in Nigerian Architecture Images of Tradition and Modernity in Nigerian Architecture Mr. Shaibu Bala Garba

Content of Presentation Introduction – Geography, Social, & Historical Architecture – A reflection of society Society and Architecture in Nigeria North West East Format: Geography; physical and social Materials and Construction Techniques Architecture; Vernacular & Urban

Introduction Location: West Africa Area: 923 Sq Kilometers Population: Estimated at 110 million Political: Federation of 36 states and a federal capital Vegetation: Varies from equatorial forest in the south to Savannah in the north

Social and Cultural More than 250 ethnic groupings, but three main tribes, Hausa, Yoruba & Ibo Main languages- English (official), Hausa, Yoruba & Ibo Capital- Abuja Main Economic Resources Petroleum- Main source of revenue accounting for almost 85%, 6th Largest producer of oil in the world Minerals- tin, coal, and steel Agriculture- rubber, wood, cocoa

Architecture in Nigeria Architecture is usually a reflection of Society Architecture in Nigeria reflects the Diversity and contrast that is evident in the country Diversity because of the different nationalities that make up the country Contrast in terms of differences between Urban and Rural Traditional and Modern Poor and Rich

Northern Nigeria - Geography The physical terrain in the north is generally flat, though there are predominant mountainous areas The vegetation is made up of savannah grassland with scattered trees The people are predominantly Hausa-Fulani and Muslim The most important Historical event was Jihad of Uthman Ibn Fodio in the 18th Century; created the Hausa caliphate with a sultan and emirs Letter from The Sultan seeking for help in Jihad

N. Nigeria – Construction and architecture Diverse materials of construction reflecting location and status All types of modern materials including concrete, stone, glass, marble, granite, steel etc are commonly available For people in traditional and rural areas and also poor people, the most common materials of construction is mud or adobe Adobe construction is carried out in the form of sun dried block construction, wattle and daub or the use of a special brick called tubali reinforced with palm branches Example of the use of sun dried brick in construction

Northern Nigeria – Urban Vernacular Architecture urban vernacular architecture is rooted in old city states existing since the 15th century Most prominent are the Hausa city states organized as a caliphate The architecture is mainly in mud, reinforced with palm stems Master craftsmen evolved a structural systems using mud to its structural limits Also evolved a practice of decoration using abstract arts Layout of cities has as a focus, the emirs palace, market and Friday mosque

Urban Vernacular Architecture Kano one of the prominent Northern cities in the 15th Century

Hausa cities were usually walled with gates leading to a central area containing the emirs palace, Friday mosque and market

Examples of Built Form

Interior of A palace

Interior of a compound

Exterior Decoration

Modern Decoration on the Emirs Palace

Decoration etched on Cement

Many of the urban houses usually also have elaborately ornamented interiors A mud building stylishly treated creating a modern setting

Interior decoration

Interior decoration

Interior work showing how structure is used to advantage in decoration

In the bid to preserve, a concrete shell has been superimposed on the mud mosque

Nigeria has a museum dedicated to traditional architecture; this is one of the exhibits

The fallacy of adobe lies in its susceptibility to rain, making it very expensive to maintain

Rural Vernacular The rural landscape is predominantly grassland broken in some places by mountains and interesting rock formations Rural buildings are usually round huts made of mud built into very serene and interesting landscapes.

Lifestyle of the rural people is very simple, usually centered on agriculture and animal husbandry

A lot of interesting forms

The Fulanis are a unique nomadic tribe

They construct all kinds of temporary shelter

Urban architecture The urban architecture is usually no different from what you will find in many developing country cities The predominant difference lie in the use of prominent pitched roof because of the high tropical rainfall

A commercial building

Office building

Office complex

Markets are common in Nigeria

Example of an industrial complex

The Federal Capital The Nigerian Capital is Abuja The capital was designed by Kenzo Tange Located in the center of the country close to the confluence of the rivers Niger and Benue

National Plaza and Three arm zone

Sheraton Abuja

A typical View of the capital city

Housing Area

Transition to the South

Ajaokuta Steel Works

Ilorin, The last predominantly muslim city to the south

Western Nigeria Area is predominantly rainforest People are mainly Yoruba and are split evenly into Muslims and Christians The array of local material increases with the availability of good timber Traditional and vernacular buildings are still in mud

There is also a large animist population making shrines a very common type of structure The Yoruba are artistically very expressive, mainly in the form of sculpture, dance and drama

Example of a vernacular building in the west

A very old residential house

Houses in the old quarters of a city in the west

Influence of Brazilian architecture

Lagos is a huge city of about 6 to 12 million It is the commercial capital of the country

The commercial center in Lagos

A street view in Lagos

A view across Lagos mainland

A busy commercial Lagos street

The famous Lagos go slow

Eastern Nigeria Benin in 16th century Eastern Nigeria is mainly tropical in vegetation Predominant tribe is Ibo, but a large number of smaller tribes Predominantly Christian Vernacular architecture predominantly in wood and adobe

Research activities Ahmadu Bello University Carries out extensive research into Traditional and Vernacular Architecture This takes the form of documentation, improvement studies and also use of new technology and materials

A demonstration project built in front of the architecture department

Built with cement stabilized soil blocks