterior walls. Another account describes silver "fringes" on the west side of the building, and gable decorations consisting of silver "buttons" and decorative images made from pounded silver. After the supposed assassination of Radama II in 1863, the palace was used by Prime Ministers Rainivoninahitriniony and Rainilaiarivony to receive ambassadors and conduct the diplomatic affairs of the Kingdom of Madagascar.
Built entirely of wood and surrounded by two stacked verandas around a central interior pillar supporting a steeply pitched roof, the exterior walls of Tranovola were painted red while the roof and railings of the verandas were painted white. Prior to its 1845 remodel, the original 6-metre (20 ft) long and 7.2-metre (24 ft) wide Tranovola took shape in several stages over the course of Radama's reign. The initial building was a two-storey house that in other respects largely followed the traditional architectural norms of the noble class in the highlands. Some time later a balcony was added on the second floor. This was eventually replaced by wraparound verandas on both floors, from which the king would deliver his royal speeches to the crowd gathered below.
There were two key catalysts beyond Radama's affinity for Creole architecture that inspired Gros to innovate so far beyond traditional construction norms: the recent construction of a two-storey house with a balcony in the neighbourhood of Andohalo by a British missionary (the first balcony in highland Madagascar), and the 1823 arrival of Princess Rasalimo to the Rova, necessitating the redesign of Bevato as her residence. Rasalimo, whose marriage to Radama secured the peace between the Merina Kingdom and that of her Sakalava people on the west coast, was made Radama's principal wife and reportedly demanded an exceptional palace for her home. This request led Radama to employ a Creole architect named Jean Julien to design the unprecedented two-storey house. Although historic sources are divided on whether Tranovola, Bevato or Marivolanitra was the first two-storey house at the Rova, the innovations embodied in these buildings and particularly in Tranovola underscore the rising influence of foreign architectural norms in Imerina. Tranovola is widely represented by historians as the first true example of the hybridisation of Merina architectural norms and those of Europe, and its design served as a model for the larger Manjakamiadana palace some years later. The innovative features of this building and the Manjakamiadana it inspired—particularly the verandas supported by exterior columns—became the new norm in highlands architecture, especially upon the adoption of brick as the principal building material.
On each floor of the two-storey building, the floor plan consisted of a large central room flanked on either side by two smaller rooms. Although the interior was laid out according to traditional cosmological norms with a north-south orientation and central supporting pillar, the decor was entirely innovative. Tranovola was the first building in Imerina to feature glass windows. Its walls were inlaid with mirrors and painted with naive art frescoes of Merina sovereigns and royal army imagery in a style that has drawn comparisons with French 19th century Épinal prints. The building's fine silk brocaded curtains, chandeliers, cabinets in ebony and gold, and sculptures in alabaster and bronze were remarked upon by a European visitor in 1823, as were the colourful fabric wall coverings imported from England. During the reign of Ranavalona I, Crown Prince Rakoto (later King Radama II) occupied Tranovola as his personal residence. After the Queen's death, Radama continued to occupy rooms on the second storey of the building, using the smaller rooms on the ground floor as storage space. A British visitor in 1873 reported that the wooden floors of Tranovola were highly polished, while the walls were hung with French wallpaper and decorated with imported mirrors and oil paintings including a portrait of Queen Victoria given as a gift to Radama II. Just inside the front door sat a seven-pound Armstrong gun in its carriage with numerous imported sofas, costly decorative objects and other items placed throughout the vast space.
Under Gallieni's colonial administration, Tranovola was annexed to L'Ecole le Myre de Vilers housed in the nearby Manjakamiadana. Later, in 1902, Tranovola became the headquarters of the Académie Malgache (Malagasy Academy) before being transformed into a museum of palaeontology.
Read more about this topic: Rova Of Antananarivo, Buildings