Hello my fellow Nairalanders,

I know that many of you consistently update Nairaland with pictures and designs but are probably rarely ever seen beyond this board, I think they should be seen, and so I'm asking you to submit what you think the NIGERIAN HOUSE OF THE FUTURE should be/contain/look like either in a paragraph or a sketch.

There aren't really any rules however if possible please mention in a short paragraph the issues your house addresses, I just want to start a discussion about different ideas, and potentially show your (fully credited) work on the Nigerian Architecture blog.

What do you think?

Here is my entry:

The issues which my house will address include:

Space
Services
Maintenance
Tradition
Employment

(I will upload a sketch in due time),

The Nigerian house of the future is not hidden somewhere remote in the forest where there is space, but instead on the outskirts of the inner city, the house is serviced by both plastic absorbers which are installed on the roof to absorb the heat from sunlight which can be used to heat water that is released into the house's piping system using gravity.

Electricity is provided to the house by a district-by-district located basis, in which the district to which the house belongs to harvests solar radiation energy using a solar farm sufficient for the size of the district. As the size of the district increases, the size of the farm can also be increased. There is an initial cost which is very high, which will be supplemented by the government, but the renewable resource will pay for itself over time. Maintenance of these farms creates more jobs.

The design of the house will be true to the climate and hence true to the tradition. The tropical climate calls for materials which are high in their thermal mass values keeping the interior well insulated from the sun's heat, and radiating it out again into the night. The vernacular should be emphasised where possible, the re-introduction of the renewable grass roofing and patterned exteriors show a sense of identity, can be customized and renew local and traditional trade that has been neglected. Cooling of the house is done using small openings that allow little direct sunlight into the house will be utilized, and also courtyards will become a source of daylight without the cost of overheating the interior. Louvres and double roofing will feature in the design. If the topology is hilly, then preferably the house should be partially sunken into the hill.

The house is to initially start out as a bungalow which can then be built upon and extended to provide more accomodation. A collective communal effort is required in order to 'fuse' these houses together. Solitude is available within the individual houses, but a communal atmosphere runs throughout the spaces surrounding the houses.

Plenty of plants will be planted for natural shading around homes, areas where high activity during the day but low skill level of task can afford to have more shading my surrounding trees without conflicting with the need for plenty of light indoors e.g. living rooms, relaxation spaces.

(Sketches coming soon!!)

I always thought the Nigerian House of the future should borrow a lot more from the past.

I am no architect, but I think it would be really cool to have a modern rendition of those muddy houses with the thatched roofs. They kept cool during the day and warm at night.

While that might not be practical, on some architectural show about buildings in Africa a while back, I saw the most remarkable building in Ghana. It was at once modern yet fit right into the spirit of the tropics. Shaded by a tropical tree, it was conventionally shaped (read: simple), and it gave the impression of space not the claustrophobia these Nigerian buildings induce. Like a large rectangle floating on a smaller square. Absolutely delightful

I wish I could get pictures. . .

Any more entries?

This is a great building, painfully restored only recently.

The style is very evocative of the colonial era.  Love it

This isn't the Ghanaian House I was referring to. Saw that on TV.

The tracks by this house are actually an imitation I believe. The house
was only recently restored, and is the old residence of the head
of the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

Nigerian house of the future? So many opportunities! I agree that we should borrow from the past.
A few basics:
1. Must include at least a 2 car garage, could be designed into the front of the house, side, back or off the front fence (like the French).
2. Must have a garden, preferably 2, front and back.
3. Smaller homes, more compact and highly functional. Less use of ground space. Setbacks people!
4. A whole house high pressure water pump. Every house has showers, but when was the last time you had a shower in a Nigerian upstairs bathroom? No more buckets!!
5. A central air conditioning system that is sustainable in Nigeria - split unit compressors almost seem to be part of design in Nigeria.
6. Perhaps #4 above will do away with those ugly water tanks built into roofs or hanging off the side of the house like an overstuffed molue bus!!
7. Generators sets that are optional, and truly standby.

I could go on, but I would give away some of our design trademark secrets. ;o)

^^^^ Yes, I do.
Transportation, storage, functional spaces, planned landscapes, water and air distribution and energy efficiency are relevant today, and will ALWAYS be an integral part of home design. Truth is, no matter how we try to reinvent the wheel, it is already a perfect design. We may tweak a few items, but look at designs from the 1950's and from the 1900's - same issues then, as we struggle with today. Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian home designs have the same elements as home design today, 100 years later. Some Frank Lloyd Wright designs from the early part of this century are still considered modern by today's standards!

The discussions around the home of the future will, IMHO, focus primarily around spatial, elemental and textural challenges.