I cannot help but wonder which Roof design trends will come with and after 2023. Roof designs play a major role in the appearance of a building. Let's look at a timeline of roof design trends in Nigeria.

In the early 1900s, in the time of our grand and great grand-fathers, we had the thatch roof resting on mud walls.
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The thatch roof

The thatch was made of dried palm fronds. The roof members (trusses, struts, and purlin) were constructed with bamboo stems. The thatch leaves were held in place to the bamboo using palm fronds. This roof was a nightmare to the inhabitants during rainy seasons. It was prone to leakages and in need of constant patching and repairs.

The thatch roof was predominantly used until cement and block walls came into the market in the middle of 1900, between 1950 to 1970. My grandfather actually built his first cement block building in the '70s. This ushered in the long-span, aluminum roofing sheet era.
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The low pitch Gable roof with long-span aluminum roofing sheet

The roof type was gable, the pitch was low, mostly bounded on all sides with the aluminum roofing sheet and they all seem to come in the popular faded green colour. The roof members (trusses, struts, purlin, and fascia) were constructed with timber. Timber nails and roof nails were used in holding all roof members together.

About 25 years later, the low-pitched roof with the faded green aluminum fascia went out of fashion. People still live in houses with that type of roof design, found mostly in the villages.
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The concrete parapet roof

The flat, concrete, parapet roof with concrete spouts came into existence at this point, taking over from the old low-pitched roof. It desired to hide the roof from passersby but there were issues with water run-off. Some did a total concrete slab across the whole roof, while some used a mix of concrete at the receiving end of a low-pitched roof with parapet walls on all sides.

The edges where the roofing sheet meets the parapet wall are prone to leakages when not treated properly.

Some of the concrete slabs were not properly done and some did not have the proper water-proofing finish. Some did not have a good slope for water run-off, the water was not flowing out fast and instead soaked into the concrete slabs.

It rendered the interiors of the spaces below unsightly and homeowners became dissatisfied with the roof design. Some tried maintenance for the damaged concrete but it was costing a lot. Over the years, persons with such roof types are seen covering the concrete slab with hip, high-pitched roofs.
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The high pitch roof

Due to the issues with leakages and dampness, the high-pitched roof was re-introduced back, and this time, the hipped roof became a little more high-pitched.
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The New parapet roof designs

Remember when I said that roof design affects the appearance of a building, well, designers started exploring how to hide the roof back again. A new wave of modernized parapet roofs came in vogue. The recent new buildings we have now showcase a modernized look.

The difference between this parapet and the previous one is that designers are really taking time and studying for proper treatment to avoid leakages and extend roof life for the user. This also reduces the costs of roof maintenance.

Also with the influx of solar energy, a lot of roof designs are trying to utilize the roof space for solar panels. The parapet roof design has improved the building aesthetics of our time.

Aside from the use of parapet walls, some designers have become emboldened, exploring the use of different shapes (from straight lines to curves) for their roof design. The flexibility that exists in the roof material industry with steel, aluminum, and titanium is mind-blowing. Curved roofs are also interesting.

Green roofs have also been in existence but are not common in Nigerian buildings.

How long will this trend last? I do not know. I'm just thinking that we are all waiting for one designer to bring something new and we will all follow.

And just like you, I wonder about the next roof design we will be clamoring for in our buildings.

https://mydesigngist.com/roof-design-trends-in-nigeria-beyond-2023/

Accessible buildings are buildings that are fit to an acceptable degree for persons with any form of impairment. Is your building accessible?

Making a design accessible is a challenge in any design; digital or non-digital. Even websites have accessibility requirements such as alternate texts, font sizes, colours, etc. It's often easier to design believing that all users of our products don't have anything that affects them when using our designs.

I once wrote to you about a man who had gone for registration and was informed that he needed both eyes to complete his registration. That registration product did not obey the rules of universal design for a registration exercise that involved the public. If you haven't read it, do so here.

During my Master's degree, my final year project was to design a Performing Art Center with a focus on accessible buildings. I had to study the various requirements that when utilized effectively, will render a building fit and accessible for persons with any form of impairment. Note that universal designs are accessible designs.

ADA means American with Disabilities Act. It's an international standard document that provides guidelines for designing for accessibility. ADA requires all designers to provide equal access and opportunities to every user, irrespective of limitations.

Read more...https://mydesigngist.com/accessible-buildings-accessibility-checks/

The Architect (2016) is a drama-comedy film directed by Jonathan Parker and starring a married couple, Drew (Parker Posey) and Colin (Eric McCormack), and their Architect, Miles Moss (James Frain).

After visiting a friend's renovated home with a water view, this suburban couple is inspired on how to invest in their dream home. They hire an Architect to realize this dream. It doesn't take long before the dream Architect becomes a nightmare, as his agenda goes from his professional engagement to breaking through the cracks of an unstable relationship between the couple.

Drew is a dreamy Artist, struggling to find a perfect, unhinged expression for her Artworks. Miles notices this, latches onto her struggles, and sells his dreams to her as a fulfillment of their dream home. He sells the idea of who a perfect client is to Drew and she is determined to be a perfect client. Her desire to be a mother made her marital life unfulfilling, hence, she finds comfort in being the Architect's "muse".

Colin is in the financial industry but his financial obligations in the marital space left him constantly on edge. He is suspicious of Miles and his moves. He finds the Architect's approach egotistical and made initial attempts to avoid engaging his services. A lower professional fee puts Miles on his path. Colin's idea of a dream home requires lots of storage space, mostly for his medal display, kayaking, and exercise kits.

As a couple, Drew is expressive while Colin is stiff and practical. She wants to go with the flow while he prefers to plan his moves. She wants a baby and he clearly stays busy (constantly exercising), to avoid having sex.

Miles is a junior Architect in an Architectural company known as Sullivan+Moss. Moss is the late father of Miles, while Moss' partner, Sullivan dies unexpectedly 3 months ago. In keeping the company afloat, Miles had struggled to convince his past clients of his dreams for their projects. Meeting the couple and Drew in particular, he found her susceptible and finally builds his first physical building project.

Continue here... https://mydesigngist.com/the-architect-2016/

Lina555:
Thanks for this info! I'm going to buy solar panels next month. I wonder whether I'll need to clean solar panels. If yes, how often will I need to do this?

As I stated in the post. You will have to discuss with your solar installer for specifics on maintenance due to varying product type. You can use this link to reach out to this solar inverter specialist. https://www.facebook.com/chibuzo.emeti
Thank you.

I thought Architects were the only ones affected by the designer's block that comes with a client's paper sketch until August 2022, when a friend of mine requested a wedding card design from a graphic designer.

Perhaps, you do not understand what designer's block means. Let me explain.

According to the urban dictionary, designer's block is defined as, “When any form of a designer can't come up with creative ideas. Similar to writer's block in the sense that nothing gets done".

It's not a new concept and a lot of things can cause a designer to experience a designer's block but this post focuses on one of the external influences.

Back to my story...

I have seen the graphic designer's works and was impressed by them, so you can imagine my gross disappointment with the wedding card design.

Initially, I wanted to go to the designer and pour out my grief but, I later choose to be silent for a time until after the wedding. I asked the designer why his creative prowess did not show up on that wedding card and he told me the client already gave him what she wants.

Then I understood the problem. The graphic designer knows she had seen catchy and trendy wedding card samples. All she needed to send to the designer were details of names, contacts, locations, and times, along with her theme colour (if necessary) without a sample layout. He felt that she might as well use Canva wedding card samples to fill in the blank space.

Inspiration and creativity dies when a designer gets boxed into a client's existing expectations.

I also remember the experience at my former place of employment. I had gone for a measured drawing with my colleague and after taking existing measurements of the building...https://mydesigngist.com/designers-block/

The most famous building roof types are gable, hip, lean-to, flat, butterfly, curved, dome, mansard, and concrete roofs. See the pictures below for clarity.

In a tropical climate like Nigeria, "with about 7 months of heavy rains during the rainy season", according to the World Bank Group; a flat roof system (180 degrees) is not a good option. The cost of roof installation increases daily and the gradual switch to renewable energy is gaining ground.

Most residential homes and other buildings are using rooftops for solar panel installation for two major reasons. This is to take advantage of all solar angles and also to reduce robbery.

In using energy gotten from solar panels, you may have noticed that the rate at which your solar batteries get fully charged reduces over time.  One thing to consider in solar panel installations is that there is a need to make provisions on how to clean the surfaces of these panels, once every year.

Continue reading here... https://mydesigngist.com/roof-type-for-solar-installation/

A business strategy that is underrated by beginners like me is the offering of free services and the use of cold emails/contacting for customer acquisition.

Perhaps, the right word is not "underrated" but that beginners do not know how to effectively use this method.

Getting new clients is tough after leaving a paid employment especially if you did not establish an agreement with your former boss for some of his low-budget clients.

I adopted a strategy I was a recipient of.

It was in 2013, I had just started working in a firm and I didn't know my way around town.

My mother had bought Ankara materials for me to sow but I didn't know whom to go to.

One day, I went for some errands about town and on my way back, I was sitting in a tricycle that will take me to my place.

A lady got in and sat next to me. She smiled and greeted me. I smiled back and responded.

Then she proceeded to give me her business card, stating that she is a tailor, and she just opened her shop at New-haven Market.

To say I was dumbfounded is an understatement.

How did she know I was looking for a tailor?

I have never met her.

Was this just a pure coincidence or was it just her scattering her bread upon many waters?

Well, I thanked her and put the card in my bag. I got home, packed all the Ankara materials to her shop the next day.

I paid over 15k for simple corporate gowns that year.

This tailor ended up training me when I decided to learn how to sow.

I understood the power of presenting yourself to anyone that fits your customer persona.

In her case, she made female clothes mostly for young people and when she saw me, I fit in to her ideal customer and she didn't hesitate to reach out.

For those of us in the service industry, it's difficult to convince people about your work output unless they see what you have previously done for others.

That's where referrals come to play.

But how do you go about getting referrals when no one will trust you enough to handle their project?

So, I started blogging to share my ideas.

I went on Instagram to harvest emails and started cold emailing.

Cold emailing, in simple terms, is the act of sending emails to individuals who have never heard about you in hopes that you can establish a relationship that can be profitable financially.

Just like I was there, and the tailor got to me, you never know who needs your services and it's just wondering where to start or whom to go to.

Every time I sent emails, people are unsubscribing, and it felt like I wasn't making any progress.

The cold emails couldn't yield anything until one day...

My sister sent me an email. She was gathering real-life experience for her Virtual Assistant portfolio. This was part of the requirements in the Online Course she was taking.

I replied to the email, filling the form and requesting for a digital work she could do.

That email changed my mindset.

I quickly restructured the email to suit my own services and sent out another cold email.

For the first time, I received 2 responses with an actual survey plan and a design request.

I was ecstatic.

I tried other platforms with same content in the email, to expand my reach and I was amazed.

So, this digital thing can work for Architects too?

Mind you, in the course of offering a pro-bono service, I ended up upscaling to paid services, as well as getting cool referrals on Google My business.

Upon physical meeting, like she did to me, I have questions that helps me determine if I should give you my card or not.

So, is there something you can offer for free in your business to help you break into the market?

Package and present it. You may never know who has been waiting for you.

Read other posts here: https://mydesigngist.com

When I was in school, there's something we did as students which we referred to as "buying of land".

It's a way we "hypothetically" expand the plot of land given to us on the design brief by our lecturers for the semester course.

Say, we were given a site of 100metres by 50metres, in the course of designing, some of us expanded our site up to 200metres by 150metres.

Others may not likely notice it but during the design presentation, some of our lecturers do notice and some ignore you.

The danger of this is that we are unable to learn to work with constraints which later affects us in future practice.

I got an architecture design brief.

Plot dimension is 18metres by 30metres. Client wants a 4-bedroom bungalow with other facilities.

Then he asked if I could include a mini handball court.

A mini handball court is 20metres by 13metres. I cannot do that magic.

Percentage of buildable area is already at 44% as against the total plot.

This is real life, real plot of land.

If it was an imaginary plot, I for buy land gladly.

Make una dey try help us to help you.


Yours in building design solutions.

Read other posts here: https://mydesigngist.com

I'm currently 30years old and completely single by choice. I'm not holding anyone (partially or mistakenly), and nobody is holding me.

The day I decide to get married and agree to marry the man, please don't come to my comment or inbox and be shouting "delay is not Delilah" or "what God cannot do, does not exist".

Maka chi, I will cut you off from my space.

If it's hard for you to just rejoice with me the same way you would rejoice if I announced that I got a huge building contract and type "Congratulations", just waka pass.

You think it's delay?

Do you know what my plans are?

In this part of the world, childbearing is the major reason for marriage.

Do you know if I plan to have children or if I plan to go through the process of birthing them myself?

Do you know what I have said NO to?

And I'm talking of Christians.

I have said NO to indecisiveness. Where you propose to 2 ladies and the one that agrees is the one God is saying you should marry.

I have said NO to "it doesn't matter that God choose her for me, but you are the one I want". How can I compete with God's choice for you?

I have said NO to "I want to marry a young girl so that I can train her". You know what "train" means.

I have said NO to "I'm ok with not having premarital sex, but can you tell me the colour of your nipple". What for?

I have said NO to "I can stop drinking alcohol, but you see this cocaine, I cannot leave it". The substance was right in front of me. It was actually my first time of seeing it real life, na only movie I dey see all those things in.

I have said NO to "you have to wear makeup, jewelleries and trousers".

I have said NO to "you cannot wear makeup, jewelleries and trousers".

I have said NO to "you can be doing your business but once we get married, you will just focus on the children".

I have said NO to "I just want a wife to face the home-front while I face the business front".

I have said NO to "I love you, but if you can't bear children, you will have to allow me to take a second wife (I don't need to love her), I just-must have children from my own loins". I was too dumbfounded that I didn't remember to ask him what if he was the one that cannot impregnate.

I have said NO to "I have a target of getting married in 1month, just say yes and my people will be at your place by next weekend".

I have said NO to "I'm sure it's you because I had a dream where we were ministering unto the Lord to a large congregation".

The words you see in quote were the way they expressed themselves and I know about this because I asked.

People will tell you to marry them and hope that they will change because time is not on your side.

Who put up that time?

Tomorrow, I will now join and be doing "hide my ID" because I just wanted to get married.

To the indecisive ones that came back to tell me that they wish they had waited or still chat me up and try to downplay the presence of their wives when I put it in their faces.

They go as far as deleting the chats so their wives will not see it. I feel for their wives because that would have been me.

You are wondering how I know; they say it.

That's how you turn your innocent wives to start sniffing around your cheating a$$ and get themselves ki!!ed in the process.

To the ones advising me not to buy car or build house to avoid pursuing my future husband, I'm not looking forward to a poverty-stricken-mindsetted man.

Whatever I have not done is due to budgeting or financial constraints.

I remember fighting over buying ordinary 4-burner gas cooker with a prospective suitor with my own money, in my own apartment.

He said, "a single lady cannot be buying a 4-burner gas cooker with oven". He opined that I should wait till I get married. This guy is not old, just 2years older than me.

I couldn't wrap my mind around such mindset.

To the ones telling me "God will do it" or "God has opened the door" because my younger sister just got married, sincerely speaking, I don't know what to say to you. I know you mean well but resist the temptation. I'm not delayed.

To the ones that looked like it, I was clear that I wasn't ready. Lurking around is by choice, I didn't tell anyone to.

Please, don't also use me as a yardstick for the next lady you date, I beg you. I'm not perfect and she is not and don't make her efforts seem useless because you are comparing her with your experience with me.

In marital pursuit, I'm also looking for my kind of Christian, a kindred spirit and I'm not worried neither am I in a hurry.

The thought of losing my freedom, to doing things how I want, to coming back to my apartment and meeting it as clean as I left it, to taking decisions when I want, still gives me the heebie-jeebies and he has to be worth losing all that for.

My focus now is to ensure my plans are in line with God's plans.

I have plans and I will meet him on the road fulfilling those plans.

And when I share it with you, it wasn't delay, I have become prepared for marriage.

Single and thriving.

Is your landlord increasing your rent yearly?

He is saying pay the new amount or move out.

Are you itching to move but you don't have the strength to start looking for a new place with all the agent issues?

You had made up your mind that the next compound you will move into is your own plot.

But it's not feasible because you keep pushing the money you saved for foundation to another family issue.

Now your rent has increased again.



What you can do now:

If you already bought the land, get money, fence it and put gate.

Now use container (Yes! The regular load container you know e.g 40feet container) to design 2 rooms and a parlour with kitchen and toilet.

Continue reading ...https://mydesigngist.com/container-home-designs-a-cheaper-alternative-to-blockwalling/

It was just a referral during another person's interview.

My boss was interviewing some candidates for his friend's architectural firm and asked if they know of somebody else.

That's how I was referred. I met him at an Architecture social evening.

He gave me his business card to come to the office the next day. No talks, no chats.

I got to the office the next day and my interview was just "what software do you use? " and I responded AutoCAD and Revit.

Mind you, I was still at a beginner stage at the time.

Then he said "show me". He gave me a project they had done to replicate.

The next question was on remuneration. End of interview.

Undergraduate, no CV, no cover letter, no portfolio.

Most Architects do not have the time to ask all those questions HR people bother about, tell me about yourself, what do you bring to the table and all that.

AutoCAD and Revit first, understanding of contracts and building codes, site knowledge is an added advantage.

Chinonso Ogbogu was talking about a Corper seeking employment and cannot use MS. Word.

Continue reading here... https://mydesigngist.com/how-i-got-my-first-job-in-2013/


Yours in building design solutions.

When I visited Kaduna for eye check-up with my parents at the age of 11 (I haven't been there since then), I can still picture the house we stayed in.

I remember the large living room and kitchen.

I remember the closed courtyard. It's an open-air space at the centre of a building. Access to a closed courtyard is from the interiors.

According to Wikipedia, it is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.

I remember the garden, the space for hanging clothes, the workshop for a lot of food processing stuff.

Yea. It was a large family and they processed their own pap and Tuwo shinkafa.

I remember this house we were staying in was in a federal or state staff quarters (I can't remember which one it was again).

Our host was in the process of relocating to their own property and when we got to the new house, it was basically same layout with the courtyard (only larger).

The courtyard was new and green with same facilities for processing foods and sit-out areas.

The garden was beautiful. I remember it. Such a cool place.

That's the building culture of Northern Nigeria.

In Eastern Nigeria here, I'm yet to see it in our residential buildings or even our own building culture.

Our residential buildings look bulky, nothing soft about it.

With our estate 450sqm plots, we can't achieve that. There is a minimum space requirement for an effective courtyard.

Courtyards are for maintaining internal thermal comfort and conditions of a building as well as holding spaces that are personal and private.

You can have your tomatoes/pepper/curry/vegetable garden within without the fear of stray goats and chickens destroying your mini farm.

Be mindful of the drainage system for your closed courtyard.

For open courtyards, surface water run-off is easy to handle.

Oh! And there was zoning within the building layout. The part of the house we were staying in doesn't allow direct access to the hosts.

The Living room, dining, kitchen and courtyard were the general spaces.

Tell us. Do you live in a residential building with a closed courtyard?


Yours in building design solutions.

#Volarchy #ArchitectsInEnugu #ArchitectsInNigeria #ArchitectsInAfrica #Architecture #NigerianArchitecture #NigerianArchitects #AfricanArchitecture #Architectureposts #ArchitectsWriting #Archipieces #SocialMediaArchitects #DigitalArchitects #ResidentialArchitects #CommercialArchitects

https://mydesigngist.com/the-building-culture-of-northern-nigeria/

Thank you. @SuperNova33

Buying company shares/stocks and reaping dividends has always fascinated me since I began reading OandO company reports magazine as a little girl.

My major interest was in reaping the benefits. With time and everything moving to internet, I stopped seeing such magazines and completely forgot about it.

Around March 2020, a friend posted about 4 investment apps that gives Nigerians access to acquire foreign stocks, she posted about them using their logos.

I had never heard of or seen the logos so I couldn't guess the names as required by her post.

I kept checking the post for comments until someone replied with the names of the 4 apps.
Trove, C****, B***** and R*******.

My curiosity was piqued and having been looking for avenues for buying stocks of companies outside Nigeria, I jumped on this one.

During the first lock-down in April 2020, I downloaded all 4 apps and started testing all of them.

I actually felt comfortable using the Trove app and transaction cost per trade was affordable, so I sold all remaining stocks in other apps and stayed with Trove.

Trading stocks has taught me valuable lessons about patience and due diligence.

I have incurred major losses, I have incurred interesting gains.

Surprisingly, I got a call from a delivery guy sometime in July, seeking to confirm my address for a package in my name.

I didn't order for anything, so I just confirmed delivery address and forgot about it. I collected the package from the person who received it on my behalf and the picture below shows up.

A polo, biro, notebook, mug, 16GB Flash drive, all Trove branded with a thank you note.

Trove Finance, oshe. Thank you for the gifts.

©The Entrepreneurial Architect.

My M.Sc 1 first semester design project was to design a Domestic Airport.

The next decision to make after choosing the aircraft size I was designing for was the Runway direction and length.

The aircraft determines the length of the runway.

I did this by studying the given site to determine the wind directions.

The North-East trade wind and South-West monsoon wind.

I made provisions for a meteorological station on the site that determines the wind direction at any take-off and landing time and communicates the information to the tower, who then informs the pilot at what ends of the runway to use for take-off and landing.

I also provided the Apron where the aircraft's are parked or serviced.

There were lots of facilities to provide for this transportation means. And I learnt a lot.

One of the things I learnt was that the aircraft has to go against the wind direction.


That means, if the wind is coming from the North-East direction, the pilot will use the South-West runway end for takeoff.

If he takes-off with the wind, the strong winds could blow it away, but being against the wind, creates the momentum it needs to rise above the ground.

While landing, it still goes against the wind to help break it's landing speed along the runway.

So, why are you waiting for everything to be in your favor before you take-off?

Why are you stuck in the Apron constantly servicing that idea?
Come out and take-off.

Peep the Site Plan and 3D draft, July, 2017.

© The Entrepreneurial Architect.