A PROJECT DISSERTATION TITLED CONTEXTUALIZING MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN NIGERIA A Case Study Of The

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A PROJECT DISSERTATION TITLED:
CONTEXTUALIZING MODERN ARCHITECTURE IN NIGERIA: A Case Study of the
Obafemi Awolowo University Campus, Ile-Ife, Osun State
BY
ARIKU, Temitope Ebenezer
(ARC/2017/044)
SUPERVISED BY
ARC E. MGBEMENA
BEING A PROJECT DISSERTATION TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT
OF ARCHITECTURE, FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
ANDMANAGEMENT, OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE, OSUN STATE,
NIGERIA.
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B SC.) HONS. DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURE
DECEMBER, 2021

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CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that the project report entitled Contextualizing of Modern Architecture in
Nigeria: a Case Study of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun State. submitted to the
Department of Architecture, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, in partial fulfilment for the
award of the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.sc) in Architecture, is a record of bona fide work
carried out by Ariku Temitope Ebenezer (Arc/2017/044), under my supervision and guidance.
______________________ _______________________
ARIKU Temitope Ebenezer Date
Student
______________________ ______________________
Arc. E Mgbemena Date
Supervisor
______________________ _______________________
Prof. E.A Jayeioba Date
Head of Department

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DEDICATION
Dedicated to all who have a dream and desire to live that dream, those who have passion and not
afraid to let it burn; to life and love, to friends and moments, to hard work and results, to family
and home, to hope and to destiny.
To the love of Architecture
To the creative
To God who is father of all.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to acknowledge the resourcefulness of the following groups of people in the
completion of this phase in the destiny of a great one.
I gratefully thank God for His favours, strength, sustenance, and protection over my life.
I express my profound gratitude to my supervisor Arc. Emeka Mgbemena for his kindness,
patience and directions during the course of this project. I pray that God will reward him
abundantly.
I also thank Fatoki Abdul-fattah for his support and directions in writing this project and friends
who had an impact in my life one way or the other, like Ariyo Abidemi, Olajuyigbe Bukola,
Adeyemi Emmanuel, Taofeeq, Efetobore, Abimbola, Adegoke Luqman,Jubril, Silas, Opawole
Musar Umar, Olaniyan Umar, abati, niyi, and all architecture students I ever met on OAU campus
may God bless you all.
Most importantly, I am grateful for my family’s unconditional, unequivocal, and loving support.

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ABSTRACT
Modern architecture rapidly influenced the architectural setting of Nigerian cities, campuses, and
towns as far back as the mid-20th century due to colonialism and independence across Africa. The
dawn of modern architecture came at a time when hand-laboured craftmanship was being replaced
with machine-made goods and it became dominant after world war II (Tietz,pg 6-10). Also it
refered to a particular approach by a group of architects who sought to cast off historical precedent
and develop something entirely new and different for their own time (Nicola spasoff, 2012).
Modern architects worked to reinvent ways of building that focused more on how humans lived
versus what they found beautiful; as such, the style of building emphasized function and a
streamlined form over orientation. It was an architectural movement based upon new and
innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel and reinforced concrete,
to build structures that were stronger, lighter and taller. These developments together led to the
first steel-framed skyscraper, the ten-story Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884
by William Le Baron Jenney (Bony 2012, pp 42-43).
Nigeria searched for architecture and a form of urbanism to gain international validity, aesthetics,
and designs to fit the climatic context. The founders of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife
had a modernist dream. This dream led to the search for an International Style architect, Arieh
Sharon” who brought experience in design for a hot climate to Nigeria and an intimate familiarity
with modernism. As a result, O.A.U buildings were designed to accommodate the tropical climate
and sun exposure, with ventilation provided through open walkways and stairways. These designs
arguably laid the foundation for the contextualizing of the modern style across the country.
However, in contextualizing, some designs have gone wrong in terms of cultural expression,spatial
configuration, materials and aesthetics due to wrong design decisions and failure to stick with basic

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environmental design principles. This dissertation aims to review the highs and lows of
contextualizing the modern style, how the designers and architects acculturated the style into
tropical climate and sociocultural context of nigeria and a case study of various buildings; Amphi
Theatre,Duduyemi Lecture Theatre, Ezekiah Oluwasanmi Library e.t.c on the Obafemi Awolowo
University Campus.
The result of this dissertation would highlight the importance of contextualizing different styles of
architecture, impact of Nigeria indigenous culture on the site layout, building form, spatial
configuration, interior and exterior relationships,materials, cultural techniques, symbol and
aesthetics. This would provide architects, designers and members of the society with knowledge
and awareness of design decisions and the inherent harm that can be caused to the environment
when contextualization is taken in the wrong direction.

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TABLE OF CONTENT
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of Contents vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Context of the Study 1
1.2 Modern Architecture 2
1.3 Modern Architecture in Nigeria 6
1.3.1 Hausa Architectur 6
1.3.2 Yoruba Architecture 8
1.3.3 Brazilian Architecture ( Borrowed Style) 11
1.3.4 Colonial Style 15
1.4 Tropical Modernism of the 1950s and 1960s 16
1.5 Contextualizing Modern Architectre in Obafemi Awolowo University 17
1.6 Aim and Objectives 18
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW 19
2.0 Basis for Modern Architecture 20
2.1 Pioneers of Modern Architecture 21
2.1.1 Characteristics of Modern Architecture 28
2.2 Architectural Style 29
2.2.1 Vernacular Architecture of Nigeria 34
2.2.2 South Western Nigeria Architecture(Yoruba Architecture) 35
2.3 Architecture Of Obafemi Awolowo University 38

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2.3.1 Architectural Expression and Perception 38
2.3.2 Building Organization and Spatial Layout 42
2.3.3 Climatic Response 45
2.4 The Idea of an African Architecture 47
2.5 Mateirals, Form and Function: The Birth of The New Style 50
2.6 DESIGN INADEQUACY AND THE MAINTENANCE OF UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS
54
2.6.1 O.A.U Building Design Configuration 54
2.6.2 Maintenance Problems Traceable to Design 55
2.6.3 Physical Impacts of Maintenance Problems 60
2.7 The Study Area 61
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 METHODOLOGY 63
3.1 DESCRIPTION OF AMPHITHEATRE 64
3.2 THE PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK 65
3.3 HUMANITIES BUILDING 66
3.4 AUDITORIUM BUILDING ( AUD 1& 2) 67
3.5 GENERAL REQUIREMENT 68
3.5.1 Physical requirements 70
3.5.1.1 Planes 71
3.5.1.2 Volume/form 72
3.5.2 Perceptual standards 73
3.6 ARCHITECTURAL CRITIQUE 73
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 CONCLUSION 80
REFERENCES 84
PLATES 86

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CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The word “architecture” has been shaped by different dictionaries, specialist or even by
outstanding personalities of human kind, the definition is more or less technical exprsession and
sometimes even “poetical”. Although it was derived from the Greek word “architekton” Latin
“architecton” which means “construction master” (sevatean Ianca & micea Georgian).
Architecture creates stunning environment to enhance comfort which our daily life aligned in all
spheres for activities. Building from many centuries mingle with contemporary architecture to
form a living organism towering next to Gothic Cathedrals are high-rise building made of steel
and glass or with reflecting granite façade. Exciting museum building almost like sculpture large
enough to walk in co-exist with soberly functional factories or dreary administration building (H.F
Ullmann,1985). This thesis conceive out of deep feeling of concern for the present state of the built
environment in Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife all captured the imagination milions of users
and visitors, how those building failed in term of functionality and expression compare to
modernist style.
Furthermore, the argument in this paper is not chronological. Rather it provides insight into
particular moments in term of an effort to demonstrate the way building by arieh Sharon have been
expressed in the context of solution to climatic problem and cultural expression.
1.1 Context of the Study
Although, every building constructed in Nigeria in years back express their culture and how it fits
into the environment as a solution to climatic factors through the orientations, position of openings
and many other design considerations, this is no longer the case. The identity of each building was

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also paramount for each building to speak its functions without having to be accessed, this
emphasized that building not just grown in a specific location but also fit into the context of the
environment. the adherents of the modern movement believe that architecture is not only about
one building or project but how it integrates into the environment and functions.
Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U), Ile-Ife, Osun State Nigeria Founded in 1962 as the
University of Ife, the Obafemi Awolowo University was renamed by the Federal Military
Government on May 12, 1987. This university is one of Nigeria's first-generation universities, with
a total land area of 11,861 hectares in the tropical forest of Ile-Ife, Osun State, South-West Nigeria,
with an annual humidity of 68 percent and rainfall of 125 cm.
1.2 Modern Architecture
Modern architecture emerged at the end of the nineteenth century as a result of technological,
mechanical, and building material revolutions, as well as a desire to break away from previous
architectural traditions and produce something completely utilitarian and modern. The
employment of cast iron, drywall plate glass, and reinforced concrete to produce structures that
were stronger, lighter, and higher was the first material revolution. In 1848, the cast plate glass
technology was established, enabling for the production of extraordinarily large windows. At the
Great Exhibition of 1851, Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace was an early example of iron and plate
glass construction, followed in 1864 by the first glass and metal curtain wall. These advancements
led to the construction of the first steel-framed skyscraper, the ten-story Home Insurance Building
in Chicago by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884 Millions of visitors to the 1889 Paris Universal

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Exposition were captivated by the iron frame construction of the Eiffel Tower, which was then the
largest building in the world.
François Coignet, a French entrepreneur, was the first to employ iron-reinforced concrete, or
concrete reinforced with iron bars, as a building technique. Coignet constructed the first iron
reinforced concrete construction, a four-story home in the Paris suburbs, in 1853. Elisha Otis'
creation of the safety elevator, first displayed at the New York Crystal Palace exposition in 1854,
was another significant step forward, making big business and apartment buildings viable. Electric
light, which substantially decreased the inherent danger of fires generated by gas in the nineteenth
century, was another essential technology for the new architecture. The introduction of new
materials and techniques prompted architects to abandon the neoclassical and eclectic models that
dominated European and American architecture in the late nineteenth century, most notably
eclecticism, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, and the Beaux-Arts architectural style. Eugène
Viollet-le-Duc, an architectural theorist and historian, was a strong proponent of this rupture with
the past. In his book Entretiens sur L'Architecture, published in 1872, he urged readers to "apply
the resources and knowledge given to us by our era, without the intervening traditions that are no
longer viable now, and thus we might launch a new architecture." Each function has its own
material, and each substance has its own shape and adornment." A generation of architects,
including Louis Sullivan, Victor Horta, Hector Guimard, and Antoni Gaud, were influenced by
this book. A few architects began to question the dominant Beaux Arts and Neoclassical styles that
dominated architecture in Europe and the United States towards the end of the nineteenth century.
The façade of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School of Art (1896–99) was dominated by
enormous vertical bays of windows. Victor Horta in Belgium and Hector Guimard in France
pioneered the Art Nouveau style in the 1890s, introducing new kinds of decorating based on

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vegetal and floral patterns. Antonio Gaudi conceived of architecture as a sort of sculpture in
Barcelona; the exterior of the Casa Battlo (1904–1907) in Barcelona had no straight lines and was
covered with brilliant mosaics of stone and ceramic tiles. Architects began to experiment with new
materials and techniques, giving them more leeway to construct new forms. In 1903–1904,
Auguste Perret and Henri Sauvage in Paris began to employ reinforced concrete, which had
previously only been used for industrial constructions, to construct apartment complexes.
Reinforced concrete, which could be moulded into any shape and could be used to construct large
expanses without the need for supporting pillars, supplanted stone and brick as the major material
used by modernist architects. Perret and Sauvage's earliest concrete apartment buildings were
coated with ceramic tiles, but in 1905, Perret created the first concrete parking garage on 51 rue
de Ponthieu in Paris; in this case, the concrete was left exposed, with glass panes filling the area
between the slabs. Another structural innovation was introduced by Henri Sauvage in a Paris
apartment building on Rue Vavin (1912–1914); the reinforced concrete structure was in steps, with
each storey set back from the floor below, forming a series of terraces. Auguste Perret built the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées between 1910 and 1913, a reinforced concrete masterpiece with
Antoine Bourdelle's Art Deco sculptural bas-reliefs on the front. No columns obstructed the
spectators' view of the stage due to the concrete structure. Otto Wagner, also from Vienna, was a
forerunner of the new style. In his book Moderne Architektur (1895), he advocated for a more
rationalist architectural design based on "modern existence." He created a stylized decorative
metro station at Karlsplatz in Vienna (1888–89), then an ornamental Art Nouveau mansion,
Majolika House (1898), before transitioning to a much more geometric and simple, ornament-free
style in the Austrian Postal Savings Bank (1904–1906). Wagner stated his goal to communicate
the building's purpose on its outside. The reinforced concrete facade was adorned with marble

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plaques held together by polished metal fasteners. The inside was essentially practical and austere,
with a huge open expanse of steel, glass, and concrete as the sole adornment.
Adolf Loo, a Viennese architect, began reducing adornment from his buildings as well. His Steiner
House in Vienna (1910) was an example of rationalist architecture, with a basic plaster rectangle
front, square windows, and no adornment. The new movement, which became known as the
Vienna Secession, became well-known outside of Austria. In 1906–1911, Josef Hoffmann, a
Wagner student, built the Palais Stoclet in Brussels, which became a monument of early modernist
architecture. This brick-covered Norwegian marble home was made up of geometric blocks,
wings, and a tower. The house's cubic shapes were mirrored in a big pool in front of it. The inside
was adorned with Gustav Klimt and other artists' paintings, and the architect even made apparel
for the family to fit the building.
In Germany, Hermann Muthesius, a notable architectural critic, established the Deutscher
Werkbund (German Work Federation) in Munich in 1907. Its purpose was to bring together
designers and industrialists in order to create well-designed, high-quality items while also
inventing a new style of architecture. The association began with twelve architects and twelve
commercial entities, but swiftly grew. Peter Behrens, Theodor Fischer (its first president), Josef
Hoffmann, and Richard Riemerschmid were among the architects. The AEG turbine plant, a
practical steel and concrete monument, was built by Behrens in 1909. It was one of the earliest and
most significant industrial structures in the modernist style. Adolf Meyer and Walter Gropius, who
had both worked for Behrens, designed another groundbreaking industrial facility, the Fagus
Factory in Alfeld a der Leine, in 1911–1913, a structure devoid of adornment and displaying every
construction detail. Just a few weeks before the commencement of the First World War in August

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1914, the Werkbund planned a significant exhibition of modernist design in Cologne. Bruno Taut
created a breakthrough glass pavilion for the 1914 Cologne exhibition.
1.3 Modern Architecture in Nigeria
Environmental circumstances, as well as social and cultural influences, have traditionally affected
Nigerian architecture. The arrival of missionaries, as well as the political changes brought about
by colonialism, resulted in a shift in architectural style and function of structures. For the first
churches erected in the Lagos colony, a Gothic revival style was used. A one or two-story wood
house structure constructed with prefabricated material components and styled with classic
antiquity styles functioned as the missionaries' mission house. Colonial inhabitants working for
the Public Works Department used a neoclassical architectural style into the designs of government
buildings and private residences. African returnees impacted the adoption of a Brazilian style of
building in the local living space, which eventually expanded to other areas of the country.
Beginning in the 1970s, a variety of architectural styles were embraced, although their effect was
limited.Beginning in the 1970s, a multiplicity of architectural styles were adopted but the influence
of the earlier styles is still significant as good number of structures are modified designs of
Brazilian type and colonial neoclassical architecture.
1.3.1 Hausa Architecture
The Hausa people are mostly found in Central West Africa's wet Sahel and Savannah zones, up to
the Sahara's southern border. Pre-colonial Hausa architecture in Hausaland was inspired by cultural
and natural components, as buildings were built from earthy and vegetative materials found in the

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surrounds, and the resources were then used to build structures that accommodated extended
family members. Bricks made from red laterite soil, for example, serve as the foundation for
buildings and roofing. These houses have a cubic shape and are part of Sudanese architectural
style. In Hausa culture, a dwelling unit is more correctly referred to as a compound since it consists
of structures that house a man and his wife or wives and their children, as well as the nuclear family
comprising their adult offspring and, in certain cases, descendants of a common male ancestor.
The compound's buildings are curvilinear and conical in form. The introduction of Islam and the
tradition of women seclusion in the region increased the significance of the compound design, as
several wives live in constructed spaces that provide the maximum solitude. The property
generally includes an entryway called Zaure, which may also be used for craft creation and
welcoming guests. Some traditional dwellings are embellished with ornaments that display layers
of different colours; buildings can also be embellished by moulding mud into specific symbols that
are plastered to the wall. The centrality of religion in Hausa culture has inspired the construction
of one-of-a-kind traditional structures, such as the old Zaria mosque with moulded mud vaults and
domes.
Plate 1.0

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1.3.2 Yoruba Architecture
Pre-colonial Yoruba people mostly lived in urban clusters that formed a circular pattern. The
King's palace (afin) and an open market are placed in the town centre, while households reside in
houses erected to enclose an open courtyard. Within towns, a kind hierarchy develops, with the
afin or palace having the largest complex and the most courtyards. Following closely following
are the residences of ward or lineage leaders, which often feature more than one courtyard, and
finally the residences of family elders.
Traditional Yoruba architectural forms may be understood as hollow squares or circles, and a unit
can be viewed as a compound composed of numerous subunits placed in a quad shape that
surrounds an open courtyard, which serves as a focus of social engagement and is also utilised for
cooking and craft manufacturing. The open rooms or courtyards are significantly bigger in order
to facilitate contact among family members, but the intimate spaces are much smaller and darker,
Plate 1.1

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and are usually used for sleeping. Molded mud derived from laterite soils is used to create the
dwellings; this is the major material for building walls, and the houses are built without windows.
Roofing materials are impacted by environmental circumstances; for example, in locations along
the Atlantic coast, raffia palm leaves are the primary roofing material, but in northern regions,
wood is used in place of palm fronds.
The houses of chiefs and the palace of a king (Afin), include extended courtyards for different
activities and also have animal murals and carved posts which are also prominent features of the
shrines dedicated to Orishas.

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1.3.3 Brazilian Architecture ( Borrowed Style)
Following the British takeover of Lagos, the town expanded to become a city with a diverse
population, including indigenous Isale Eko dwellers, African returnees from Brazil, Trinidad, and
Cuba who had crossed the Atlantic twice, European merchants and British colonists, and finally
creoles. Many African returnees from Brazil had received masonry training, and they brought
stuccoed bungalows or storey structures with arched windows and doors influenced by Brazilian
style.
This style came to dominate colonial Lagos architecture, particularly in Olowogbowo, Popo
Aguda, Ebute Metta, and Yaba. Apprentices taught by the returnees disseminated a modified
variation throughout the country. These Brazilian-style houses included open spaces between the
tops of the walls and the roof, a front or back veranda or both, alcoves, and garrets at the roof top
for aeration. A two-story sobrado is quadrangular in design, with a centre portion that houses an
alcove, chapel, stairway, and/or hallway. An Italian merchant from Sardinia developed a brick and
tile manufacturing business, which led to numerous inhabitants erecting economical brick storey
dwellings. Ornamental plastering was applied to the brick columns and walls, and further
decorations were added to the plinths, columns, shafts, and bases.
The returnees built and reproduced stately houses in various sizes in Lagos, including Andrew
Thomas' residence, a two-story Brazilian-style house with ornate plaster works, Joaquim Devonde
Branco's brickhouse with wrought iron windows, and Caxton House on Marina, which had a two-
story main building, two showrooms on each side of the main building, horse stables, and a garden.
The “vernacular architecture” is that brand of architecture resulting from the traditional being
conditioned by external forces. Very often, such influences – of a socio-political/ socioeconomic

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nature – constitute diffusions from a “more advanced” to a “less developed” culture. According to
Amole (Amole, 2000, 17), it is “post-traditional” – what comes after the traditional (or what the
traditional progresses to be). A major point of departure between the two brands of architecture is
that, whereas the traditional was essentially spontaneous (with designs and construction techniques
“inherited” i.e. carried over from one generation to the next), and the actual building process a
community enterprise devoid of specialists, with the vernacular, there is greater individuality, more
conscious decision-making, and specialization resulting in division of labour (Osasona, 2005, 16-
17).
Plate 1.2. An example of the Afro-Brazilian. Though it features an attic and stucco
ornamentation, in its general configuration, it is a-typical of the Brazilian. Lagos.
(Source: Osasona).

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Plate 1.3. Brazilian Style: several generations down, with less decoration and no
attics. Tenement housing. Ibadan. (Source: Osasona).

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Plate 1.4. Brazilian Style: several generations down, with less decoration and no
attics. Tenement housing. Ibadan. (Source: Osasona).

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Plate 1.5. Afro-Brazilian two-storey, multi-family (rooming) house. Ile-Ife. (Source: Osasona).
1.3.4 Colonial Style
The mission houses housing missionaries were built from timber and pre-fabricated materials
imported from England, while the early missionary churches introduced Gothic revival
architecture, as seen in the designs of the Bethel Cathedral on Broad Street, Christ Church
Cathedral, Lagos, and St Paul's, Breadfruit, Lagos.
The rise of colonialism resulted in the development of facilities to house public events as well as
the bureaucracy. Between 1860 and 1870, the Marina was expanded, and Broad Street was built
behind it. Colonial authorities working for the Public Works Department built general hospitals,

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barracks, courthouses, post offices, and other government facilities in Neoclassical architectural
styles, such as the Supreme Court building in Tinubu Square in 1904. The State House and Old
Secretariat on Marina were also built in similar style, with symmetrical facades and massive
columns and porticos.
In terms of housing, British officials resided in isolated government reserved areas (GRAs) that
housed enormous buildings built of prefabricated components with spacious compounds, long
verandahs, overhanging windows, and a living room space that extended to the open verandah.
1.4 Tropical Modernism of the 1950s and 1960s
In the years following World War II, a planned effort by the governments of Lagos and the areas
to introduce towering and contemporary structures began to appear. Simultaneously, European
architects working in West Africa began to examine novel approaches to creating modern designs
that took into account the tropical environment. Fry and Drew's Kenneth Dike library at the
University of Ibadan was one of the first structures to use environmental designs that addressed
climate issues. Aside from practical comfort, cross ventilation and shade were considered, as well
as a big concrete screen and fly gauze to protect from heat and insects. These styles were then
adopted in various sections of the country as well as throughout West Africa. Furthermore,
contemporary architects used African handicrafts, mosaics, and paintings to decorate their
projects.
In the 1950s, historic two-story residences and hotels along Marina and Broad Street in Lagos gave
place to skyscrapers made of concrete, steel, and glass and influenced by modern architectural
forms. National House, subsequently called Shell House, was designed by Philip Cranswick at
Marina, while the Cooperative Bank Building on Broad Street was designed by Fry, Drew and

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Partners; these two were the first tall contemporary structures in Lagos. More big and tall structures
were built in Lagos during the independence era, including the Elder Dempster House designed
by James Cubitt, the NPA headquarters, and the New Niger House, both designed by Watkins
Grey and Partners. In the 1960s, the 25-story Independence House designed by G. Cappa and the
19-story Western House designed by Cappa and D'alberto dominated the Marina's skyline.
1.5 Contextualizing Modern Architectre in Obafemi Awolowo University
This period captured the notion of how modernist adapted in Nigerian buit environment and
Nigerian universities. Arieh sharon responsible in the design of Obafemi Awolowo Univeristy
through the influence of the school being searched for modernist architect to have international
style structures. In the first two decades of the University campus development, the International
or Bauhaus style was the template of the original master plan and building design. The architecture
from the whole to the parts and from the parts to the whole reflected the lesprit nouveau (the new
spirit) or the zeitgeist (spirit of the age) of the technological age and functionalism that the modern
movement stood for. Arieh Sharon demonstrated International style influences in the designs of
the Humanities blocks (1963), Students halls of residence (1964), Hezekiah Oluwasanmi library
(1967), Institute of Education and Secretariat (1968) and Oduduwa hall (1972). modernist-trained
architects followed three main principles: function is the main source of design inspiration;
technologies that arose from industrial design and structural engineering must be used in new
construction to reflect contemporary realities; historical references, particularly ornament, must be
rejected because modern architecture is a new tradition with its own themes, forms and motifs.
Until the 1960s, architects who designed “in the new mode” believed that their work had to express
no other period but its own time; thus, precedents were not looked upon favorably. Accordingly,

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this ideology favored the spirit of the time over the spirit of the place. It opposed the integration
and harmonization of new architectural expressions with historic fabric. Architecture is not only
about one building or project, but how it fits into the environment and context is also important.
The building and the overall environment must be functional. Ariel Sharon planned the
architecture of the university core (the senate building, library, Oduduwa hall, and bookshop and
university hall) based strictly on the concept of group architecture (Sharon & Sharon, 1981). This
idea of relating each building to the surrounding buildings and overall context is one characteristic
of Obafemi Awolowo University architecture.
1.6 Aim and Objectives
The aim of this study is to examine the designs of lecture theaters of Obafemi Awolowo University
(OAU) Ile-Ife, with a view to providing information that will enhance the quality of future
building typology in terms of design and performance.
Objectives
1. To establish a visual contrast in the study area between modernist architecture and recently
constructed structures (contemporary architecture).
2. To draw attention to the new architecture in OAU Campus.
3. To build a platform that would fundamentally influence people's thinking, particularly
among young architects.

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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Basis for Modern Architecture
Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (27 January 1814 to 17 September 1879) is an architectural
theorist and historian had an influence on the Modern Movement. Entretiens sur L'Architecture in
his 1872 book he urged for an innovative architecture by means of knowledge enhanced during
their time without intervening traditional architecture which are no longer viable and he called for
invention of new materials.“For each function its material; for each material its form and its
ornament." (Entretiens sur L'Architecture, Viollet – le Duc, 1872). This book influenced a
generation of architects, the like of Louis Sullivan, Victor Horta, Hector Guimard, and Antoni
Gaudí (Buiollion, 1985 p.24). development of iron and steel in construction was an important
milestone in architecture (Mohammed Azmatullah, 2015). the possibility of modern archiects
dreams was the development of steel frame which became the crucial inevitable in the style, the
cradle of iron bagan to manifest in the tall building façade of Chicago in the 1880s (Nicola spasoff,
2012). The evolution of steel frame construction in the 20th century completely changed the
concept of the wall as load bearing, Before the invention of steel, almost all buildings of any size
including all masonry buildings had depended on their walls to resist the loads; The taller the
building, the thicker the load bearing walls to resist the imposed load or weight, but in the
development of the steel frame, walls were no longer required to bear any load or weight; instead
the interior held up by interior frame or partitioned into modular form by wood or any other similar
partitioning materials which also reduced the cost to build up the interiors and made the building
flexible which could be transfomed when changing the functions why the exteriors kept the
weather out (Nicola Spasoff, 2012). Examples of this innovation include; Home Insurance

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Building in Chicago, built in 1884, The Royal Insurance Building in Liverpool designed by James
Francis Doyle in 1895 (erected 1896-1903) was the first to use a steel frame in the United Kingdom
(Jackson, Alistair, A., 1998).
Another revolutionary material that has supported this development is reinforced concrete.
Reinforced concrete, or RCC, is a material that incorporates embossed steel bars, plates, or fibres
that strengthen the material to withstand stress against bending or distortions. Without steel
reinforcement, concrete acts like paper when subjected to stresses (Aggeliki K., 2011). Concrete
building, however dating back to the Roman Empire and reintroduced in the mid to late 1800s,
was not yet an established scientific technology prior to 1877. Thaddeus Hyatt, an American New
Yorker, published a report titled An Account of Some Experiments with Portland-Cement-
Concrete Combined with Iron as a Building Material, with Reference to the Economy of Metal in
Construction and for Security Against Fire in the Making of Roofs, Floors, and Walking Surfaces,
in which he described his experiments on the behaviour of reinforced concrete. His work had a
significant impact on the growth of concrete construction as a verified and researched science.
Without Hyatt's work, more perilous trial and error procedures would have been relied on for
technological growth (Condit, Carl W., January 1968), (Collins, Peter (1920–1981).
Joseph Monier, a French gardener and one of the primary innovators of reinforced concrete,
received a patent for reinforced flowerpots made by combining a wire mesh with a mortar shell.
Monier received another patent in 1877 for a more sophisticated method of reinforcing concrete
columns and girders using iron rods laid out in a grid pattern. Though Monier was clearly aware
that reinforcing concrete would increase its inner cohesiveness, it is unclear if he was aware of the
extent to which reinforcing improved concrete's tensile strength (Mörsch, Emil, 1909).
Among the notable reinforced concrete constructions are:

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• Saint-Denis near Paris, designed by François Coignet (1853)
• Reinforced concrete apartment building by Auguste Perret, Paris (1903)
• Stepped concrete apartment building in Paris by Henri Sauvage (1912–1914).
2.1 Pioneers of Modern Architecture
Modern architecture was as a milestone in the history of Western architecture or in other words in
the history of world architecture, because for the first time, the attitude of the tradition, history and
past changed its direction as a source of inspiration of architecture and future and development
were introduced as main objective and subject of architecture (Niki Amri, 2016). Architects and
theorists tried to make homogeneous the architecture as a science and technology with evolving
world (Ghobadian, 2003).
In the context of modern architecture, the pioneering architects materialized the image of modern
architecture not only with the buildings they erected but also with the ideologies they produced
(Zeynap Ceylani, 2008). At the end of the 19th century, a few architects began to challenge the
traditional Beaux Arts and Neoclassical styles that dominated architecture in Europe and the
United States. Architects also began to experiment with new materials and techniques, which gave
them greater freedom to create new forms. In 1903-1904 in Paris Auguste Perret and Henri
Sauvage began to use reinforced concrete, previously only used for industrial structures, to build
apartment buildings (Poisson, pp. 318-319). The Glasgow School of Art (1896-99) designed
by Charles Rennie MacIntosh, had a facade dominated by large vertical bays of windows (Bony,
2012).

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William Le Baron Jenney (1832-1907), the founder of the Chicago School, is widely
credited with designing the first tall office building with skeleton construction: the First Leiter
Building in Chicago (1879, now demolished), which had exterior brick pillars and interior iron
columns (Le Baron Jenney's second Leiter building, completed in 1880, is a National Historic
Landmark). To support the top floors of the structure, he employed metal columns and beams
rather of stone and brick. The steel required to sustain the Home Insurance Building weight just
one-third that of a ten-story masonry structure (Condit C., 1964).
Henry Hobson Richardson (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect
who worked in Albany, Boston, Chicago, Buffalo, Hatford, Ciccinati, and Pittsburgh, among other
places. Richardson's "culminating statement of urban commercial form" is the well-known
Marshall Field Wholesale Store (Chicago, 1 1887, destroyed 1930), whose exceptional design
influenced Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many other architects (Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl,
1982). "Richardson's design quickly inspired, among others, three of the most magnificent Chicago
buildings to rise in the Loop during the late eighties," writes architectural historian William H.
Jordy. These are Adler and Sullivan's Auditorium [NHL], Jenney's second Leiter [NHL], and
Burnham and Root's Monadnock [NHL] (William H. Jordy, 1976). Richardson "was, perhaps,
never more imaginative architecturally" than the Field Store, according to architectural critic
Henry-Russell Hitchcock (Hitchock, Henry-Russell, 1966). Richardsonian Romanesque is the
designation given to the style he promoted. Sullivan, together with Wright and Henry Hobson
Richardson, is part of the "recognised trinity of American architecture." James F. O'Gorman
(1991).
Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect known as
the "Father of Skyscrapers" (Kaufman, Mervyn D., 1969) and the "Father of Modernism"

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(Kaufman, Mervyn D., 1969). (Chambers Harrap, 2007). In 1896, Louis Sullivan, an architect who
was crucial in the establishment of the Chicago School and had a major influence on Modernist
architects, created the phrase "form always follows function" (Sarah Allaback, 2003). His
philosophy was that a building's design should be based on the necessities of its purpose, rather
than on historical ideas or precedent (Sarah Allaback, 2003). Louis Sullivan joined Adler's
architectural business in 1883, becoming the Adler & Sullivan partnership (Morrison, Hugh;
Timothy J. Samuelson, 2001). The Auditorium Building in Chicago (1887–89), the Guaranty
Building in Buffalo, New York (1894–95; now Prudential Building), and the Wainwright Building
in St. Louis, Missouri (1890–91) are among his more than 100 works in partnership (1879–95)
with Dankmar Adler (H.F. Koeper - Encyclopedia Britannica). Sullivan is perhaps most recognised
for his effect on subsequent modernists, particularly his protégé Frank Lloyd Wright (Rory Stott,
2017).
Frank Lloyd Wright, (born Frank Lincoln Wright, June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959), like Le
Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, he had no formal architectural training. In 1887-93 he
worked in the Chicago office of Louis Sullivan, who pioneered the first tall steel-frame office
buildings in Chicago, and who famously stated "form follows function (Tietz, 1999). In 1888,
Wright learnt that Adler & Sullivan, a Chicago architectural company, was "searching for someone
to produce the completed plans for the inside of the Auditorium Building" (Wright, 2005). Wright
established that he was a proficient impressionist of Louis Sullivan's decorative designs and was
hired as an official apprentice in the business two brief interviews later (Wright, 2005). In an essay
for Architectural Record in August 1914, Frank Lloyd Wright coined the phrase "organic
architecture." In a statement issued by him, he stated, “So here I stand before you preaching
organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so

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much needed if we are to see the whole of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no
traditions essential to the great TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon
us either past, present or future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-
sense if you prefer determining form by way of the nature of materials …” (Frank Lloyd Wright,
1954).
According to him, the phrase "organic architecture" typically refers to structures whose shape or
function reflects nature. Falling Water (1935), dubbed "the finest all-time achievement of
American architecture," perfectly reflected this idea (Brewster; Mike, 2004) The Prairie style,
inspired by the vast, flat geography of America's Midwest, was the first truly American
architectural style of what has been dubbed "the American Century." (From the Frank Lloyd Trust
Collection.) Wright was unconcerned with architectural style since he thought that every structure
should evolve organically from its surroundings. Nonetheless, Wright's architectural components
seen in "prairie house" dwellings created for the prairie include overhanging eaves, clerestory
windows, and a one-story rambling open floor plan, which are traits present in many of Wright's
designs. (Craven, Jackie, 2017). Frank Lloyd Wright created four houses between 1900 and 1901,
which have subsequently been designated as the beginning of the "Prairie style." The Hickox and
Bradley Houses were the final step between Wright's early concepts and the Prairie constructions
(Clayton; Marie, 2002). Toward the end of his career, he began designing houses that he believed
everybody could buy. He dubbed these series of dwellings his "Usonian" houses, and many of
them may still be found in various regions of the nation today (Martin House, 2010). Wright was
a prolific architect who created over a thousand projects. The Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois,
the Robie House in Chicago, the textile block homes in Los Angeles, California, Falling Water on
Bear Run in Pennsylvania, and the Johnson Wax Building in Racine, Wisconsin were all erected

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(Martin House, 2010). It has long been recognised that Frank Lloyd Wright had a significant
impact on the development of contemporary architecture in Europe, beginning with the publishing
of his drawings by Ernst Wasmuth in Berlin in 1910. (Paul Venable Turner, 1983).
Le Corbusier (1887 – 1965) was of the founding fathers of the Modernist Movement, as well as
what has come to be known as the International Architecture Movement (Le Corbusier, 1929). His
was the audacious, even mystical rationalism of a generation willing to accept the scientific spirit
of the twentieth century on its own terms and to sever all pre-existing links – political, cultural,
conceptual – with what is regarded a tired outmodeled past (Le Corbusier, 1929). In Paris, he
studied under Auguste Perret and immersed himself in the city's cultural and creative life. During
this time, he became fascinated in the fusion of diverse arts. In the early 1920s, Charles-Edouard
Jeanneret took the moniker Le Corbusier (Amit Tungare, 2001). Over the course of fifty years, Le
Corbusier's zeal for architectural development evolved into a dual ideology of modernism and
classicism, producing a renowned modernist architect whose work is still revered today (Curtis,
1986).
“The rhythm of his steps was the cadence of his personality: precise, uncompromising, but
contradictory” (Wogenscky, 2006, p. 5). The Villa Savoye is one of Le Corbusier's most well-
known masterpieces (Audrey Healey, 2014). It was designed by Swiss architects Le Corbusier and
his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and constructed using reinforced concrete between 1928 and 1931.
(Robert Courland, 2012). Villa Savoye, located on the suburbs of Paris, France, and finished in
1931, was intended as a private country home by Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier (Jacques
Sbriglio, 1999). The mansion was to be built in accordance with Le Corbusier's iconic 'Five Points,'
which he devised as guiding principles for his modernist architectural style:

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• Pilotis, such as columns or pillars, which lift the structure and allow the garden beneath to
continue indefinitely.
• A functional roof that serves as a garden and terrace, recovering the ground occupied by the
structure for nature.
• An open floor design that is devoid of load-bearing walls, enabling walls to be constructed freely
and only where they are aesthetically necessary.
• Long horizontal windows that provide lighting and ventilation.
• Freely designed façades that serve merely as the skin of the wall and windows and are not bound
by loadbearing issues (L'Esprit Nouveau, 1922).
While implementing Le Corbusier's "Five Points" would complicate the construction process and
eventually cause a number of practical challenges for the Savoye family, the outcome is a
remarkable blend of modern architecture and the surrounding environment in which it is set
(Jacques Sbriglio, 1999). When discussing the home in Précisions in 1930, Le Corbusier was rather
rhapsodic: "the layout is pure, perfectly suited for the necessities of the dwelling." It has a proper
position in Poissy's rural setting. It's poetry and romanticism backed up with skill" (Bony, 2012).
The home had its issues; the roof leaked owing to construction flaws; yet it became an icon of
contemporary architecture and one of Le Corbusier's most well-known creations (Bony, 2012).
Staatliches Bauhaus commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a German art school operational
from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to
design that it publicised and taught (Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists, 2009). The Bauhaus is
an answer to the question: how can the artist be trained to take his place in the machine age (Bayer,
Herbert, 1938). It began as a school which became the most important and influential institution

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of its kind in modern times (Bayer, Herbert, 1938). Its roots lay in the arts and crafts school
founded by the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in 1906 and directed by Belgian Art
Nouveau architect Henry van de Velde (Pevsner, Nikolaus, ed., 1999). It comprised of Walter
Gropius, its founder and first director, Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger, Schlemmer, Itten, Moholy-
Nagy, Albers, Bayer, Breuer, and others (Bayer, Herbert, 1938). In 1919, after delays caused by
the destruction of World War I and a lengthy debate over who should head the institution and the
socio-economic meanings of a reconciliation of the fine arts and the applied arts (an issue which
remained a defining one throughout the school's existence), Gropius was made the director of a
new institution integrating the two called the Bauhaus (Frampton, Kenneth, 1992).
However, the crunch came when the Nazis took control of Dessau Council - the main
source of funding - and eventually shut down the now famous school in September 1932 (Simon
Hall, 2008). In April 1933, the Nazis closed the Bauhaus (Jeanne Willette, 2011). This happened
under the directorship of Mies Van der Rohe, the final director of the school who on the morning
of April 11 1933, the architect turned up for work as normal (Tom Dyckhoff, 2002) but,
the Bauhaus, the 20th century's greatest school of art, architecture and design, was closed (Tom
Dyckhoff, 2002). This was because, the Gestapo was scouring the school for a secret printing press
suspected of publishing anti-Nazi propaganda, and documents linking Bauhaus to the Communist
party (Tom Dyckhoff, 2002). The school managed to reopen after Mies protested but eventually
decided to voluntarily shut down (Kevin Muriuki, 2013).
“In 1932,” Mies van der Rohe said, “the Nazis came. “In 1933,” he continued, “I closed the
Bauhaus.”
Despite the fact that the school was closed, the personnel continued to propagate its
idealistic principles as they departed Germany and went all over the world (Rachel Barnes, 2001).

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The Bauhaus is widely regarded as one of the most significant modernist art schools of the
twentieth century. The Bauhaus's impact spread with its professors. Gropius went on to teach at
Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, Mies van der Rohe became Director of the
College of Architecture, Planning, and Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Josef Albers
began teaching at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy founded the
Institute of Design in Chicago, and Max Bill, a former Bauhaus student, founded the Institute of
Design in Ulm, Germany (Larissa Borteh, 2012).
2.1.1 Characteristics of Modern Architecture
The modern world provides a different view of the cosmos than the ancient world, which evolved
from intellectual and human-oriented views (Ghobadian, 2003). Modern architecture arose as an
architectural school with a solid theoretical foundation that built structures in accordance with late-
nineteenth-century modern philosophy (Niki Amiri, 2016). This architecture was well-known in
Chicago, America, as well as in European cities such as Paris, Berlin, and Vienna (Ghobadian,
2003).
Modern architecture focuses first and foremost on the efficiency and pragmatism, and uses the
style and tools that has not had a history of such use to this size and in a way tries to develop in
the modern era and uses all possibilities to achieve this purpose (Kit of relativism, 2007). Modern
art is accompanied with a kind of formalism and anti-familiarity and alienation (Niki Amiri, 2016).
Modern society threw away traditional and mythological elements from the domain of knowledge
by relying on human reason and intellectual logic and objective facts and social recognitions and
subjective qualities entered in to the art field both in terms of separation and sense of aesthetics
(Kanti) (Raygani, 2014).

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Artistic modernism characteristics are: identity and unity, independence and self-stability (Niki
Amiri, 2016). Unity means establishing a link between discontinuous elements and integration in
the multiplicity and confusion. Independence and self-stability mean being far away of any
external ornament and being internal its nature (Niki Amiri, 2016). Another feature of modern art
is emphasis on the unconscious strains and mentality (Surrealism) (Niki Amiri, 2016). Modern art
is simple and universal, and is far away of local standards (modern architecture and International
Style) (Niki Amiri, 2016). A salient characteristic of modernism is self-consciousness. This self-
consciousness often led to experiments with form and work that draws attention to the processes
and materials used (and to the further tendency of abstraction) (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991).
Modern architecture was organized with the norms of rational, and used of one of the most efficient
materials such as concrete, steel and glass (Malpas, 2007). This architectural style, acts to meet
the needs and because it uses a single form is the anti-decorated, anti-show, anti-metaphor, anti-
historical, anti-remembering and anti-humor and the meaning has been lost in this architectural
style in a way (Kit of relativism, 2007).
Finally, modern art is of concept, is not a representation of reality and thus is not also indicator
(Alizadeh, 2012).
2.2 Architectural Style
An architectural style is a form of building encompases the chaacteriatics and features that
distinguish it or notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual
arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely to a wider contemporary artistic style.
A style may include elements as form, method of construction, building materials, and regional
character. Most architecture can be classified within a chronology of styles which changes over

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time reflecting changing fashions, beliefs and religions, or the emergence of new ideas,
technology, or materials which make new styles possible. Styles therefore emerge from the history
of a society. They are documented in the subject of architectural history. At any time several styles
may be fashionable, and when a style changes it usually does so gradually, as architects learn and
adapt to new ideas unlike the building of 1000 seaters in O.A.U and some other buildings in the
campus their style are unidentifiable and it can neither be classified as contemporary nor modern
style, the mode of their construction and materials used were totally retarded from the existing
architecture as such should be an improvement of the existing style, something new,classical and
renovative, the perception of others is not only about the design of the building it is also about how
the building fit into the environment and context. The new style is often just a rebellion against an
existing style, such as postmodernism, which has established its own vocabulary and broken into
a variety of styles with different labels in the twenty-first century. Architectural styles frequently
migrate to other regions, such that the style at its origin continues to evolve in new directions while
other nations follow with their own spin. For example, Renaissance concepts arose in Italy about
1425 and extended throughout Europe over the next 200 years, with the French, German, English,
and Spanish Renaissances displaying recognisably similar but distinct styles. Colonialism may
also propagate architectural styles, either by foreign colonies learning from their home nation or
by immigrants coming to a new location. The Spanish missions in California, for example, were
established by Spanish priests in the late 18th century and erected in a distinct design. Revivals
and re-interpretations of architectural styles may occur after they have fallen out of favour. For
example, classicism has been resurrected several times and given new life as neoclassicism. It
changes every time it is resurrected. The Spanish mission style was resurrected 100 years later as
the Mission Revival, which quickly developed into the Spanish Colonial Revival. There is a

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separate section for vernacular architecture. Because vernacular architecture is better understood
as culturally evocative (as a theory and a process rather than a thing in and of itself), it theoretically
can contain any architectural style—or none at all. Vernacular architecture is not a style in and of
itself. Architecture may be defined as any building or structure built by human hands, however it
is here defined as creation with an artistic purpose:
The higher the development of the latter, the greater the worth of the end outcome. The first human
habitations were certainly those provided by nature, such as caves or grottoes, which required
minimal effort on his side to turn into shelters against the elements and attacks from his fellows or
wild animals. As soon as man progressed beyond his primitive state, he naturally began to
construct more comfortable dwellings for himself, as well as some type of temple for his deity.
Such early forms are classified as Prehistoric Architecture. To go ahead in time, in Egypt there
was a system of architecture that consisted of tremendous construction of walls and columns, with
the latter tightly spaced, short, and massively carrying lintels, which in turn supported the flat
beamed roof. The scarcity of more durable building materials prompted the development of brick
construction in Babylonia, which resulted in the formation of the arch and vault. The impact of
Egyptian and Assyrian architecture on Greek architecture may be seen in a variety of ways.
Many believe that Grecian architecture originated with the wooden hut or cabin made of posts
planted in the soil and covered with transverse beams and rafters, and that this was the kind that
evolved into the pyodomus of the Greek home in the early Mycenaean era.
This timber building, replicated in marble or stone, was naturally quite rudimentary and crude at
first; but, the impact of the material was quickly recognised, when the stability and worth of stone
assisted in the progress of the art. However, it should be mentioned that many scholars believe that
Greek architecture evolved from an early stone style.

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Furthermore, as civilization and technical skill improved, the virtues of refinement in detail and
proportion were observed, and the distinct orders of architecture Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian
emerged. The term "order" refers to specific techniques of proportioning and decorating a column
and the section it supports, i.e., the entablature. The aforementioned "orders" are typical of Greek
architecture, and the beauty and elegance with which they were treated, as well as the aesthetic
and mathematical expertise with which they were created, demonstrate the Greeks' strong artistic
nature. Greece finally fell to the conquering Romans, who borrowed its style and, in many cases,
used Greek artisans in the construction of their structures. While borrowing this trabeated
architecture, they added the usage of the arch, which they had most likely learned to build from
the Etruscans, the ancient people of Central Italy. The Romans utilised the column and arch
together for a long period, as seen by the Colosseum in Rome and the Triumphal Arches. This
dualism is important to remember because, as we shall see, it eventually culminated in the deletion
of the beam completely and the use of the arch alone throughout the whole structural system of
the construction. The column has, in most cases, become just a decorative component in the many
buildings that the Romans erected, with the piers of the wall behind, tied together by semicircular
arches, providing the main role of support. However, as time went, practical people like the
Romans couldn't help but remove a feature that was no longer functional, thus the column as a
decorative element faded, revealing the arcuated structure it had hidden. Columns, on the other
hand, were employed constructively, as in many of the great basilicas, where semicircular arches
sprout immediately from their capitals. As the Romans conquered the whole of the then known
world, that is to say, most of what is now known as Europe, so this feature of the semicircular arch
was introduced in every part, by its use in the settlements which they founded. Roman architecture
was prevalent in Europe in a more or less debased form up to the tenth century of our era, and is

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the basis on which European architecture is founded. The gradual breaking up of the Roman
Empire, the formation of separate European states, and other causes which shall be enumerated
separately, led to many variations of this semicircular arched style, both in centuries, when the
later Romanesque, so called as being derived from the Roman style, was in vogue. Constructive
need, supported primarily by imaginative skill, resulted in the introduction of the pointed arch in
the late twelfth century. The pointed arch is the hallmark of what is known as the Gothic or pointed
style, which prevailed throughout Europe during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries,
and during which period were erected those magnificent cathedrals and churches that serve as the
most eloquent record of the Middle Ages' religious feeling and character. The historical forms of
European architecture may be generally classified into two major types: I Classic, or beam
architecture, and (ii) Gothic, or arch architecture. Each of these styles is based on an important
constructive concept, and every style can be classified as one or the other. The early styles,
including the Greek, belong to the former. Roman architecture is a composite transition style
whose objective, if unchecked, appears to have been the merger of the round arch and dome found
in the great Byzantine specimens. It was left to the Gothic style to develop a full system of arcuate
structure, the execution of which was astonishingly similar in all regions. Furthermore, it was a
style in which a decorative system was intimately fused to the constructive, both joining to
represent a more vivid statement of its age than had ever been accomplished in architecture.
The rebirth of the arts and literature in the fifteenth century was a new force in architectural history.
The situation in Europe at the time was ready for a major shift, and the Gothic system, whether in
architecture or in civilization as a whole, can be considered to have reached its apex. Its most
recent works were tinted with the impending transition, or showed symptoms of becoming
stereotypical due to the mechanical repetition of architectural characteristics. The new drive was

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the assumption that the ancient Romans were wiser and more experienced than the medievalists,
which resulted in a thorough examination of every Roman fragment, whether of art or literature,
that had been saved or could be recovered. For around three centuries, this notion stayed true, until,
towards the end of the eighteenth century, when Greece was opened up to travel and study, the
tradition was altered by the admission of Grecian relics to an equal or superior status, alongside or
even above those of Rome. This second phase, however, was not as successful for a variety of
reasons; a response was in the works in favour of mediaeval values, whether in the church, art, or
the state. A concerted effort was subsequently undertaken, most notably in England, to alter the
stream that had been flowing since the year 1500, and some of the fruits of this endeavour may be
tracked by the student who is intelligent enough to follow the hints presented in the last pages of
the English Renaissance style. In acquainting himself with the buildings therein mentioned, he
may feel that few of the diverse elements of our complex civilization, at the beginning of the
twentieth century, have failed to find some architectural expression.
2.2.1 Vernacular Architecture of Nigeria
According to Chukwuali (2004), vernacular architecture is a reflection of the people's way of life
and traditional beliefs (culture). The assembly of building materials and construction techniques
in Nigeria vernacular architecture yields the form or outlook of the building in a traditional form,
particularly with respect to the architecture of the three major ethnic groups, namely the Hausa's
in the Northern region of Nigeria, the Yoruba's in the South Western region of Nigeria, and the
Igbo's in the South Eastern region of Nigeria. As a result, architectural forms in this setting are
linked to many ethnic cultural activities. The Hausa are the biggest ethnic group in Nigeria's
northern area, and they are the country's largest ethnic group. They are traditionally characterised

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by large social aggregations, as evidenced by cities such as Kano and Zaria in Northern Nigeria,
and are predominantly arable farmers growing cotton, groundnuts, and food crops, as well as large
scale traders trading in agricultural produce, leather work textiles, and basketry. They are
predominantly Muslims, with religious demands influencing their way of clothing, social relations,
and even spatial disposition in vernacular building. The Yorubas are mostly concentrated in
Nigeria's Southwest area, and they have historically lived in huge urban social groups, even prior
to colonialism (Ferguson, 1970; Eades, 1980; Laitin, 1986). They are well-known for their artistic
creations, particularly bronze-casting, terracotta, and wood carving. Because of the British
colonialists' effectiveness in the Yoruba region, they were impacted in both formal education and
cash crop trading. Whereas the Igbos are mostly located in Nigeria's south-eastern region and are
well-known for their industrial interests and for being extremely ambitious in commerce and
general business. Igbos have traditionally lived in tiny, clan-based villages with decentralised
political authority.
2.2.2 South Western Nigeria Architecture(Yoruba Architecture)
Yoruba is one of the principal ethnic in Nigeria occupying the south-western part, they are
comprise of many state which are; Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, and Ekiti state. They are one
of the mostly densily populated region with a land area of about 142,114squarekilometre
(Adedokun 2014). The yoruba’s are homogenous in their culture, religion and language though
with variants of dialect. The progenitor of the Yoruba race believed to be Oduduwa.
Their many years of existence have resulted in a culture that is exclusive to the tribe yet being
interesting. Despite the incorporation of contemporary culture, the Yorubas have deep links to
tradition. This is true, for example, of Yoruba vernacular architecture, according to Idowu (1996),

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who claims that the Yoruba do not construct spectacular temples for their divinities. The Yorubas
construct courtyard architecture with a basic cuboidal form and a rectangular impluvial courtyard
located in a rectilinear compound, courtyard commonly utilised for a gathering space and as a
lounging area at night when fresh air is received. The influence of courtyard in Yoruba architecture
cannot over emphasized it play so many major role in the design of perceive solution for
comfortability and accessibility to other spaces in the building which are all reflecting in nowaday
design although the modernist style unified the importance of a courtyard for the escape of stales
air envolve or combusted in a building and as well modernized them and fashioned into design
which are still usefull up-till-date serving the same purpose, a typical example can be illustrated
in Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife Motion Groud. However; courtyard are divided into two
part namely: open courtyard and close courtyard.
The open courtyard are surrounded by many buildings or block of buildings accessible either by
the means of vehicle or pedestrians and the close courtyard are within a building only accessible
by a means of pedestrians. A typical Yoruba compound has only one entrance (Enu Ilo, Ilo) into
the
compound which leads to the colonnaded courtyard. The rooms are rectangular or square and
arranged in a linear pattern to surround the courtyard, which acts as the centre of activities or point
of focus. The family's leader inhabits the room near the door to offer surveillance and security, as
well as to demonstrate hierarchy from the eldest to the youngest. The elders also utilise the corner
rooms since they are larger than the other rooms, which are reserved for the spouses and their
children. These rooms have modest windows and doors that lead to the veranda and the nearby
courtyard.

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The wall plane is formed of courses of readily accessible mud materials that are generally blended
with vegetal materials such as straw as additives and adhesives to improve bonding and have small
window apertures that are normally above the door lintel-level. The wall plane is seeded a little
above the tiny window holes, and a ceiling made of palm frond or split-bamboo mat is installed
on wood beams (lowering room and veranda) functioning as support; mud is then deposited on the
mat as a decking material. Buildings are typically constructed during the dry season to expedite
dryness and curing. The structures have a pitched pyramidal wood construction used as a tying-
member to cover the ceiling (locally known as 'Aja'). The ceiling space usually serve as a storage
area for items such as valuables like clothes and other preserved foods such as yam flour, beans,
dried corn, pepper etc. Woven thatched-mat is then used to cover the structural roof frames.
Fig. 5

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2.3 ARCHITECTURE OF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY
2.3.1 Architectural Expression and Perception
Obafemi Awolowo University known as its appellation “the most beautiful campus in Africa”
resulted not only about the design of the building its about how the building fit into the
environment and context in relation with their perception and architectural expresseion of the
building and overall (Olaniyan 1979).The impression driving in through the main gate on the south
towards the campus the northern direction through road 1 main entrance to the campus, the
landscape and the natural ecosystem create in the mind of the observers a screne environment that
is excellent for academic activities especially at the tail end approaching the panoramic view of
the senate building, the imprint of the banking area full of stunning and magnificient landscape
compensated by the left wing; the athlete activities area availing the colour scheme of the track
taking the senerio to the blue sky contextualizing the organic architecture.The building and the
landscape flow with the undulating topography the impression is the uniformity of architectural
expression that perfectly fits into the natural contexts. The emphasized horizontality by the
building elements not allowing for the perception of building heights and the colour blending with
that of the soft and hard natural and designed landscape is a major fixtures of the campus and it
provide serene environment. The perception of the delightful architecture is reinforced by the
original academic core which are inter-connected by the roads moving clockwise from road 1 at
the senate building to the road in between Oduduwa hall and white house (faculty of science
building) to the back of faculty of social sciences building and to the road in between humanities
and biological sciences and at the adjacent side college of health science all maintained a rectilinear
configuration and the architecture of biological sciences building is also non-domineering of its
natural context like the original academic core. It hugs the site in a perfect fit that is further

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emphasized by the green ‘bats’ buffer towards the faculty of Agriculture. The flow and uniformity
of expression goes across road 2 from the biological sciences faculty to the health sciences faculty
building. The adjoining faculty of pharmacy building contrasts the health sciences building not in
an obtrusive manner. It repeats an interpretation of tropical architecture that simulates ‘stack’
ventilation through a raised inner court roof that allows displaced warm air to escape. Uniformity,
repetition and similarity are modes of architectural expression that is common in the original
academic core. contrasts are present but are less common and where they exist they are not
obtrusive or unsightly. Although department of architecture really not constrasted the culture of
rectilinear buildings on campus because it’s initially designed for a central cafeteria to have an
open international style of universal space set on a hilly slop with four pyramid roofs
encampsulates by magnificient garden that lure students to enjoys prominent architectural attitude
and as such differentiating the existing show up to be the standard within the most later
augementations to the Obafemi Awolowo university campus from 1990s. the computer center, the
addition to the Senate building, the museum and cultural studies building and the newly built
lecture theatres. They are all uncharacteristic of surrounding buildings and the contextual and
group architecture of the original academic core.Perhaps, this agrees with Khalaf’s (2015)
assertion that “this issue of how to add new construction to existing fabric is not a recent
phenomenon; in fact, it is “as old as the second building ever constructed by human beings, but it
became an increasing concern with the advent of the International Style in the 1920s, which later
became known as the Modern Style. Before modernism, interventions were destined to be
compatible with their surroundings because context [was] an essential source of design
inspiration”. The newly completed museum and cultural studies building completely contrasts the
buildings on either side of road 2 where it is located. The Ajose lecture theatre on the other side of

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the ‘bat’ green belt from the biological sciences also has a domineering presence. However this
perception of dominance is subtle compared to the museum and cultural studies building. This may
be due to the modifying effect of the green belt and its height compared to the height and massive
presence of the natural history museum and faculty of agriculture buildings. The computer building
is neither iconic nor conforming to any existing architectural imagery around it. It is backing the
department of food technology and chemical engineering building that subtly idealizes the
biological sciences building on the other side of the road. However there are additions that conform
to the existing. The ‘yellow house’ (department of mathematics) extension/addition to the ‘white
house’ (faculty of science) in the direction of road 2 shares the same architectural character though
the standard of execution is not the same. The addition to the geology part of the science faculty
in the north also attempts to maintain the architectural character of the original ‘white house’. The
architectural character of OAU Ile-Ife is a reflection of the building designs and efficient layout.
Plate 2.0. Approach view from main gate through road 1 showing a blend of buildings
and landscape (Source: Asojo and Jaiyeoba).

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Plate 2.1. African Studies Center building with landscape and natural ecosystem creating a
serene environment for academic activities (Source: Asojo and Jayeioba).
Plate 2.2. Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, the Greek agora formed
amphitheater, the original open air amphitheater is now covered with an aluminum roof
(Source: Asojo and Jaiyeoba).

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2.3.2 Building Organization and Spatial Layout
The architect Arieh Sharon was not new to large scale planning. He headed the government
planning department that set up the national outline plan that provided for the establishment of 20
new towns when the State of Israel was created. They devised a functional campus layout that
respects the natural landscape in collaboration with his partner Benjamin Idelson and AMY
Limited. The academic core area of the university is centrally located proximity to the students
hall of residence , staff quatters and as well as easily approach by the visitors to avoid being
stranded. The concept of the architects liable to the culture of the Yoruba vernacular architecture
centralizing a market or a palace to the focal area for easily accessible. The overall layout has a
delineable and recognizable parts with the maintenance department more proximity to the main
gate by the right side immediately after golden jubilee garden which functions as a relaxation
centre, the sports complex and academic area easily accessible by outsiders and centrally located
for students and staff. The layout is most efficient in circulation planning in the academic center.
The academic core's circulation plan prioritizes pedestrian movement since parking spots were
positioned on the outskirts of service groupings of buildings, for instance; the parking space
between social sciences, amphil and library and the vehicular movement has had little impact on
the academic center although all buildings are served with pedestrians path. Buildings are designed
with pedestrian flow and circulation in mind As a result, they blend into the environment without
disrupting existing patterns and appear to have always been there (organic architecture). The
pedestrian flow from the students' hall of residence through Moremi hall, the "white house,"
Hezekiah Oluwasanmi library, the humanities, and the biological sciences, for example, is
uninterrupted except for necessary zebra crossings. On most elevations, there is also a balance of
building and environment, with trees and plants punctuating the panoramic view of structures. The

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aesthetics of the environment are influenced not only by building design but also by outdoor
design; Soft and hard landscapes of various heights and types are included in the landscape design.
The building's design, orientation, and terracing along the slope result in an unusual skyline and
good panoramas, and the repeated forms are pleasing to the eye. In the academic core, open drains
are uncommon, Service lines are normally scheduled to be conduit or underground and sewage
lines are not visible and as such this always a welcome point of correction on any part of either the
services or sewage lines through inspection chamber. The increased in the number of students
population, as well as the development of new structures, has put this dream of the original
planners in jeopardy, here comes in duduyemi lecture theartre, 1000 seater, Ican and many other
newly constructed buildings which are not befitting the standard of the designer, they are typically
erected to add up spaces without considering the identity of the university, many of them has been
renovated many times when they failed in their functionalities and unable to withstand the stresses
whereas the old onces are still stand and students, in particular, have enough room to rest and wait
in between academic area and surrounding buildings. This is accomplished by designing and
integrating useful areas such as courts, gardens, and spaces beneath and between buildings.
Stairways, retaining walls, side walls, railings, and balustrades were not designed just to
accommodate elevation changes. They are made more functional by having sitting surfaces in
permanent materials as sit outs in gardens and lawns for both the external and interior treatments,
durability was a primary priority. Natural materials such as various types, sizes, and hues of stone,
textured tyro lean/sandcrete finish, or simply 'brutal' architecture of the contemporary movement
in the form of natural concrete are used as finishes. Even when colors are employed, they are off
white, grey, rusty brown, drab green, or other hues that blend in with the landscape's natural colors.
Rugged materials such as granolithic flooring, marble, terrazzo, concrete tiles, and in-situ polished

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smooth and patterned floors have weathered the test of time for the previous 30 to 50 years. Some
have withstood the test of time, while others require maintenance. The same cannot be said of the
millennium's efforts. The outside landscape and building design are not only complementing and
practical, but also climatically sensitive.
Plate 2.3. The Academic core and the administrative area connected by formal
landscaping and pedestrian movement (Source: Asojo and Jaiyeoba).

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Plate 2.4. The Academic core and the administrative area connected by formal
landscaping and pedestrian movement (Source: Asojo and Jaiyeoba).
2.3.3 Climatic Response
In an era of machines, the modern movement strove to build aesthetically pleasing architecture
free of decorations and adornment (Gropius, 1935). In certain ways, they considered that
functionalism as a philosophy is pleasing to the eye. The concept of tropical architecture is in line
with the contemporary movement's beliefs. The majority of the first-generation buildings on the
OAU Ile-Ife campus are oriented north to south, This implies they are longer in the west-to-east
direction, where there are few or no openings, and have large openings to the north and south. At
different periods of the year, the goal is to enhance natural ventilation from the southwest and
north east trade winds while minimizing solar heat gain from the sun. Sun shading devices,

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perforated screens, or brise-soleil, as a master of the modern movement Le Corbusier refers to it,
were used to shield openings to the east or west if they existed (Corbusier, 1986). The apertures
might even be placed in deep recesses. Even balconies, recesses, and extensive roof overhangs in
the north and south directions generate shade effects and shield users and building walls from solar
heat gain. These characteristics of tropical architecture are exemplified by the inverted pyramid
design of the faculty of education with the deep projecting roof, which is duplicated in the faculties
of administration, law, and social sciences group of buildings. In the humanities building, the
inverted pyramid design appears in a different form, with the top stories strongly cantilevered over
the lower ones in increasing proportion from west to east, the structures are primarily rectilinear
and extended. When there is enough space between the blocks, the recurrence of these rectilinear
patterns in series offers reciprocal shade, cooling, and ventilation. The ventilation challenge of a
building with twin rectilinear shapes is handled by elevating the structure on pilotis to let entering
cold air to displace heated air through an interior court with a raised ceiling. The interior court is
made more functional by including horizontal and vertical circulation routes as well as social
engagement areas. This is true in the colleges of social sciences, law, and administration, as well
as the educational and pharmaceutical buildings. Yoruba traditional architecture provided
inspiration for tropical architecture's ventilation and lighting systems. Yoruba traditional
architecture is known for the courtyard as not only a means of natural ventilation and lighting, but
also a means of internalizing social activities in the family. Many academic buildings adopted
courtyards for all of these reasons and more. It was used in the biological sciences and health
sciences faculty buildings. Spaces are frequently structured along single loaded corridors that
provide access to the spaces with the external wall shaded by deep overhanging roofs or shading
devices with windows covered in recessed walls or by shading devices, whether in the building

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with light well or inner court or courtyard. The outdoors was created to work in tandem with the
inside in order to help people function better in the severe tropical environment. To limit heat gain
and provide a balanced environment for human habitation and sustainability, hard and soft
landscapes were employed in appropriate proportions. Trees give protection from the sun and a
place to unwind during periods of human activity. They also offer shade for large hard surfaces,
such as parking lots, which helps to prevent heat reflection and gain. Trees also help to reduce
wind speed, which may be dangerous in undulating settings like the OAU campus. The natural
drainage of various drainage issues is aided by the planned and unplanned green environment,
particularly the low ecosystem.
2.4 The Idea of an African Architecture
The fundamental rule of art is that it must adhere to the demands and conventions of the historical
time in which it is created. As a result, it is critical that the architecture of our time (the twenty-
first century) speaks our truth; our moment's truth. The example set by previous architectural
forms, as seen by Greek Temples and Gothic cathedrals, and how these constructions reflected
their era, further strengthens this notion. The fundamental dilemma is thus how to create a style
that is appropriate for our period and location while yet sticking to the fundamental principles of
architecture. Everyone can see how technology has ingrained itself into the fabric of our culture,
invading and displacing local vernaculars. Technology has made physical and mental advances
into the life of everyone, even peasants, generating a type of pulling effect, 37 leading to a rural-
urban migration of peasants. As is often the case (opportunity cost), leaving the rural "darkness"
for the metropolitan light comes at a cost of filthy and unsafe living conditions. There is always a
divide between bourgeoisie and proletariat, gorgeous city depths and edifices, slums and squatter

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settler communities settlements on the outskirts which is often dramatic and destabilizing. As
shown by Kunle Adeyemi's floating school in Makoko, Lagos, Nigeria, the aforementioned status
quo is one of the concerns that African architecture should and is already reacting to. This is simply
one issue (the theme of reformation) among many that our architecture should address; a building
of our own Utopia, in which the social strata are deconstructed if at all feasible. Our architecture
should reject shallow imitations of historical forms in order to fit to our period, instead opting for
a more "direct" or "honest" depiction of the modern environment. The notion of African
architecture is similar to the formative strands of contemporary architecture in several ways.
Architects throughout this period (19th and 20th century) were also interested with depicting their
era in their work. There were several difficulties in doing so; architects traveled back and forth in
time in an attempt to resolve the issue of style, with different architects proposing various historical
answers. Cesar, a French theorist, also addressed the question of style in his writings Daly and the
German Gottfried Semper were both interested in articulating the historical link between building,
craft, and architectural language, as well as the theoretical underpinnings of a viable language for
their own time. Semper's main goal was to define the present by drawing comparisons to the past.
The forthright presentation of building design and materials was connected to the progressive
march of history in a concept of architectural history devised by French architect and thinker
Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. According to this paradigm, the ideal way to define a style is to create
shapes that are acceptable for new technology as well as changing social and economic contexts.
This paradigm, probably due to the pioneer's neglect, left an unsolved question: where should the
new forms be found? Various responses to this subject have emerged, with some feeling that huge
individual leaps of creativity are required, while others believe that style will solve itself if
architects solve logically and solidly, resulting in the development of the eventual phrase “form

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ever follows function”. There was relatively little admission that even a ‘new’ architecture was
likely, ultimately, to be assembled out of old elements, albeit highly abstracted ones. There was
another method of dealing with the challenges and opportunities presented by a broader view of
the past rather than focusing on the perceived worth of a single style, this viewpoint advocates for
the growth of a language based on the characteristics of multiple. The goal is to combine previous
antecedents and generate new combinations from other lineages. This viewpoint is known as
"eclectism," and it has allowed for some of history's most bizarre, as well as some of the wealthiest
structures. In the worst-case scenario, it might result in weird concoctions of pieces with no
underlying integration. At its finest, it resulted in works with deep meaning, blending, for example,
classical and modern elements, Simplicity in plan, Gothic construction clarity, Romantic silhouette
effects, and imaginative use of contemporary materials Eclectism has no rules for combination and
no evident links between form and function, yet it may be a potent tool for extracting historical
lessons if a meaningful transformation can be achieved. One writer aptly described the eclectic
technique as "the designer's untiring thinking," which "has achieved a great many thoughts bearing
on the issue, melts these concepts in the crucibles of imagination." Violet-le-Duc, like the writer
of this article, was troubled by the nineteenth century's incapacity to identify its own style, and
believed that the solution lay in the production of forms "true to the concept and true to the
processes of construction," as he declared in his Entretiens sur l'architecture (1863-72). He was a
little hazy on the nature of these 'truths,' and he tended to believe (perhaps incorrectly) that great
works of the past were distinguished primarily by their ability to articulate the thematic and
structural 'truths' of their period. While he was devoted to the goal of a new architecture, he also
thought that the past might help him uncover the new style. The past must be mined for its
fundamental ideas and processes, not for its outward effects. Antoine- Chrysostome Quatremere

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de Quincy, a nineteenth-century French philosopher, said that "nothing whatever originates from
nothing" and that "the act of constructing is born out out of a pre-existing gem’. This same notion
was also inherited by Gottfried Semper who wrote: Just as nature is ever thrifty of motifs, even in
her endless abundance, constantly repeating her basic forms, but modifying them in a thousand
different ways according to the condition of her creatures and their mode of life; so art lies within
the scope of a few Norms, that derive from old tradition, each constantly reappearing in diverse
forms…
Thus, in framing their work, architects, both young and old, should rely on a wide pool of theories
to develop forms that meet the African ambitions for a new architecture. When faced with the
dilemma of style, we should all go to nature and tradition for inspiration. We should look back at
prior teachings and, in the heightened crucibles of our imagination, combine these lessons to create
something magnificent. While we all aim to build vocabularies that are completely in tune with
our period, we should also endeavour to infuse the outcomes with an African flavour; we should
all strive to construct architectural languages that have the depth, rigour, and breadth of application
of the great style of the past. reminiscent to previous eras' outstanding styles. Tradition should not
be abandoned, but it should be abandoned in its servile, shallow, and unimportant form.
2.5 Mateirals, Form and Function: The Birth of The New Style
Forms, functionality, and materials are all important considerations in the hunt for a new style.
Regardless of whose school of thought one subscribes to; form follows function, function follows
form, and the several other schools of thought, an agreement can be made that the shape of a
building communicates more about the building than anything else. The purpose of a structure, the

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architectural style to which it belongs, the owner's economic and social position, and a plethora of
other factors may all be expressed by the form of a building. In the search of this new style, the
African style, one must be careful not to over-abstract; a stylistic phase in architecture, while it
can be a broad basis of shared motifs, forms of expression, and subjects, will undoubtedly have a
wide range of personal interpretations and style. Thus, the only thing to consider supreme in this
pursuit is the design's "Africannes," which, regardless of personal interpretation, cultural attributes,
religious beliefs, climatic changes, and various other factors, should never be overlooked, because
it is only when this becomes the backbone of all design forms that we can truly say we have our
own style; the African style. We should all be driven by our individual images, like Antonio Gaudi
was, and concerned with establishing a really "regional" style. We should all be working hard to
concretize our artistic ambitions. Understanding local structural kinds and building techniques in
clay, wood, or sandcrete blocks, as well as lyrical, if not mystical, reactions to the local terrain and
plants, as well as the regional character and traditions of each site in Africa, might be the key. The
synthesis of the imaginative and the practical, the subjective and the scientific, the spiritual and
the material, might and should be at the heart of our activity. Forms should not be chosen at
random, but rather should be based on structural principles and a private world of social
significance. Ours should be a style of pure shapes capable of stirring the spirit in the same way as
music rhythms can, It should be a living thing that accurately reflects its epoch. Our works must
be carefully subjugated to their intended functions, which will be accomplished by the wise use of
materials, the attainment of beauty through the arrangement and harmonious proportions of the
required elements from which they are constructed. Ours should be a style that is profoundly
anchored in timeless ideas and fully responsive to the resources and requirements of modern
African culture. Our style should aim to leverage the favourable accord between the functional and

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geometrical disciplines of modernism and the basic principles of our rural vernacular architecture
in order to realise our ideal of regional architecture. We should aim for high lyrical intensity
statements with underlying technical rigour, functional clarity, and formal restraint. Against the
dogmas of an academic elite wedded to the religion of computations, structural engineering should
be viewed as both an art and a science. This is not to argue that the current tendency of meticulous
calculations should be abandoned, but rather that some aspects of passion and poetry should be
infused into a technical expression that is steadfast. Our architecture should be a vehicle for social
emancipation, expressed in a language of locally sourced materials fused to perfection. Ours
should be a grandiose vision that combines a socialist utopia with a sensual merger with nature.
Colonialism's realities should be set aside in favor of some notions of cultural destinies based on
shared geographical groupings and a contemporary mythology anchored in the return to the land
Our work should generate subtle interplays of solids, voids, light, and shade that are modern but
founded on African tradition's most fundamental forms. Building in the present era should be in
tune with the environment and climate as well as the custom We can also opt to follow Joseph
Sert's ideal of "meridional architecture," in which "new materials and processes of construction"
are used, as well as local principles and traditional devices like as terraces, loggias, screens, and
awnings, which are modernized. Overall, conflict with Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, who
considered the "modern style" as just another foreign incursion in his country's already divided
and subjugated culture. It was a destructive force, he believed, that was turning the entire world to
a hollow sameness.
Modern architecture, when properly articulated and traditionalized, is a liberating force whose
ideas are deeply anchored in "beautiful" building. Fathy's perspective, however, was stated through
a Pharaonic ideal: the notion of returning to the foundations of local culture in the country's own

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vernacular. By encouraging peasants to create for themselves, he hoped to revitalize architecture
from the ground up.
Modern buildings have a particular African character and sobriety, using low-cost forms and
processes that have lasted the test of time. Space, light, movement, interior serenity, and dynamism
are our guiding preoccupations. The creative blending of multiple purposes on an urban site, as
well as the precise management of proportion and detail, should give our works an intrinsic logic
and strength. New uses and meanings for generating ideas and generic principles should emerge
in a chapter and picture of dissemination in which newly invented paradigms with an aura of
modernity and a certain regionalism are simultaneously extended, and in which new uses and
meanings for generating ideas and generic principles are discovered. The modernist clichés should
be assimilated into the urban vernacular. Grandiose utopian city designs should be created, and the
wheels of execution should be put in action.
Drawing on the lessons learned from Le Corbusier's Unite d'habitation in Marseilles, where he
attempted to address the problem of mass housing by designing and creating a collective housing
prototype based on his observations on the type of life that may be lived by the average person.
Through sensible attention to proportion, rhythm, human scale, and sculptural management of
mass, a form of standardization would have to be attained; the aesthetic result of the African style
should neither be repetitious nor overly busy; boredom should be avoided; and unity should be
maintained. It should elicit and inspire a vision of the good life as an antidote to the continent's
current malaise, establishing a healthy mental-physical balance. Our style should be charismatic,
with roots in African Utopianism, but with a sensibility that is appropriate to the current socio-
cultural and political climate. It has its roots in the psychological elements of each structure, which
vary depending on its typology, but it speaks in a language that is relevant to contemporary African

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circumstances. These attributes are mirrored in the words of Aldo Van Eyck, a Dutch architect:
Each period necessitates a consistent language an instrument with which to address the period's
human concerns, as well as those that stay constant from period to period, namely, those posed by
man—by all of us as primordial creatures. The time has come to bring the ancient into the new, to
rediscover human nature's archaic traits. I'm referring to the classic we can also opt to follow
Joseph Sert's ideal of "meridional architecture," in which "new materials and processes of
construction" are used, as well as local principles and traditional devices like as terraces, loggias,
screens, and awnings, which are modernized. Overall,conflict with Egyptian architect Hassan
Fathy, who considered the "modern style" as just another foreign incursion in his country's already
divided and subjugated culture. As a result, forms that mix the old and new or allow for a gentle
transition between the old tissue and the new thing must be developed. A concept of a utopian
metropolis in which man, nature, and urban life coexist in perfect harmony within our current
surroundings. One that combines both modern and traditional principles and has numerous
inventive responses to the practical concerns of everyday life. Our design must represent the
transition from our generation's doubts, caution, dread, and cynicism to optimism and dreams for
future generations.
2.6 DESIGN INADEQUACY AND THE MAINTENANCE OF UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS
2.6.1 O.A.U Building Design Configuration
According to Egboramy (1981), the designer of the majority of OAU's Faculty Buildings, OAU
buildings were designed and built on the concept of group architecture; the idea of creating
architectural ensembles related to each other in shape, function, and character; an idea originating

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