The first tall, narrow buildings that were built in Punda were exact replicas of their predecessors which line the canals of Amsterdam. Since building materials were scarce on these barren soils, coral and quarry stone were used for the basic structure, joined with a mortar of loam, lime and sand drawn from the sea, and finished with lime plaster and tiled roofs.

The Dutch immigrants soon found that it was necessary to modify the traditional northern European layout to accommodate the intense sun.

Wherever possible, the houses were positioned so the cooling trade winds would blow through like a kind of natural air conditioner, with bedrooms on the breezy east side and the smelly kitchen downwind from the living area. Open galleries were added to the outside so the sun's harsh rays would not penetrate the living quarters. Later many of these galleries were closed in.

The elegant gables which adorn both the urban and rural manors went through several distinct style modifications over the years.

The earliest buildings had pointed roofs with triangular tops. Surviving examples include Landhuis Groot Santa Martha and Punda's oldest building, now home to the Postal Museum of the Netherlands Antilles.

In the 18th century, regarded by many experts as the zenith of Curaçaoan architecture, the gables were characterized by fanciful curlicues. The Penha building on the Punda waterfront is perhaps the island's most famous example of this style; the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue and Landhuis Savonet in Christoffel Park are others.

By the 19th century most buildings once again favored simpler, straighter lines in the gables, topped by a rectangular cupola. This style is found throughout much of Otrobanda and on country mansions like Landhuis Kenepa. Many of the late 19th century buildings of Scharloo had no gables.