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Pole and Thatched Homes
Throughout Guam’s history the most common type home was a rectangular pole and thatch structure with a raised floor. Today this type of structure has been replaced for the most part by concrete homes.
Laura Maud Thompson
Laura Maud Thompson (1905-2000), a distinguished sociocultural anthropologist who studied peoples and cultures around the world, is best known for her comprehensive studies of the Chamorro/CHamoru people of Guam.
Mampostería
The Spanish introduced cal y canto or lime mortar and stone construction to Guam. This includes the rare de silleria or dressed cut stone, and the more common mampostería.
Latte Structures
Latte structures are stone archaeological remains unique to the Mariana Islands. A stone pillar supports a hemispherical capstone to form a latte.
Latte
Latte (also latde) is a CHamoru term that refers to stone pillars and cup-shaped capitals or capstones, which represent house supports and are ascribed to the ancient people of the Mariana Islands. In some accounts, they are also referred to as casas de los antiguos (houses of the ancients).
Kaiser Pre-Fab Homes
The arrival of Supertyphoon Karen in 1962 launched a new chapter in the architectural evolution on Guam. With ninety percent of the buildings on the island decimated by the estimated 176 mile per hour winds, federal rehabilitation funds were invested for the creation of housing developments.
Hollow Block Cement Homes
Cement blocks or as they are known in the construction industry, hollow block concrete masonry units (CMU), have been the most common form of housing construction since the 1980’s on Guam. Standard 8×8×16 concrete blocks are simply stacked on top of one another to create the walls of the home.
de Silleria
During Spanish colonial rule on Guam, the Spanish authorities constructed the best churches and the best bridges of large rectangular hand-cut stones, or de silleria. In these de silleria structures they did not cover the dressed limestone or coral blocks with plaster.
Changes in Construction Styles
From pole and thatched homes to those made of concrete and reinforced steel, Guam has seen an evolution in building styles since the arrival of Americans in 1898.
Contents of a Latte Village
When European explorers of the 16th and 17th centuries visited the Mariana Islands, they witnessed impressive CHamoru villages built during the Latte Period, between AD 800-1700. Many of these settlements, particularly along the coasts, grew from earlier villages before the advent of latte.