Houses are highly preferential and each client will have their own needs and views of what they expect. However at the turn of modern movement, it can be observed especially in developing countries a move towards modern designs. These are neat boxes perceived as beautiful and with mostly off the shelf items and finishes. As opposed to African houses theses houses are orthogonal and have pure forms. The houses have office like finish that call for neat arrangement of items and furniture. In the authors opinion they lack authenticity of a home. A place where a kid can leave an unattended book/books on the table and the book doesn’t feel out of place. This is not to say that these house are necessarily unwelcome but a question of whether this is the direction to take. It’s a debatable case but very much worth the debate.
The African house as some have lived in or read of is/was generically informal, activities flew from one to the next in neat transition and partitions were uncommon. These is celebrated in the modern house and maybe enhanced to better standards but in the process the informality of activities is lost.
There are a lot of varied opinions for the modern house. Some are of the view that they tend to reflect architecture of our time and/or are easy to build as are universal among other views. However they tend to be unspecific to sites and some architects/designers just copy these house from different settings into environments that they do not fit. These tend to disregard context and although they may look good in other places may not fit in specifically African context. However some architects have found the balance, an interpretation of the modern house in African context. This is the direction that the author hopes designers for Africa can take. A deep understanding of Africa context be the foundation for any modern house before it is built in this context.
The author aims to provoke a debate on how best to accommodate modern houses in African setting. Or whether modern houses fit in Africa context at all. A line of thought for Architects/Designers in Africa to pursue.
If you want your own avatar and keep track of your discussions with the community, sign up to archiDATUM >>
The property had an existing house, which completely under-utilized the site’s fantastic characteristics. The brief called for a dynamic ...
The house is set on a secluded, tranquil stand surrounded by established trees. The main house consists of 2 wings: the living wing and t...
Its almost a confusing picture, the idea that you can enter space and only the occupants give it color, an architecture bound by its user...
Free from high boundary walls and electric fencing, this is a design with a difference. With unrestricted views of the countryside, the e...
Calabar, the capital of the Cross River State situated by the scenic river delta at the outfall of the Calabar River Channel, is already ...
The Revival Sunset Chapel in Libreville is perhaps Africa's Taj Mahal, built for a love that a Government Minister sort to bequeath as a ...