i

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
 vi

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
ix
 1

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
 2

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
 3

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
 4

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
 5

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
 6

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
 7

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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Plate 1.1

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,
 9

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.

10
 11

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).
 14

Plate 1.4. Brazilian Style: several generations down, with less decoration and no
attics. Tenement housing. Ibadan. (Source: Osasona).
 15

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,
 16

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
 17

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,
 18

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
 20

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:

 21

• 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).
 22

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"
 23

(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
 24

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
 25

(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:

 26

• 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
 27

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).
 28

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).

 29

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
 30

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
 31

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.

 32

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
 33

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
 34

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
 35

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),
 36

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.
 37

Fig. 5

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.
 38

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
 39

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
 40

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).
 41

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).
 42

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
 43

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
 44

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).
 45

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,
 46

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
 47

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
 48

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
 49

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
 50

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
 51

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
 52

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
 53

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
 54

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
 55

from physical site features such as topography, soil, vegetation, and customs and character of the

host community. As a result, facilities have been designed and sited with the goal of providing an

ideal, exciting, and gratifying working environment (research and learning) for employees and

students. The design and construction of modern structures are frequently different from the

original designers' concepts. Melvin (2006), on the other hand, noticed that consideration for

design-related influence on structures was almost completely ignored, and that issues in sustaining

these buildings after completion were almost never taken into account, particularly during the

design stage. As a result, the cost of maintaining the buildings rises as their life-cycle performance

deteriorates and more elements of the structures deteriorate. According to Ikpo (2006), flaws in

design affect the performance and physical qualities of the structure, as well as its capacity to

withstand environmental factors, noise, and social interferences such as graffiti and vandalism.

The duduyemi lecture theatre at the department of environmental design and management, the Ican

Lecture Theater at the faculty of administration, and the 1000-seater behind Moremi Hall of

Residence are among these architectural attractions.

2.6.2 Maintenance Problems Traceable to Design

According to Adejimi (2005), one key impediment to achieving maintenance–free structures is a

lack of integration of construction processes by the specialists involved. Construction processes

are still sequential in nature, and they are only linked at the tail end of one another rather than

overlapping and benefiting from one another. Maintenance issues might arise during the design,

building, or occupancy stages. Workable design resolutions, good structural strength,

unambiguous material specifications, availability of maintenance manual, safety measures,

involvement of skilled maintenance personnel, availability of plants & equipment, consideration

for environmental factors, space for maintenance operations, and good workmanship were
 56

identified by the author as some maintenance problems that could be mitigated during the design

stage. Similarly, design contributions can improve accessibility to defective parts, finance, client

needs, and user attitudes about maintenance difficulties. The following variables that impede

building maintenance operations are taken into account further.

Poor and Irregular Building Shapes: 'Function follows form,' as the expression goes in

architecture. However, Wai-(2006) Kiong's study appears to have challenged this viewpoint, since

most building designers choose aesthetic rather than functional building designs and appearances.

The findings of Paul (1997), Chew (2002), and Sermin (2008) supported this viewpoint,

particularly in the design of public buildings. Ikpo (2006) also discovered that building forms and

profiles are maintainability issues that impede maintenance activities. These writers' models for

estimating the ease of sustaining structures comprised of sophisticated mathematical expressions,

which, as observed by Omotehinshe (2014), might be burdensome or unappealing to building

designers throughout the design stage. According to the author, maintenance operations on square

and rectangular designs appear to be less difficult and more cost effective than those on circular

and hexagonal ones.

Roof Type and Slope: The roof is the highest section of a building and serves as a cap to protect

the structures beneath it. As a result, a faulty roof might be a source of maintenance issues for both

itself and the buildings beneath it. According to Brian et al. (2014), a genuinely sustainable roof

would be constructed to allow material separation or refurbishment, as well as re-use or recycling,

at the end of its life. The authors evaluated Economic Performance as a vital component in

maintaining roof structures while working on 'Sustainable Roofs through Design for Heightened

Maintainability and Future Disassembly in Canada.'

 57

Choice of Materials or Finishes: Poor material/finish selection and use issues, which are

particularly prevalent in roof systems, may be traced to their design or economizations. Previous

research (e.g., Ikpo, 2008) has revealed that pitched, flat roof construction materials and finishes

are always prone to leaks. This was a reiteration of what Seeley (1987) had previously said; the

author suggested that these leaks are mostly the consequence of insufficient data and knowledge

to support design inputs, unskilled designers, or a failure to recruit a strong design team that can

advise on constructing features. Furthermore, the use of inferior or poor materials has been

identified as a causative factor of significant problems such as malfunctioning openings, rapid

degradation of materials over time due to climatic changes, short life spans, and the use of

substandard roofing materials that cannot withstand the climatic factor of When exposed to direct

sunshine, Ile Ife takes on the characteristics of a plastic. However, the study did not specify

whether the inadequacy in design configuration and workmanships were the consequential effect

of the client’s decisions. Psychologically this has also shown that most contractors or operatives

deviated from the properly specified materials through ignorance but more often as an expedient

to save time or money without realizing that the end product may not satisfy the required standard.

Construction Techniques to Suit Design: The choice of building method and technique can be

connected to its design through the necessity to attain the designer's desired shape or qualities

(Ikpo, 2006). Some of the flaws in building procedures may be noticed in prefabricated structures,

appearing as leaks at panel seams, particularly at roof portions. With the passage of time, the

sealant used to keep out inclement weather on windows, doors, and service ducts becomes a source

of maintenance issues. The sealant and the technology required for its application are not correctly

set, which might be owing to the accommodations of unskilled personnel or the materials
 58

employed, which are not suited as a decent building approach for tropical places like Ile-Ife,

Nigeria.

Non-Availability of Maintenance Manual: Usually building Designers provide the necessary

working drawings needed for the physical production of building on site. In practice however,

some of the constructed structures differed significantly from the ones described in the designers’

working drawings. According to Omotehinshe (2011), a variety of factors such as site conditions,

client requests, and shifts in the positions of buried utilities such as drain pipes, electrical cables

(conduit), sewers, and water mains were responsible for the variations, which resulted in details of

the building produced differing from those described in the working drawings. New and updated

plans depicting the structure in its completed state, with all-inclusive information detailing all

materials, maintenance and replacement methods. This is far from the fact, since the University's

Physical Planning Unit acknowledged that no structure on campus contains As-Built Drawings.

This style of graphic serves as a maintenance manual for building users and occupiers. Building

occupiers/users value as-built drawings in the same way that automobile owners value the owner's

manual.

Building Design and Construction Flaws: Ikpo (2009) rightly said that building design and

manufacturing begin with the building owner's declaration of intent and end with the

commissioning date. Faulty architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical designs, on the one

hand, and poor building technique by the function Object() { [native code] }, on the other, may

lead to maintenance issues. Inadequate or incorrect detailing of working drawings, leaving out

users, occupiers, and maintenance employees at the design stage, and the builder not being aware

of the designer's original concept or purpose may all constitute maintenance concerns. According

to existing literature, most construction designers were not adequately supplied with knowledge
 59

on soil conditions, building environment, and weather difficulties throughout the design stage,

resulting in products that were inevitably defective. The impacts of driving rains on facades can

be significantly mitigated if thorough and sufficient research is conducted during the planning

stage.

Finance: Most maintenance problems revolve around availability of funds (Dabara, Adegoke,

Ankeli, & Akinjogbin, 2014). Budgetary allocation for maintenance work is rarely considered by

most organizations and where it exists it is as low as 5% of the organization annual budget (Chew,

2003). Despite the fact that budgetary allocation to O.A.U. has been on the increase during the

past 10 years (₦2,421,824,173 in 2000/2001 to ₦7,105,833,819 in 2008/2009) allocation for

maintenance operations has been progressively reduced from 4.5% to 2.2% during the same period

(Budget Planning & Development Unit, see Table 1). Money is needed for the procurement of

maintenance actions in buildings. Wordsworth (2001) and Dabara et al. (2014) observed that

majority of the budget allocated to the construction industry in developing countries is used for

the procurement of new facilities rather than completing on-going projects or updating the existing
 60

One of the problems encountered in the maintenance of public buildings is the inability of

managers of facilities to easily decide when such facilities should be shut down for maintenance

works (Sermin 2008). General maintenance work on buildings is only permitted in the event of

O.A.U. when the building is not in use, which is now the case at the 1000 seater lecture theatre.

Hostels, lecture halls, and workshops can only be temporarily closed for renovation during

extended student holidays — which are unusual due to issues in the Nigerian educational system.

From the preceding, it is clear that the majority of maintenance issues experienced in university

buildings can be traced back to construction designs.

2.6.3 Physical Impacts of Maintenance Problems

As Ani (2011) points out, Nigerian structures and infrastructure are progressively and methodically

ageing, dilapidating, and disintegrating in practically all towns and metropolitan centres. In the

same vein, Ikpo (2006), Ahmad et al. (2006), and Omotehinshe (2014) identified local

environment, user impacts, and design flaws as factors responsible for major cracks, fluid leakages,

biological growths, rusting, staining, and prolonged down time in facility usage while working on

maintenance of public buildings. According to Ahmad et al. (2006), the comprehension of a good

building design is always related to the shape of the structure and its aesthetic value. On several

cases, this notion has overlooked the true function of why the structure was constructed in the first

place. In other words, the incapability of the building to serve its purpose has been automatically

ignored by the public because of the attractive design of the building, that is, without even

considering whether it has been designed for economic reasons, or for safety, usability and

maintainability. The more unique a building is designed to be, the more, it seems, gains artistic

value, becoming appealing and much appreciated. Actually, what most Clients value about
 61

buildings as noted by Ahmad et al. (2006), are their forms and shapes, rather than the proper

function and performance as needed by the occupants or users. The consideration of design impacts

on the building after completion is almost neglected. The issues in sustaining the building after

completion appear to have been overlooked as well, particularly at the time the structure is

scheduled to be completed. As a result, the cost of maintaining the structure rises, its life-cycle

shortens, and more elements of the building degrade quickly. Studies in this field have revealed

(see Melvin, 2006) that design plays a significant impact in determining the state of a structure

after completion, particularly in terms of flaws and upkeep. As a result, the effects of building

design on maintenance should be considered not only in terms of an increasing number of repair

works or costs involved, but also in terms of the impact of design on the structure and materials

installed, as well as the life-cycle for each component or element of the building.

2.7 The Study Area

The study buildings for this project are the Chief Oyekunle Alex Duduyemi Lecture Theater

located at the old faculty of Environmental Design and Management Study , Institute of Chartered

Account of Nigeria (ICAN) Lecture Theatre at the adjacent of Music Department beside Admin

extension, and 1000-Seater Lecture Theater behind Geology Department Obafemi Awolowo

University (O.A.U), Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The Obafemi Awolowo University, founded in

1962 as the University of Ife, was renamed by the Federal Military Government on May 12, 1987.

(2013, oau website) 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, this

institution is one of Nigeria's first-generation universities (Egboramy, 1981). According to the

university website (2013), the population of the university in 2012 was 31,117, comprised of staff
 62

(2,544) and students (28,573) in the following Faculties: Administration (4,163), Agriculture

(1,635), Arts (3,035), Education (2,292), Environmental Design & Management (2,153), Basic

Medical Sciences, Clinical Sciences, and Dentistry (1,838). Others are Faculties of Law (2,084),

Pharmacy (771), Sciences (3,986), Social Sciences (3,359), and Technology (4,484). University

buildings are expected to be reliable, available and maintainable for learning and research activities

(Wordsworth, 2001). Defects related with the prevailing adverse weather factors on building

components are crucial to the achievement of the university's goals. OAU is an excellent candidate

for this study because it is one of Nigeria's first-generation institutions. Similarly, among Nigerian

colleges, OAU boasts a large number of structures with both ancient and modern architecture, and

it is regarded as the "most beautiful campus in Africa." This provides a sufficient number of

buildings available to me for the purpose of the research.

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CHAPTER THREE

3.0 METHODOLOGY

The approach to this project dissertation is descriptive and interpretative. It is a critical study of

the designs of some selected Obafemi Awolowo university building designs.

The approach of the study first involves a little research which simply entails the collection of

materials in term of plans, drawing, pictures, map, write ups, older project dissertations on similar

building typologies and other electronic media sources of data. The research here is done mainly

for the purpose of knowing what past spoke about so as to be well alert to what the present speaks

that you will then not be able to lack the ability to foresee what the future will be speaking. The

architects of the past were the forerunners of today's trends.

The second aspect of the approach to this dissertation is the design analysis and check for

functional adequacy which involves the rigorous observation and study of the various features that

makes up a typical theartre designs warrant such analysis so that the architect does not design ‘a

hall for a theartre auditorium or a stage for an orchestra’.

Generally speaking, the theartres in view are both similar to a typical design but vary in some way

and this variation attracts one to the building types and brings one to realize that the idea in the

architects/designers frame of ought must have been a juxtaposition of what was and what is, a

mere paradox of ideas, a poetry in architetcture.

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3.1 DESCRIPTION OF AMPHITHEATRE

Oral traditions in ife contend that Oduduwa established in first settlement somewhere in what is

now the campus. The toatal land acquisition is about 11,861 hectares and this makes the campus

by far one of the largest in the world.

The architects were charged to maintained the natural landscape and thus where faced with the

problems of find turning each structure in its locality to the generally already existing natural

environment, this implies that the design considerations had to be done strickly in accordance to

landscape requirements and this is one of the reasons why virtually all the building on the campus

look like outgrowths from the ground in terms of colour, orientation and / or form. The theatre is

expressed as a volume of space within a large open frame structure. A vast majority of the space

not built upon serves for circulation purposes and not just serving the theatres alone but also the

general traverse routes since it helps link many of the spaces on the campus from the core outwards

The construction of this theatre commenced in the year 1973 and it took a period of about three

years before full fledged activities could begin within the space, although from records it was

observed that the construction works were finished as at 1974, meaning this building of such size

and magnificence was built in just one year. The design of amphitheartre was modified by the

addition of a long span steel roof truss over the main auditorium; the decision was due to the

influence of weather disturbance during large functions that the Oduduwa hall overtime could not

accommodate. Hence the amphitheatre had to be modified to suit the need of the university

community.
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3.2 THE PHYSICAL FRAMEWORK

The physical framework of the theartre in view is confined first to planes and volume

3.2.1 Form

base plane, the wall plane and the overhead plane. Observing the overhead plane of the theatre has

a polygona shape, although it remained in two dimensions even with the steel framework and it

maintained the 2 dimensional rectangular shapes. The scenery wall defins the internal wall plane

in the amphitheatre. The base plane takes the form as shown Form can be perceived in two

dimensions, the internal and the external form

Internal form: form can be identified within a building when various planes come together to form

volume. The theatre have a dominant use of irregular shapes on every plane of view.

External form: the north side of the amphitheatre is curved, the west and east angular and polygonal

while the south is rectangular.

3.2.2 Orientation

It is the orientation of a shape with relation to the ground plane, compass points, and other people.

The theatrical structures are positioned 15 degrees north and are somewhat raised from the road

level.

It is perpendicular to the buildings around it, thus its longitudinal axis is parallel to the magnetic

north, making the incidence sun beams harsh on those sides.

The roof above it sits on the columns, enabling a space between the seating area to enable the stales

air to depart while ventilation flow through the aperture, making it comfortable for users to carry

out activities regardless of time.

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The dominating texture of the building makes it non-reflective, and the exposed aggregate concrete

is not impacted by rain, instead keeping the structure sparkling, when it comes to the colour of the

building, which is predominantly grey, white, and black flow with the green area relative to the

roof integrates with the building shape as if it were born with it, edifying the facade and providing

a better view of the amphitheater.

3.3 HUMANITIES BUILDING

The lush natural foliage was preserved whenever feasible, and the building' designs, more

critically, took into account the blazing heat and monsoon rains. Many of the pedestrian paths were

covered by long flat-roofed pergolas with slender columns. it employed a climatic solution

Each of the humanities buildings had four cantilevered levels, which provided shade and protection

to the one next to it. Recessed terraces added sculptural prominence to this gradient by creating

strong contrasts of light and shadow. the uniqueness of this technique to addressing climatic

problems, since it required using the volumes of the structures for protection rather than conceiving

a building and subsequently adding “louvers and precast ornamental elements, Despite its

rectangular design, it still conceive additional aesthetics. The value of this building is linked with

its function and how it relates to the environment without deterioration or affliction by the weather,

although it may be a lack of maintenance, which is still minimal in comparison to the newly erected

structure on campus.
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Plate 3.0

3.4 AUDITORIUM BUILDING ( AUD 1& 2)

The building is rectangular in shape, with a lobby that serves as the primary entry into the lecture

hall. The interior is shielded from direct weather through the fin wall which might cause

degradation and disruption to the thermal comfort into the building. The orientation of the

modernist building on campus is to enable and contextualize a solution to climate which was

already discussed in the previous chapter, generally speaking the ventilation of the space more

than the lecture hall capacity, the cross ventilation cannot be emphasized, the two adjacent

windows exposed to the high and low pressure area respectively, although the ventilations flow

directly from the high pressure area and the stale air evolved through the opposite windows and

the blank wall which happens to be the northern serves as focal point to resist heat that may be

generated from the other end.

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The building is embellished with decorations and a shading mechanism to preserve thermal

comfort. To minimize or mitigate the reflection from the activities on the emphasis, the light

travels through the space rather than directly to the stage.

The building doesn’t just fusion into the environment each elements serve a specific purpose the

roof eaves in particular protect the exterior walls against deteriorations and as well a shading

device. The space between the concrete slab and the headroom used to generate a cooling aside

from the means of direct ventilation from the openings and fins wall which shade the intensity of

the sun as such the compensation of the stunning landscape is the plants which contribute to the

comfort of the building generated from the design

3.5 GENERAL REQUIREMENT

Any theatre design must meet some certain standard architectural requirements.

These are,

1. Physical requirement

2. Perceptual standards

3. Conceptual requirements

3.5.1 Physical: this includes form and space. Form talks about solid and voids. Space refers to

interior and exterior spaces. The systematic organization of space, structure, enclosure and

machines.

3.5.2 Perceptual: it refers to the system and organization of the functioning and activities within

spaces, approach and aperture, entry and egress, movement through the order of spaces, qualities

of light, colour, texture, visual and acoustics. It simply the sensory perception and experience of

the physical elements orderly and in time.

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3.5.3 Conceptual: this involves the comprehension of the ordered or disordered relationship

among a buildings element and systems and responding to the meanings they evoke. The systems

organizations of images, patterns, sign, symbol and context.

context of a typical architectural design

space

Function form

Technique
Fig. 6
s

My modified contextual framework below of the theatre in view, where form and space are

classified under form while functions and techniques under function

Stage audience relationship

Fig. 7

3.5.1 Physical requirements

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Every architectural masterpiece hail from a single conceptual unit called the point. This

point may be in the mind’s eye or virtually expressed on a piece of paper. In the vocabulary of

architectural design, one can see that a point itself speaks volumes depending on the perspective

it has been looked at from. As an illustration observing a structure like the statue of liberty

vertically over its longitudinal axis shows at that distance of view, a point without any ‘body’

whosever, but as the sight lines begin to tilt towards the horizontal plane, there is a change from

a point to a line in a single dimension i.e., the y-plane.

Another expression of the elements can be seen as a point connects another point along a single

path as the crow flies or as a point is stretched. This gives us again a one-dimensional line. The

analogy that is used earlier and the analogy in this present paragraph brings me to the conclusion

that two major reference points influence the perception of the elements, one being the observer’s

view point and the other the elements actual traverse. In summary: -

Point indicates a position in space

Line is a point that has extended and has direction, length and position

Plane is achieved when lines are arranged in an array; and it has length and width, shape, surface,

orientation and position

Volume involves the properties of length, width and depth; form and space; surface; orientation;

position

All pictorial form begins with the point that sets itself in
motion…the point that moves…and the lines come into
being -the first dimension. If the line shifts to form a plane,
we obtain a two-dimensional element. In the movement
from plane to spaces, the clash of planes gives rise to body
(three-dimensional) …Paul Klee
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The thinking Eye: The Notebooks of Paul Klee (1961)

3.5.1.1 Planes

In architectural design there are generally three types of planes:

I. Overhead plane: the overhead plane can be either be the roof plans that shelters the interior

spaces of a building from the climatic elements or the aiding plane that forms the upper enclosing

surface of a room.

II. Wall plane: the wall plane because of its vertical orientation is active in our normal field

of vision and vital to the shaping enclosure of architecture space.

III. Base plane: the base plane can be either the ground plane that serve as the physical

foundation and visual base for building forms or the floor plane that forms the lower enclosing

surfaces of a room upon which we walk. The ground plane ultimately supports all architectural

construction. Along with climate and environmental conditions of a site, the topographical

character of the ground plane influences the form of the building that rises from it. The building

can merge with the ground plane, rest firmly on it or be elevated above it. As a matter of focus the

base plane is the major plane of study as touching the topic, theatres. The base plane can be

subdivided into two, the elevated base plane and the depressed base plane, the former being an

extension from the ground floor level. Elevation a position of the ground plane establishes a

platform or podium that structurally and visually supports the form and mass of a building e.g., a

stage lowering or depressing a portion of the base plane isolates a field of space from a larger

context. The vertical surfaces of the depression establish the boundaries of the field e.g. the

orchestra, which is designed on the basis of the simple principle that an increased depth of a

depressed field weakens the relationship with the surrounding space and strengthens its definition
 72

as a distinct volume or room. Depressed area in the topography of a site can serve as natural stages

for outdoor arenas.

3.5.1.2 Volume/form

The main expression of volume in architecture is architectural form. Form also suggests reference

to both internal structure and external outline and the principle that gives unity to the whole. Note

that while form often include a sense of three-dimension mass or volume, shape refers more

specifically to the essential aspect of form that governs its appearance.

Properties of form appreciably used in the design of theatres include; -

1. Shape: shape is a characteristic outline of form. Shape can be seen in a breakdown of a

total volume into planes. And the most easily identifies planar shape is the wall shape which can

stand for the scenery wall.

2. Visual properties: those include the size, the colour and texture.

The size is the physical dimension of length, width and depth of form.

The colour is a phenomenon of light and perception that may be described in terms of an

individual’s perception of hue, saturation and tonal value.

Texture is the visual and especially tactile quality given to a surface to determine the degree to

which the surfaces of a form reflect or absorb incident light.

3. Relational properties: these govern the pattern and composition of elements and it includes

position, orientation, and visual inertial.

The position implies the location of a form relative to its environment.

Orientation is the direction of a form relative to the ground plane, other forms, the compass points

and other persons.

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Visual inertial is the degree of concentration and stability of a form.

Forms could also be classified as regular and irregular.

Transformation of form can retain their regularity even when transferred dimensionally or

by the addition or subtraction of elements. Also, regular forms can be made irregular by subtraction

or addition of regular or irregular forms/elements. There are three types of transformation: -

(a) Dimension Transformation

(b) Subtraction Transformation

(c) Additive Transformation

The theatre in view has basic transformation being either subtractive or additive; this will be

expatiated upon in the design analysis of theatres.

3.5.2 Perceptual standards

This refers to the functional and spatial requirements: broadly speaking, the spaces in a performing

art building falls inti four categories and they are:

1. Front-of-house: consisting lobbies foyers, circulation, restroom and other public spaces

2. Stage: where the action or activities happens such as lecture

3. Back-of-house: storage room, shops etc

3.6 ARCHITECTURAL CRITIQUE

An architectural criticism, when done correctly, aims to assess a building design in relation to

particular parameters, Consider architectural form, function, and structure. A good architectural

critique must be objective and as much as possible devoid of sentiments. This critique has adopted

some methodologies known to have been used in previous researches, these include,
 74

descriptive/depictive or explanatory forms, critical or interpretative, comparative, speculative or

philosophical etc. thus details of the mechanical, electrical,architectural, psychological and other

systems that may affects the users or client’s perception of the designer to judge the adequacy or

ability of his /her design to meet the needs of the immediate users and the environment at large;

although we all know that there is no such as a perfect design and all the architectural critique does

is to create a benchmark.

The method used here is depictive and to a large extent comparative of theatres , due to the

interpretative nature of this project dissertation, pictures, illustrations, prose and drawings have

all been used at one point or another to express the idea of those involved in the building process

of these theatres.

3.6.1 Forms / shape: although in most cases, a theatre or a lecture theatre to be precise take a

similar form as illustrated from the descriptive study / research of building typology. It’s not just

grown of concept better still to ensure adequacy in design for a better application. Perhaps some

building has gone wrong in form while some appreciated from the inception, taken a look at

Amphitheatre and 1000-Seater are more or less the same shape but only a little different designed

to accomplish a perceived solution and nothing else justified the wrongful doing of the form.

Nevertheless; the ICAN Lecture Theatre which is located at the admin extension adjacent

department of music, can never be said to be the designer comprised the size of the building but

could be as a result of the brief on building capacity that led to the misinterpretation of the form

and it grown out of the context which brings discomfort through the arrangement of furniture and

as such this shape worked well with Chief Oyekunle Alex Dudyemi lecture theatre at old faculty of

environmental study.
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Fig. 8

Floor plan of 1000 Seater Lecture Theatre

Fig. 9

Floor Plan of ICAN Lecture Theatre

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3.6.2 Orientation and Ventilations: as a matter of fact,positioning of buildings in Obafemi

Awolowo University Campus cannot be underrated as it enable to achieved design solution in

temperate region like Ile-Ife despite the fact that some building orientations were a bit tilted from

the acquinted view, nevertheless; compromised with openings although things gone wrong with

buildings in view the position of openings or orientation affects the In-flow of ventilations, 1000-

Seaters managed to solved the problems by dealing with recessed shape given high chances for

positioning of windows to encouraged high flow of ventilation, although; the circulation of

ventilation in the interior space uttered as such it doesn’t circulate to the most usable area its only

observed, the inlet in the adjacent side collides and reduced the quality of the flow via the mixture

with the stale air from the users. The core area in the space are the major places to employed the

ventilation but made it insufficient comfort to the occupants instead since there is another road

beside it should have simply designed to the road and the windows should have positioned against

the opening walls and which could have bring more comfort to the building, whereas ICAN

Lecture Theatre is less suffered because its already appreciated with trees to accomplished the

functionlities.

3.6.3 Colour and Texture: The significant of O.A.U walls is dominantly gray and white on the

exterior range from the building constructed from the inception of the modernist architects, The

appearances give stunning approach to campus buildings,defining harmony and balance. The

exposed concrete usually rough to prevent deterioration or degredations and as well painted with

black which contributes to the non-reflectivity and mitigates glaring infections on the walls which

can easily disfigure the embellishment of the building.

The expression of newly constructed building with the used of cream, white and some times light

cream colour these are not well pronounced on the façade because it against the initial colour
 77

adopted by the culture of their architecture. The impact has not been yieded to be water resistance

instead easily affected as shown below:

Plate 3.1 The terrace at the left side elevation that also serve as an exit to the building, The
defect wall is as a result of rain

Plate 3.2 left side elevation

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It would be easily appreciated regardless the colour and the style if served the purpose that

contributes not only the beauty but the effectiveness of weather resistance.

3.6.4 Building configuration: The configuration of these lecture theatres is typically different from

the image of the university, with slender columns and beams, a lack of shading devices,

ornamentation, and outstanding landscape, among other things. The following impacts have

characterized those structures as distinct from the campus architecture; the truth is that they are

distinct entities with no connection to the modernist style; the primary observation is that those

buildings do not appear to be part of the school architecture. When comparing the parking space

designed at the 1000-seater to the existing ones, the white house parking space, humanities,

Amphitheatre, and other locations are clearly delineated with the addition of plants and trees that

provide greater ventilation, shading, and also reduce noises abutting from the road. The fitness (

aesthetics) of the structure was impeded by the size of the beams and columns on the entrance

porch, which reduced the aesthetics of those buildings in comparison to Arieh Sharon structure

which precluded entrance porches talk less of using columns at the entrance to support the beauty

of his design, and as a result, the expression of the uniformity changed through this new

incorporated style of architecture, whereas the culture of the existing architecture should have been

properly monitored and incorporated. Because the arguments for these structures were not designed

to adapt with the climatic context of Ile-Ife but the buildings must lean on artificial mechanisms.

The roof is one of the major factors affecting these buildings; some years ago, it was determined

that due to a lack of maintenance on concrete slab roofs, there was a problem with seeping water;

this was addressed by introducing hipped roofs and other roof types through the use of aluminum

long span on some buildings especially newly constructed, regardless of the roof type, this 1000-

Seater has been renovated more than three times in the last 10 years. It should be highlighted that
 79

buildings should not be placed on campus without taking into account the culture, function,

aesthetics, and a variety of other characteristics that are deemed required to suit the goal.
 80

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 CONCLUSION

This thesis conceives out of deep feeling of concern for the present state of the built environment

in Obafemi Awolowo university Ile Ife all captured the imagination millions of users and visitors,

how those building failed in term of functionality and expression compare to modernist style.

Although, every building constructed in Nigeria in years back express their culture and how it fit

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. 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 simpler, ornament-

free style in the Austrian Postal Savings Bank (1904–1906). 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. 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. 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). 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 out modeled past (Le Corbusier,

1929). Over the course of fifty years, Le Corbusier's zeal for architectural development evolved
 81

into a dual ideology of modernism and classicism, producing a renowned modernist architect

whose work is still revered today (Curtis, 1986). 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: • Pilotis, such as columns or pillars, which lift the structure and allow the garden

beneath to continue indefinitely. 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). 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). 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. 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. 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 endeavor may be tracked

by the student who is intelligent enough to follow the hints presented in the last pages of the

English Renaissance style. 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. In the humanities
 82

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. 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. 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. 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.

The study examined the contextualization of modernist style and implications of design

inadequacies Obafemi Awolowo University buildings in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. This was borne out of

the fact that continuous availability and reliability of university buildings are essential in providing

uninterrupted academic and research activities for which the institution was established. This

uninterrupted service condition of the buildings can be enhanced through proactive actions taken

at the design stage. The study therefore examined the design configurations, climatic response,

architectural expression and perception, design problems and the physical impacts issues on the
 83

physique of selected Obafemi Awolowo University buildings with a view to providing information

that would enhance the quality of future building design and performance. Focus was centered on

the form, elements and workability of the lecture theatres. The study revealed that buildings under

review were not consciously designed to fit in the climatic context of Ile Ife and other functions

unlike the modernistst style not only designed for aesthetic. Inbuilt accesses were provided for

31% of existing building components. Building shapes, environmental factors, choice of

appropriate materials, fund, and users’ ignorance on how building operates among others were

identified as major design inadequacy and herror in the construction method. Inadequate roof fall,

insufficient moisture treatments and inaccessibility to defective and as well as inconsideration or

unattended to design from the inception are the major causes and Opened eaves, poor construction

techniques and absence of wind breakers were some of the identified factors responsible for the

destructive wind actions on most lecture theater roofs.

 84

REFERENCES

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Study of Yoruba Traditional Architecture. British Journal of Humanities and Social
Sciences, Vol 11(1), 34 - 45.

Adejimi, A. (2005). Poor Building Maintenance in Nigeria: Are Architects Free From Blames? A
Papaper Presented at the ENHR International Conference on ‘Housing: New Challenges
and Innovations in Tomorrow’s Cities’. Iceland. Email akinadejimi@yahoo.com

Amole (2000) Yoruba Vernacular Architecture as an Open System, Legacy, Vol. 2, No.2, Lagos.

Asojo, A. O. (2011). Nigeria. In V. Jani (Ed.) Diversity in Design Perspectives from the Non-
Western World. New York: Fairchild Publications: 153-193.
Asojo, A.O. (2013). Instructional Strategies for Teaching Cross-Cultural Design: A Pedagogical
Example Using Nigerian and South African Spatial Forms. Archnet-IJAR: International
Journal of Architectural Research, 7(2), 76-91.
Asojo, A.O. (2008). Hybrid Forms in the Built Environment: A Case Study of African Cities. In
T.
Chew, D. (2002). Maintainability of Facades in the Tropics. www.linkingghub.elsevier.com

Chukwuali, B. C. (2004). Traditional Housing System in Nigeria: An Analysis of Principles,

Concepts and Determinant Factors. Journal of NIA Enugu State Chapter, Vol.1(No.2), p.
9-18.

Corbusier, L. (1986). Towards a new architecture. London: Dover Publications.

Dabara, I. D., Adegoke, O. J., Ankeli, I. A., & Akinjogbin, I. O. (2014). Government policies
and household mobility behavior in Nigeria: The case of Osun State Property Development
Corporation (OSPDC). Proceedings of the14th African Real Estate Society (AFRES)
Annual Conference, 2nd – 5th September 2014. Pg 146-164, Kramer Building, University
of Cape Town, Cape Town South Africa.

Demographics of Nigeria. (2018, September 30). Retrieved from Wikipedia, the Free
Encyclopedia.
 85

Dmochowski, Z. R. (1990). An Introduction to Nigerian Traditional Architecture. Vols. (1-3).

Ethnographical ltd. London.

Egboramy, (1981). University of Ife Ile-Ife Nigeria Master Plan. Arieh Sharon.eldar Sharon –
architects and town planners.

Falola, N. Afolabi, and A. Adesanya (Eds.) Migrations and Creativity in Africa and the
African Diaspora. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press: 135-145.

Gropius, W. (1935). The new architecture and the Bauhaus. (P. M. Shand, Trans.). London,
UK:Faber & Faber.
Ikpo, I.J. (2006). Building Maintenance Management. Manson Publishing Company, 43
Secretariat Road, Box 219, Oron, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, Nigeria.

Jackson, I. and Holland, J. (2014). The Architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew:
Twentieth Century Architecture, Pioneer Modernism and the Tropics. Surrey, England:
Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Olaniyan, R.A. (1979). Ife University in Color: A panorama of Africas Most Beautiful
Campus.Nigeria: University of Ife Press.
Sa’ad, H. T. (1983). Hausa Traditional Architecture in a Historical Perspective. International
Seminar on Hausa studies, University of Sokoto, Nigeria.
Osasona, C. O. (2007). From traditional residential architecture to the vernacular: the Nigerian
Sa’ad, H. T. (1983). Hausa Traditional Architecture in a Historical Perspective. International
Seminar on Hausa studies, University of Sokoto, Nigeria.
experience. Online http: www. mainline. Org/aat/2007_documents/AAT_Osasona, 17-19.

Olaniyan, R.A. (1979). Ife University in Color: A panorama of Africas Most Beautiful Campus.
Nigeria: University of Ife Press.

Uduku, O. (2006). Modernist architecture and ‘the tropical’ in West Africa: The tropical
architecture movement in West Africa 1948–1970. Habitat International, 30 (3):396–411.
Jackson, I. and Holland, J. (2014). The Architecture of Edwin Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew:
Twentieth Century Architecture, Pioneer Modernism and the Tropics. Surrey, England:
Ashgate Publishing Ltd.
 86

PLATES

Plate 1

Aerial View of Obafemi Awolowo University

Plate 2. Showing 1000-Seater Lecture Theatre

 87

Approach view of 1000 Seaters

Parking Lot , Not well landscaped

Plate 2.1

Right Side Elevation; Showing how air flow through the building
 88

Seating Area; Showing how the furniture arranged.

Plate 2.2
 89

Affected Ceiling

Affected Ceiling

Fig. 1.0
 90

The Floor and a Roof Plan of a 1000-Seater

Fig. 1.2

Plate 2.3
 91

3D of a 1000-Seater

Fig. 1.3

Section X-X

Plate 3. ICAN LECTURE THEATRE

 92

Showing the texture of the walls and how its affected by the weather
 93

Plate 3.1

The approach and the left side of the building showing the size of the openings
 94

Plate 3.2

The affected wall

The Seating Area

95

Fig. 2.0

Fig. 2.1
 96

Fig. 2.2

Section x-x

Approach view Fig. 2.3

 97

Fig. 2.4

Fig. 2.5

Drawing showing the views of the ICAN Lecture Theatre

 98

Plate 4. Showing Chief Oyekunle Alex Duduyemi Lecture Theatre

The pictures showing the stunning environment

 99

Plate.4.1

The approach view

Seating Area
 100

Showing Amphitheatre Plans and Elevations

Site Pan Fig. 3.0

101

Fig. 3.1
 102

Fig. 3.2

Fig. 5.0
Entrance Hall
 103

Plate 5.1

Aerial view
 104

Humanities Buildings

Fig. 4.0
105

Basement plan
Fig. 4.1
106

Fig. 4.2

Entrance Hall
107

Fig. 4.3
108

Fig. 4.4
109

Fig. 4.5
110

Fig. 4.6

Fig. 4.7
111

Fig. 4.8

Fig. 4.9
Splate 6.0
112

v
 113

Auditorium Buildings

Fig. 5.0
114

Fig. 5.1
115

Fig. 5.2
116

Fig. 5.3

Fig. 5.4
117

Fig. 5.5
118

Fig. 5.6

Fig. 5.7
119