ARC 212 (2022/2023)

HISTORY OF EARLY ARCHITECTURE

The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions,
regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The history of architecture is about as long as
the history of humanity itself, and probably just as complex. The exact origin of architecture
could be said to date to the Neolithic period, around 10 000 BC, or simply when people
stopped living in caves and started handling the way they want their houses to look and feel
like.

The Mesopotamian
When talking about architectural history in chronological order, one usually starts
from the ancient ziggurat, as it is one of the most symbolic built structures from our past.
This is partly thanks to the Tower of Babel, a myth that has nonetheless been associated with
existing structures (a ziggurat dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Marduk). The massive,
mud-brick terraced structures were built in Mesopotamia for ritual purposes, and they are
considered to be the typological predecessors of the “real” pyramids. As the structure was
stepped and successively receding toward the sky, the ziggurat (or the step pyramid) was
often interpreted as a link between the earth and the sky, the way our ancestors saw it.
However, in practical terms, its fortress-like structure was ideal for protection, and also for
escaping the rising levels of water.

Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq

Egyptian Architecture
The Egyptians were also building the step pyramids at first (e.g Djoser’s pyramid, built
during the Third Dynasty of Egypt by one of the first known architects ever – Imhotep).
However, the form of the Egyptian tomb had progressed, and the three pyramids in Giza
(Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure) exemplify their upgraded appearance; the one they acquired
during the Fourth Dynasty – with smooth sides, which people still tend to admire to this day.
Finally, stepped pyramids were found in Mayan and other Mesoamerican architecture as well,
as their temples were typologically reminiscent of the Mesopotamian ones (even though they
were built much later).
Modern imaginings of ancient Egypt are heavily influenced by the surviving traces of
monumental architecture. Many formal styles and motifs were established at the dawn of
the pharaonic state, around 3100 BC. The most iconic Ancient Egyptian buildings are
the pyramids, built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms (c.2600–1800 BC) as tombs for
the pharaoh. However, there are also impressive temples, like the Karnak Temple Complex.
The Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. They also believed that in order for their soul
(known as ka) to live eternally in their afterlife, their bodies would have to remain intact for
eternity. So, they had to create a way to protect the deceased from damage and grave robbers.
This way, the mastaba was born. These were adobe structures with flat roofs, which had
underground rooms for the coffin, about 30 m down. Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian priest and
architect, had to design a tomb for the Pharaoh Djoser. For this, he placed five mastabas, one
above the next, this way creating the first Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of
Djoser at Saqqara (c.2667–2648 BC), which is a step pyramid. The first smooth-sided one
was built by Pharaoh Sneferu, who ruled between c.2613 and 2589 BC. The most imposing
one is the Great Pyramid of Giza, made for Sneferu's son: Khufu (c.2589–2566 BC), being
the last surviving wonder of the ancient world and the largest pyramid in Egypt. The stone
blocks used for pyramids were held together by mortar, and the entire structure was covered
with highly polished white limestone, with their tops topped in gold. What we see today is
actually the core structure of the pyramid. Inside, narrow passages led to the royal burial
chambers. Despite being highly associated with the Ancient Egypt, pyramids have been built
by other civilisations too, like the Mayans.
Due to the lack of resources and a shift in power towards priesthood, ancient Egyptians
stepped away from pyramids, and temples became the focal point of cult construction. Just
like the pyramids, Ancient Egyptian temples were also spectacular and monumental. They
evolved from small shrines made of perishable materials to large complexes, and by the New
Kingdom (circa 1550–1070 BC) they have become massive stone structures consisting of
halls and courtyards. The temple represented a sort of 'cosmos' in stone, a copy of the original
mound of creation on which the god could rejuvenate himself and the world. The entrance
consisted of a twin gateway (pylon), symbolizing the hills of the horizon. Inside there were
columned halls symbolizing a primeval papyrus thicket. It was followed by a series of
hallways of decreasing size, until the sanctuary was reached, where a god's cult statue was
placed. Back in ancient times, temples were painted in bright colours, mainly red, blue,
yellow, green, orange, and white. Because of the desert climate of Egypt, some parts of these
painted surfaces were preserved well, especially in interiors.
An architectural element specific to ancient Egyptian architecture is the cavetto cornice (a
concave moulding), introduced by the end of the Old Kingdom. It was widely used to
accentuate the top of almost every formal pharaonic building. Because of how often it was
used, it will later decorate many Egyptian Revival buildings and objects
Cheops Pyramid in Giza, Egypt, 2580–2560 BC.

Greek Architecture
The society of ancient Greece was the one to introduce the concept of public spaces, with the
advent of the public square called agora. Placing an emphasis on civic life, the ancient Greek
architecture was born of democracy and devotion to the people. The temple was part of the
agora and although monumental, its character was open and the program was inverted – the
rituals were carried out outside the temple. Instead of securing their temples with massive
stone walls, the Greeks used columns and canopies. Interestingly, the Greeks designed them
so that they would “correct” the distortion of human vision. They were the first ones to notice
the incapability of our eyes to perceive objects as they truly are, and to use this as an input for
architectural design, as they introduced the entasis (the intentional curvature of all lines on a
temple). The curvature, paradoxically, helped the human eye see the temple as if it were
straight.
Five of the Wonders of the World were Greek: the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue
of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and
the Lighthouse of Alexandria. However, Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its
temples, many of which are found throughout the region, and the Parthenon is a prime
example of this. Later, they will serve as inspiration for neoclassical architects during the late
18th and the 19th century. The most well-known temples are the Parthenon and
the Erechtheion, both on the Acropolis of Athens. Another type of important Ancient Greek
building was theatres. Both temples and theatres used a complex mix of optical illusions and
balanced ratios.

Ancient Greek temples usually consist of a base with continuous stairs of a few steps at each
edge (known as crepidoma), a cella (or naos) with a cult statue in it, columns, an entablature,
and two pediments, one on the front side and another in the back. By the 4th century BC,
Greek architects and stonemasons had developed a system of rules for all buildings known as
the orders: the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. They are most easily recognised by their
columns (especially by the capitals). The Doric column is stout and basic, the Ionic one is
slimmer and has four scrolls (called volutes) at the corners of the capital, and the Corinthian
column is just like the Ionic one, but the capital is completely different, being decorated
with acanthus leafs and four scrolls. Besides columns, the frieze was different based on order.
While the Doric one has metopes and triglyphs with guttae, Ionic and Corinthian friezes
consist of one big continuous band with reliefs.
Besides the columns, the temples were highly decorated with sculptures, in the pediments, on
the friezes, metopes and triglyphs. Ornaments used by Ancient Greek architects and artists
include palmettes, vegetal or wave-like scrolls, lion mascarons (mostly on
lateral cornices), dentils, acanthus leafs, bucrania, festoons, egg-and-dart, rais-de-cœur,
beads, meanders, and acroteria at the corners of the pediments. Pretty often, ancient Greek
ornaments are used continuously, as bands. They will later be used in Etruscan, Roman and in
the post-medieval styles that tried to revive Greco-Roman art and architecture,
like Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical etc.
Roman Architecture
After the Romans had conquered the Greek territories, they virtually took over and strongly
influenced most of the Western architecture over the next centuries. While greatly inspired by
Greek architecture, the Romans introduced quite a few immense innovations themselves – the
arch, an eminent architectural element that you wouldn’t believe was not used before the
Romans mastered it (the Etruscans came up with the concept though). The rest is, literally,
history – it was finally possible to build the dome, an early example of which we can see as
part of the Pantheon, and to work with different types of arcades, helping the Romans make
their aqueducts and triumphal gates.

The architecture of ancient Rome has been one of the most influential in the world. Its legacy
is evident throughout the medieval and early modern periods, and Roman buildings continue
to be reused in the modern era in both New Classical and Postmodern architecture. It was
particularly influenced by Greek and Etruscan styles. A range of temple types were
developed during the republican years (509–27 BC), modified from Greek and Etruscan
prototypes.
Wherever the Roman army conquered, they established towns and cities, spreading their
empire and advancing their architectural and engineering achievements. While the most
important works are to be found in Italy, Roman builders also found creative outlets in the
western and eastern provinces, of which the best examples preserved are in modern-
day North Africa, Turkey, Syria and Jordan. Extravagant projects appeared, like the Arch of
Septimius Severus in Leptis Magna (present-day Libya, built in 216 AD), with broken
pediments on all sides, or the Arch of Caracalla in Thebeste (present-day Algeria, built
in c.214 AD), with paired columns on all sides, projecting entablatures and medallions with
divine busts. Due to the fact that the empire was formed from multiple nations and cultures,
some buildings were the product of combining the Roman style with the local tradition. An
example is the Palmyra Arch (present-day Syria, built in c.212–220), some of its arches being
embellished with a repeated band design consisting of four ovals within a circle around
a rosette, which are of Eastern origin.
Surpassing most civilisations of their time the Romans developed new engineering skills,
architectural techniques and materials.. Among the many Roman architectural achievements
were domes (which were created for temples), baths, villas, palaces and tombs. The most
well-known example is the one of the Pantheon in Rome, being the largest surviving Roman
dome and having a large oculus at its centre. Another important innovation is the rounded
stone arch, used in arcades, aqueducts and other structures. Besides the Greek orders (Doric,
Ionic and Corinthian), the Romans invented two more. The Tuscan order was influenced by
the Doric, but with un-fluted columns and a simpler entablature with no triglyphs or guttae,
while the Composite was a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with
the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.
Just like the Greeks, the Romans built amphitheatres too. The largest amphitheatre ever built,
the Colosseum in Rome, could hold around 50,000 spectators. Another iconic Roman
structure that demonstrates their precision and technological advancement is the Pont du
Gard in southern France, the highest surviving Roman aqueduct.

The Colosseum Arena Rome (70-80BC) Pont du Gard in France

Byzantine Architecture
Furthermore, the evolution of architecture continued as the ancient Roman architecture
served as a starting point for the Byzantine architecture, which gained independence once the
Eastern Roman empire separated from Rome and established a capital in Constantinople
(then known as Byzantium, on the territory of today’s Istanbul). One of its main contributions
is the further development of the dome, since they found a way to raise it on piers, using the
three-dimensional triangular surfaces called pendentives. This means that it was no longer
necessary for the dome to have a massive support beneath it (and if you think of it, most of
the domes you see today sort of “float” above you). However, although it has made a major
impact on European architecture, this architectural style is now best known for its
transformation into the Ottoman Empire architecture, once the Byzantine territories were
defeated by the Turks in the 15th century. Consequently, the building design started
reflecting the Islamic sensibility and gave rise to a new kind of architecture.

Right: Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and its famous dome (532-537). The four minarets were
added after 1453, when it became a Mosque. It has been turned into a museum in 1935.

Medieval Architecture
The medieval period was almost as dark in architecture as it was in other aspects. The first
things that pop into your mind when you think of the Middle Ages must be the wars and the
crusades, and it’s quite obvious that most of the architecture that survived all the following
years is the kind that was used for defence. However, in the late Middle Ages, three styles
historically classified as “medieval” appeared successively: the Pre-Romanesque,
Romanesque and Gothic architecture, all of which had roots in Europe. The Romanesque
architectural style was the first pan-European style since Roman architecture, and it was
followed by the elegant Gothic style, a fine crossover between the dark era and the
Renaissance. Gothic architecture was mostly nourished in France, and during this period, the
potential of the arch and the vault was mastered, both in terms of aesthetics and technology.

Notre Dame in Paris, 1163-1345. One of the most notable examples of Gothic architecture in
France, against the current skyline of the city
Pre-Romanesque Architecture
This is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in
about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning
of the 11th century Romanesque period. The term is generally used in English only
for architecture and monumental sculpture, but here all the arts of the period are briefly
described. The primary theme during this period is the introduction and absorption
of classical Mediterranean and Early Christian forms with Germanic ones, which fostered
innovative new forms. This in turn led to the rise of Romanesque art in the 11th century.
Romanesque Architecture
Combining features of Roman and Byzantine buildings along with other local traditions,
Romanesque architecture is distinguished by massive quality, thick walls, round arches,
sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers, and decorative arcades. Each building has clearly
defined forms and a symmetrical plan, resulting in a much simpler appearance than the
Gothic buildings that would follow. The style can be identified across Europe, despite
regional characteristics and materials.

Pisa Cathedral, Italy built in the Pisan Romanesque style in the 12th century

Its characteristics include thick massive supporting walls with few and comparatively small
openings and arches which had to be constructed for large openings. Rose windows (circular
windows divided into segments) were a popular characteristic. Roofs were made from wood,
then stone. Vaulted roofs generally featured barrel vaults and groin vaults made of stone or
brick. Eventually, these evolved into the pointed ribbed arch used in Gothic architecture.
Towers which were earlier constructed as a defensive measure became a regular feature of a
Romanesque Architecture. They were usually circular, octagonal or square. A buttress is a
vertical support member that rests on a wall to provide additional support. Romanesque
buttresses are generally of flat square profile and do not project a lot beyond the wall. The
Plans of Abbey and cathedral churches generally follow the Latin cross plan which is in the
shape of a cruciform. The simplest Romanesque churches are aisle less halls with a projecting
apse.

Interior characteristics include Arcades which are rows of semi-circular arches, supported on
rectangular masonry piers, or drum/ hollow-core columns with elaborate corinthian columns.
Sculptures were a majorly used for ornamentation in mature Romanesque Architecture. A
sculptural frieze was a common element. It was also used to depict various celestial characters.
Mainly bronze and stone were used to make the sculptures. Fresco is a type of mural painting
on freshly laid plaster. Frescos were painted on vaulted ceilings to elaborately illustrate the life
of Christ and teachings of the church. Stained glass murals were small pieces of coloured glass
stitched together to form a picture. They usually depicted mythological characters and stories.

Stained- glass mural of the crucifixion of Christ in Poitiers Cathedral, France (left),
Crypt of San Isidoro in León, Spain with detailed illustrated Biblical stories. The
picture shows short drum columns with corinthian capitals (right)

Basilica of San Isidoro Spain(Left), Durham Cathedral, England (centre), Lund Cathedral,
Sweden (Right) examples of Romanesque Architecture
During the 12th century, features that were to become typical of Gothic architecture began to
appear. The Romanesque period was a time of great development in the design and
construction of defensive architecture like castles. Apart from directly influencing Gothic
construction, Romanesque architecture influenced construction engineers across Europe like
the palaces built-in parts of Germany for bishops and rulers. With the Roman Church as the
main patron, Romanesque metalwork, stonework, and illuminated manuscripts spread across
Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, creating an international style that was
adapted to regional needs and influences.

Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture aka Ogival architecture, is an architectural style that was prevalent
in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages,
surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque
architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. It originated in the Île-de-
France and Picardy regions of northern France. The defining design element of Gothic
architecture is the pointed or Ogival arch. The use of the pointed arch in turn led to the
development of the rib vault and flying buttresses, combined with
elaborate tracery and stained glass windows. At the Abbey of Saint-Denis, near Paris, the
choir was reconstructed between 1140 and 1144, drawing together for the first time the
developing Gothic architectural features. In doing so, a new architectural style emerged that
emphasized verticality and the effect created by the transmission of light through stained
glass windows.

Pointed Arch: A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown
whose two curving sides meet at a relatively sharp angle at the top. The earliest use of a
pointed arch dates back to bronze-age Nippur

Left:Pointed arches form the rib vaults of

Worcester Cathedral (1084-1504)

Rib vault: also called ribbed vault. In building construction, a skeleton of arches or ribs on
which masonry can be laid forms a ceiling or roof. Rib vaults were frequently used
in medieval buildings, most famously in Gothic cathedrals. Similarly to groin vaults, rib
vaults are constructed from two, sometimes three, intersecting vaults, which can be of
different widths but must be of the same height. The medieval mason used pointed arches—
probably adopted from Islamic architecture in Spain. Unlike the round arches used
in Romanesque cathedrals, pointed arches could be raised as high over a short span as over a
long one. The arches are located at the joints of the vaults and carry the weight of the ceiling.

Flying Buttress: A masonry structure typically consisting of an inclined bar carried on a

half arch that extends (“flies”) from the upper part of a wall to a pier some distance away and
carries the thrust of a roof or vault. A pinnacle (vertical ornament of pyramidal or conical
shape) often crowns the pier, adding weight and enhancing stability. The flying buttress
evolved in the Gothic era from earlier simpler, hidden supports. The design increased the
supporting power of the buttress and allowed for the creation of the high-ceilinged churches
typical of Gothic architecture.
Sainte-Chapelle from Paris (1194-1248)

Saint-Denis

Tracery: is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are
divided into sections of various proportions by stone bars or ribs of moulding. Most
commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the glass in a window. The term
probably derives from the tracing floors on which the complex patterns of windows were laid
out in late Gothic architecture. Tracery can also be found on the interior of buildings and the
exterior. There are two main types: plate tracery and the later bar tracery.

In plate tracery, the amount of stone was greater than the glass, and the 'plate' of stone was
simply pierced to create small areas where glass was inserted. The individual lights (glazed
openings in windows) have the appearance of being cut out of a plat of masonry. A common
image used by art historians to help visualise the distinctive characteristics of plate tracery is
to imagine rolling out a flat sheet of dough then punching holes in it with a limited set of
shaped cookie cutters. Plate tracery was constructed from carefully shaped and jointed pieces
of masonry which were coursed into the surrounding walls. In Bar tracery, window head was
separated by thin bars of stone, and the area of glass was greater than the area of
stone. Example: Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France. Bar tracery would result from rolling
thin flexible coils of dough with one’s hands and then bending and joining them into complex
interlacing patterns. The glass panels were held between narrow stone mullions made up of
carefully shaped lengths of masonry (fitted together with mortar and metal pins) quite distinct
from the wall surrounding them. These mullions were much slender than the corresponding
elements in plate tracery windows. Unlike with plate tracery, where each stone had to be
individually shaped, the elements of bar tracery could be mass-produced to standard
templates in the

The Renaissance
In the early 15th century in Italy, which never truly adopted the Gothic style in its
entirety, the Renaissance introduced new ways of looking at reality, and most of it
was mediated through architecture. It was the period in which perspective was acknowledged
(although it seemed that the Greeks were aware of it as well), studied and understood as a
new way of “achieving infinity”, as a point in which two parallel lines paradoxically meet.
This was studiously practiced through painting, but it was nonetheless embodied in
architectural structures. Hence, an emphasis was placed on symmetry and proportion, and
how they affect human vision, as well as how they shape our perception. Finally, the
Renaissance meant reassessing classical antiquity and associating mathematics with
aesthetics, which enhanced the discipline and connected the dots that were needed to re-
establish architecture as an all-encompassing profession. So, besides having left a vast
number of impressive buildings behind (mostly in Italy, specifically Florence), the
Renaissance gave impetus to the theoretical advancements that happened in the following
years, decades, even centuries. The architect considered to be the father of Renaissance
is Filippo Brunelleschi, especially due to his contribution to architectural theory, closely
followed by architects Michelozzo Michelozzi and Leon Battista Alberti.
St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. 1506-1626. Convergence of styles: an Italian Renaissance
church, with a pro-Baroque dome designed by Michelangelo and a Baroque square added by
Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The Egyptian obelisk had been placed there before Bernini designed
the square.

Baroque Architecture
After the Renaissance had been firmly established in Italy and spread across the rest of
Europe (in each country in a slightly different manner), it was gradually succeeded by the
Baroque in the early 17th century. The Renaissance was characterized by symmetrical plans
and facades, pillars and pilasters that adhered to the interior spatial organization, and a
general concern with order and mathematical logic. On the other hand, the Baroque style
promoted a more diversified, free approach to architectural design, driven by playfulness
rather than rationalism. It was typified by the fragmentary ornamental elements (especially on
the buildings' façade), plans that were not necessarily symmetrical, and a general lack of
correspondence between the interior and the exterior of a building. If the Renaissance was the
truth, the Baroque was the drama; the Renaissance was realistic depiction and the Baroque
was trompe l’oeil; the Renaissance was a circle, the Baroque was an oval (literally – if you
take a look at the plans, this is what you’ll notice). The best way to see the main buildings
from this part of history is simply to go to Rome, as it is basically the home of Baroque
architecture.

Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane by Francesco Borromini, 1646; the characteristic
oval dome
Neoclassical Architecture
In the next few centuries, the 18th and the 19th, it seemed that the art world was put on pause,
or even sort of rewound to its previous stages. A deliberate effort was made to return to
classicism, which resulted in the emergence of neo-classical architecture and a series of
revivals – Romanesque revival, Gothic revival, and a sort of American Neoclassicism that is
usually referred to as the Federal Style Architecture. Features of neoclassical architecture
include the use of the doric order, Roman details, and blank walls. This is what sometimes
makes you question the period in which a building was made, especially if you don't have any
insight into its construction (remember – there is a Parthenon in Nashville, but this is only the
most extreme example). This sort of regression was not overcome until the late 19th century,
when Art Nouveau emerged as a new total style, and finally opened a gap for breaking with
tradition such as asymmetrical lines, taking form from nature/ organic motives and
inspiration from the feminine form. Much of the credit goes to the Industrial Revolution as
well, which made the mass production of iron possible and revolutionized the process of
construction and building at large.

Modern Architecture and the End of an Era

Many important things happened on the verge of the 19th century, both for the arts and
architecture. Art Nouveau is widely seen as the first step toward Modernism, which made it
crystal clear that we are done with classical architecture. This is due to a number of reasons,
but it is appropriately illustrated by a single sentence signed by Louis Sullivan (the “father”
of skyscrapers and inherently related to Art Nouveau): Form follows function. Modern (or
Modernist) architecture literally turned the entire context of architectural design upside-
down. Coinciding with some of the major cultural movements, such as the Bauhaus and De
Stijl, it introduced functionalism and purified architectural form to the most radical
extremes. It is possible to argue that it was simultaneously liberating and imprisoning,
having made the architecture free (of ornament), and confined (by the universal
language). Despite the latter and the fact that its scope is still quite vague even from today’s
point of view, modernism came as one of the most important shifts in architectural design,
expression and styles. Its significance lies in the fact that it continues to inspire architects
today, both in a good and a bad way, and of course, because it was able to evoke a critical
response – postmodernism.

Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier, 1929-1931; he embodied prototype of a perfect Modernist

building, according to the architect's Five Points of Architecture
Principles of Modern Architecture
 The notion that ‘form follows function’, as expressed by Louis Sullivan, meaning that
the result of a design should be directly from its purpose.
 To eliminate unnecessary detail that includes clarity of form and simple designs.
 Materials should be at 90 degrees to each other.
 To include visual expression of structural elements as opposed to hiding them.
 The concept of ‘truth to materials’, meaning that the natural appearance of a material
should be seen rather than concealed or altered to represent something else.
 Use of materials industrially produced and the adoption of the machine aesthetic.
 To emphasize visually on horizontal and vertical lines, particular in International
Style modernism.
Le Corbusier formulated the five points of architecture in 1926, and these principles are:
1. The pilotis (reinforced concrete stilts) elevating the mass off the ground.
2. The free facade, (non-supporting walls) that could be designed as the architect
wished.
3. The use of long horizontal windows that provided extensive light, and allowed views
of its surroundings.
4. The open plan that allowed the floor space to be configured into rooms without
concern for supporting walls.
5. The roof garden, restoring, supposedly, the area of ground covered by the house

Illustration of Le Corbusier’s five points of architecture

Contemporary Architecture (If There Is Such Thing)

The contemporary always seems to be shifting forward, thus writing about the present in a
historical context seems tricky. If you take a look at the way architects approach design
today, you'll find several different responses. Some of them are neo-modern (as we have
entered the phase that is very distant from the modern period, so this revival is possible),
some still remind us of postmodernism, and some we are not sure how to call -
deconstructivism, perhaps, or parametricism as a possibly new type of universal language, or
something else, that hasn't been named yet. Technological improvements, especially
computer programs but also the ones that are directly related to construction, make almost
everything seem possible. The only relevant parameter in architecture is the cost, and of
course, ethics. But as mentioned earlier, architecture rarely escapes the imprints of the era it
is being built in, and whatever becomes out of it in the next few decades, it will be the echo
of our generation. Another possible way of looking at it is adopting the idea that history
reoccurs, which would mean that postmodernism was the contemporary version of the
Baroque, and we are much likely to return to the new revivals.

HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN AFRICA

Archaeologists have identified Wonderwerk Cave in South Africá Kalahari Desert as the
world’s oldest home thanks to evidence confirming theory that early humans were already
occupying the site 2 million years ago. The dates for the cave (named for the Afrikaans word
“the miracle”) were determined by testing the cave sediments according to a new paper in
Quarterly Science Reviews by researchers from the University of Toronto and the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem. We can now say with confidence that our human ancestors were
making simple Oldowan stone tools inside the Wonderwerk Cave 1.8 million years ago –
lead author Ron Shaar saide in a statement. Wonderwerk is a key site for the earlier Stone
Age according to the paper, but archaeologists have never found human remains there.
Instead, the dating was obtained by investigating the different rock layers also known as the
stratified sedimentary sequence. Though humans occupied the cave continuously over the last
2 million years, it was not discovered by modern humans until farmers came upon it in the
1940s. Excavations have been ongoing ever since.

AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE
African architecture is as diverse as the cultures of Africa like other aspects of the culture of
Africa. Throughout the history of Africa, Africans have developed their own
local architectural traditions. In some cases, broader regional styles can be identified, such as
the Sudano-Sahelian architecture of West Africa. Recent discoveries of stone structures in
southern Africa are argued to be the earliest human-made buildings on the planet, dating back
75,000 years. The Soninke people of pre-historical Ghana had (now anonymous) architects
who carved stone masonry settlements and worked with copper as early as 2500 BCE.
Perhaps the most well-known architectural wonders of Africa are those in ancient Egypt,
including the monumental obelisks, the pyramids at Giza, and the Great Sphinx from the
period between 2,000 BCE and 100 CE. However, other kingdoms of ancient northern Africa
rivalled the architectural wonders of the ancient Egyptians, and the peoples of western and
southern Africa exhibited styles uniquely theirs. Ancient Egyptians were rivals with their
neighbouring country, Nubia, until taking it over in 1085 BCE and creating the kingdom of
Kush. The new kingdom began to display its wealth, power, and influence by erecting a
number of pyramids and monuments; in turn, this spawned a new period of building in
ancient Egypt. Nubia’s pyramids double those in Egypt and were erected for kings and
queens over a period of nearly 700 years.
The Great Sphinx of Giza Nubian pyramids

In West Africa, and Ethiopia, tombs and monuments dating back as early as 1000 BCE were
erected from carved stone. Often, entire temples would be carved from a single block of rock,
such as in Tigray. It was common for most buildings to be created from local materials, such
as timber, mud-brick, or limestone. One of the trademarks of Aksumite architecture was
construction from layers of mud and wood in a unique design that came to be known as
“monkey head” support beams. As part of the Roman Empire, North African countries took
on Roman engineering influences by building amphitheatres, public baths, and palaces.
Africans began using marble and Roman arches.

Church of Abune Aregawi, Debre Damo, Ethiopia Fasiledes’s castle, Fasil Ghebbi, Gonda

African architecture in some areas has been influenced by external cultures for centuries,
according to available evidence. Western architecture has influenced coastal areas since the
late 15th century and is now an important source of inspiration for many larger buildings,
particularly in major cities.
General characteristics
A common theme in traditional African architecture is the use of fractal scaling: small parts
of the structure tend to look similar to larger parts, such as a circular village made of circular
houses. African architecture uses a wide range of materials, including thatch, stick/wood,
mud, mudbrick, rammed earth, and stone. These material preferences vary by region: North
Africa for stone and rammed earth, the Horn of Africa for stone and mortar, West Africa for
mud/adobe, Central Africa for thatch/wood and more perishable materials, Southeast and
Southern Africa for stone and thatch/wood. African architecture also reflects the interaction
of environmental factors—such as natural resources, climate, and vegetation—with the
economies and population densities of the continent’s various regions. Ecological
and demographic factors play an important part in building design. Soil erosion and
overgrazing, as well as pressure on land as a result of population growth, have also
contributed to migratory movements. The growth of urban centres led to wide-scale
migration in the 20th and 21st centuries, and these migrations have had a profound effect on
the dispersal of house types.

The overwhelming majority of Africa’s thousands of peoples in rural areas build in grasses,
wood, and clay. Because of the impermanence of many of these materials, existing buildings,
though based on forms many centuries old, are of relatively recent date. Where vegetation is
largely confined to thin grazing cover, peoples are often nomadic, using tents of animal skins
and woven hair for shelter. In the veld and less-forested areas, grasses are used as building
material as well, being employed widely for thatch and mat roof coverings. Hardwoods in
forest regions are used for building, as are bamboo and raffia palm. Earth and clay are also
major building resources. Characteristic soils of Africa include semi-desert chestnut earths
and laterites (reddish residuals of rock decay), which are often low in fertility but easily
compacted. Earth-sheltered houses are made by the Iraqw of Tanzania, and a number of
peoples in Mali and Burkina Faso have partly sunken dwellings.

Nomads and Pastoralists

As a consequence of their hunting and gathering economy, the San of the Kalahari (Southern
Africa) move frequently. Some San scherms (shelters) are little more than depressions in the
ground, but groups such as the Kung build light-framed shelters of sticks and saplings
covered with grass. Other hunter-gatherers, such as the Hadza of Tanzania, live in dry
savanna territory, which contains a wide range of game animals. Their domed dwellings of
tied branches are given a thick thatch in winter. Some forest dwellers, such as the Bambuti of
the Ituri Forest in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, are also hunter-gatherers. Their
similarly constructed temporary shelters are interlaced with crossed sticks, over
which mongongo leaves are layered.

Camel-herding nomads such as the Kabābīsh of central Sudan use the

traditional Bedouin tent, which consists of a rectangular membrane of strips of woven camel
hair that are attached to webbing straps and secured with guys over rectangles of poles. A
central row of four poles supporting curved ridge pieces reduces the possibility of damage to
the tent. In Niger the Tuareg use a tent of superficially similar form, though the strips are
made of goat skins sewn together. As many as 40 skins are required to complete each tent
membrane. Farther south, Tuareg subgroups employ a structure similar to that used by many
camel-herding nomads from as far away as Djibouti. Common to these people is the use of
the pole frame in the form of a humped dome over which woven mats of grass or palm fronds
are secured. Palm leaves are split by the Oromo of Somalia; Oromo women then weave strips
of coloured cloth into the mat, with the patterned side laid over the frame in order to be
visible within the tent, while on the outside the shaggy, rough fibres are exposed.

The cattle-herding pastoralists of Southern and East Africa settle for some years in one
location. The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania construct an oblong, or sometimes square, low-
domed hut some 20 feet (6 metres) long and at shoulder height from closely woven frames of
thin leleshwa sticks and saplings. Arranged in a circle around the cattle enclosure,
or manyatta, the frames are packed with leaves and plastered over with cattle dung, which
acts as a deterrent to termites. The huts are aerodynamically designed to resist high winds,
and the manyatta thicket boundary acts as a defensive barrier. A number of other tribes use a
similar structure; the Barabaig of Tanzania, for example, build thornbush enclosures in the
form of a figure eight, with one loop used as a kraal for the cattle and the other lined with
huts with flat-roof frames.

In Southern Africa, the Zulu, the Swazi, and, in KwaZulu-Natal province,

the Nguni construct frame domes, using concentric hoops. Others make a ring of poles
inserted into the ground and brought together in a crest, either as a continuous curve (early
Xhosa) or to a point (Sotho). These structures are expertly thatched; the Zulu domes, or indlu,
have finely detailed entrances. Some Nguni types have layers of mats beneath for insulation,
the covering thatch being brought to a decorative finial and the whole held down with a grass
rope net to withstand strong winds.

Savanna kraals and compounds

Later houses of the Xhosa tend toward a consistent form—the rondavel, or cylindrical,
single-cell house with a conical thatched roof. Variants in the region include a low plinth or
curb supporting a domed roof (some Swazi and Zulu), flattened domes or low-pitched cones
on head-height cylinders, and high, conical roofs. Methods of construction also vary, though
a common method is a wall with a ring of posts and infilling of wattles or basket weave
packed and plastered with mud. Rings of posts may have packed earth infilling, and in more
wooded regions walls may consist mainly of timber posts. Some southern people, including
the Venda of north-eastern South Africa and the Tswana of Botswana, build veranda houses
with deep, thatched eaves supported by an outer ring of posts. The units are traditionally
single-cell, undivided, and illuminated only from the doorway. Additional living space may
be claimed from the exterior, with a semi-public space in the front and a private space, with
hard-packed earthen floor, at the rear of the dwelling being used for food preparation,
cooking, and other domestic occupations. Both spaces are bounded by a low wall. In many
areas houses are dispersed; in others the kraal, with huts ranged around the perimeter of a
large cattle enclosure (as among the Ila of Zambia), serves a defensive function against
raiders and predators. In Namibia the kraal of the Ambo (Ovambo) people had an outer
concentric ring leading to cattle pens; an inner fenced meeting place, and subdivisions for
wives’, visitors’, and headman’s quarters.
Similar houses are constructed in the East African lakes region, where the form probably
originated. Houses of considerable size are built by some Luo (near Lake Victoria) and Kuria
(Tanzania) people, the former making extensive use of papyrus reeds from lake borders,
using the thicker stems structurally and the leaves for thatching material. Luo homesteads are
frequently ringed with hedges within which cattle are penned; fields extend beyond for the
growing of cereals. Most of these Central African peoples construct granaries, often basket-
shaped and basket-woven, raised on stilts to keep rodents away and placed beneath a thatched
roof to keep them dry. Veranda houses are also built, and secondary thatched roof crests,
which permit ventilation, are not uncommon.

cylindrical houses in a Matakam compound

Cylindrical houses are built by the majority of peoples in the savanna and semi-desert regions
of Sudan and western Africa. With less wood available, these are often constructed of mud in
a coil pottery technique. It is customary to lay the mud spirally in “lifts” of approximately
half a metre, allowing each lift to dry before adding the next. The Musgum of northern
Cameroon once created spectacular homes from compressed sun-dried mud, although their
tall conical dwellings with geometric raised patterns are no longer made today. The
Batammaliba of Togo and Benin build elaborate two-story dwellings that are integrally
connected with Batammaliba cosmogony and social order.

Forest dwellings
To the south of the savanna is a thinly populated strip, possibly depleted by the slave trade,
beyond which lie the rainforests. These regions, especially in Nigeria, are among the most
densely populated parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and they have had contact with European
traders since the 16th century. The rectangular-plan houses of the Akan peoples, including
those of the Asante in Ghana, date to a period before the 16th century, but they may have
replaced an earlier savanna form. Until the 20th century, Asante houses were constructed
primarily of pole frames with mud infilling. Such houses were finely decorated, in mud
moulded over grass armature, with fluid motifs. In the early 21st century, rural Asante houses
were often constructed of “swish,” or pisé de terre (earth rammed into a wooden formwork),
raised in lifts. The pitched or hipped roof is covered in thatch or, more frequently, with
corrugated iron. Though the materials have changed, the basic form remains in the village
compounds: four independently constructed rectangular-plan structures forming the sides of a
courtyard. Yoruba compounds in Nigeria are somewhat similar, but the four sides are often
under one continuous roof. Rain is collected from the roofs, and the plan is therefore often
compared to the Roman impluvium, or cistern, house plan. Farther south in Nigeria
the Igbo and related peoples traditionally built rectangular houses, often with open fronts
facing a courtyard and surrounded by enclosing mud walls. Similar rectangular buildings
with thatched hipped roofs are used by other rainforest peoples, including some groups of
the Fon in Benin and the Baule and Dan of Côte d’Ivoire. But in regions where widely
dispersed peoples, such as the Senufo of Côte d’Ivoire, border the savanna, cylinder-and-cone
houses with deep thatched eaves are common.

Bafussam chieftain's house

Closer to the coast of western Africa, some people build houses raised on stilts. Most notable
are those built in the lakeside village of Ganvié in Benin. The buildings are constructed of
mangrove poles, a material also used by coastal Swahili-speaking people in Kenya. In some
coastal regions, such as that occupied by the Duala in Cameroon, houses are constructed
of bamboo, though they are mud-plastered. Bamboo—which grows to heights of more than
49 feet (15 metres) in Angola, the Republic of the Congo, and parts of Central Africa—is
used by many peoples as a building material. Its straight stalks, used as screen walls, are
lashed with thin wood strips to produce crisp rectangular houses with peaked thatched roofs,
as among the Nyakyusa of Tanzania. Bamboo construction reached its apogee in the tall
houses of the Bamileke and other peoples of western Cameroon, who constructed steep
prefabricated pyramidal roofs raised on platforms with verandas; the whole structure
frequently reached 10 metres (33 feet) or more, with male and female ancestor figures often
flanking the doors. Tall conical houses, made of bamboo poles joined at the crest and then
leaf-thatched, were built by the Ngelima and the Panga of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo.

Raffia palm is also used by the Bamileke and the neighbouring Bafut and is an important
material among the Kongo of Angola and the Bushongo of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. The most impressive of these structures are the rectangular, pitched-roofed meeting
halls of the Mangbetu of Congo; their houses are of the cylinder-and-cone type, mud-
plastered and geometrically decorated. Large meeting houses are found in Nigeria among
the Yakö and other peoples. On special occasions pole-frame shelters are constructed with
monopitch roofs loosely covered with grass or palm fronds. Awnings are also used, and
among the Asante immense umbrellas shade dignitaries and members of royal families.

Palaces and Shrines

In the 19th century the earth-and-stone palace of the Asantehene (king) of the Asante
empire at the capital city of Kumasi covered some five acres (two hectares). It had many
courtyards with verandas and open screens and more than 60 rooms with steep thatched
roofs. The exterior walls of the palace were covered with rich embellishments in raised clay,
patterns that may be related to Islamic calligraphy. Shrine houses were also constructed.
Little of the palace survived the Asante wars and a punitive expedition by the British in 1874.

More extensive was the great palace of the oba of Benin City, Nigeria. In the 16th and 17th
centuries it was as large as a European town, with many courts surrounded by galleried
buildings, their pillars encased in bronze plaques. Roofs were shingled, and there were
numerous high towers topped with bronze birds. Benin City was burned by the British in
1897. The Yoruba of western Nigeria are also an urban people. Their towns traditionally have
as their centre the afin (palace) of the oba, from which radiate broad roads dividing the town
into quarters, each with its compound of a subordinate chief. Some afins in the precolonial
era were of great size, encompassing much of the surrounding bush; the afin of Oyo, the
capital of the Oyo empire (17th and 18th centuries), was reported to cover 640 acres (260
hectares). The palace buildings were substantially built, and the open verandas were
supported by carved caryatid pillars. Yoruba towns still have palaces; though
the architecture is often Westernized, traditional courtyards, recreation grounds, and high
surrounding walls persist.

The zimbabwes (“stone houses”) built in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Rozwi kings of
southern Central Africa were royal kraals, an example being the citadel of Chief Changamire
at Khami, Zimbabwe. Ruins at Regina, Nalatali, and Dhlodhlo (also in Zimbabwe) all display
fine mortarless stonemasonry worked with chevron patterns and banded colours. Many
African palaces were larger and often better-crafted versions of the traditional dwelling type,
raised on hillocks or plinths. Such were the palaces of the kabaka (king) of the kingdom
of Buganda, including the great barnlike thatched dome with an open reception veranda at
Mengo, near present-day Kampala, Uganda. Other palaces were royal compounds, such as
that of the fon (chief) of Bafut, Cameroon, which within a high fenced enclosure contained
separate quarters for the older and younger wives, dormitories for the adolescent sons, houses
for retainers, stores, meeting places, a shrine house and a medicine house, burial structures
for former chiefs, and structures for secret societies.
Dogon architecture Dogon sacred site

Religion, however, plays an essential part in the life of all African societies. Among some,
such as the Fali of Cameroon or the Nankani of Burkina Faso, spiritual symbolism informs
every part of their dwelling types. Among the most-studied peoples in this respect are
the Dogon who live on the rockfall of the Bandiagara escarpment in Mali. It has long been
believed that the Dogon perceive each dwelling compound anthropomorphically as a man on
his side in the act of procreation. The man’s head is associated with the hearth, the stores with
his arms, the stables with his legs, the central workroom with his belly, and the grinding
stones with his genitalia. From the individual parts of the house to the entire village plan,
each element has a religiously symbolic association, and totemic sanctuaries with markedly
zoomorphic form are built and dedicated to the ancestors of the living. Among the structures
significant to the Dogon are the rounded sanctuaries dedicated to the ancestors, covered with
rectilinear checkerboard designs; granaries with wooden doors and locks carved with
multiple human figures; and the men’s meeting house, or togu na, a low structure with a
stacked millet roof and structural posts.

Monumental temple architecture is rare in Africa, for in animist religions spirits may reside in
trees, carved figures, or small, simple shrines. Shrine rooms containing votive objects and
dedicated to spirits or ancestors are common, however; like the shrine house of the Asante,
with its rooms for an orchestra and the officiating priest, many such houses are similar to the
dwelling compound. A more notable structure is the elaborate mbari house of the Owerri
Igbo of Nigeria. A large open-sided shelter, square in plan, it houses many life-size painted
figures sculpted in mud and intended to placate the figure of Ala, the earth goddess, who is
supported by deities of thunder and water. The remaining sculptures—often witty—are of
craftsmen, officials, Europeans, animals, and imaginary beasts. Because the process of
building is regarded as a sacred act, mbari houses, which once took years to build, were left
to decay, and new ones were constructed rather than old ones maintained.
Contemporary mbari structures are formed from cement, and the symbolism of decay and
renewal has therefore been lost.

Influences of Islam and Christianity

During the first millennia CE, African art and architecture was heavily influenced by
Christian and Muslim traders, conquerors, and settlers. Throughout northern Africa and as far
west as Morocco, Islamic architectural design influenced traditional African buildings. By
1000 CE, Mosaic-tiled mosques begin to appear in African cities alongside stone Christian
churches. Early civilizations in the western Sudan region had strong trading links across
the Sahara, and an Islamic presence was established south of the desert 1,000 years ago. In
the 11th century Kumbi, the capital of the kingdom of Ghana (in present-day Mali), was
described as having a dozen mosques. Subsequently the kingdoms
of Mali and Songhai superseded ancient Ghana, with Timbuktu and Gao on the Niger
River becoming major centres of learning and commerce. Excavations have revealed that
these towns were large, prosperous, and well-constructed. Muslim builders introduced a new
type of dwelling reflecting their Arab and North African traditions: rectilinear in plan, flat-
roofed, and often two stories or more in height, these dwellings were built of sun-dried mud
brick or of mud and stone. By the 16th century this form had penetrated the Nigerian savanna
with the establishment of the Hausa states. Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zaria today present an
appearance probably comparable to that of earlier centuries, but the former cylindrical huts
have been replaced by those of square plan, reflecting the changing size of families. New
houses are built from tabali, or pear-shaped mud bricks; some house facades are richly
ornamented with calligraphic or representational shapes and even such emblems of modernity
as weapons, bicycles, and cars. The large palaces of the emirs are often richly decorated
within, with spaces spanned by palm ribs.

Hausa decorated building mosque in Agadez

Prominent in many western African towns are the mosques, which frequently display a
formal conjunction between Islamic structure and indigenous conical ancestral pillars and
shrines. The earliest surviving of these is probably the ziggurat at Gao (Mali), but more
typical of the savanna form are the mosques, bristling with wood reinforcement, of Agadez
(Niger) and Mopti (Mali) and the great mosque of Djenné (Mali), which was greatly restored
under the French administration.

On the east coast of Africa, Islamic influence began with the establishment of the dhow trade,
which, relying on the trade winds, linked East Africa with the Arabian and Persian Gulf ports
and with India. Kilwa, an island port that flourished between the 12th and 15th centuries, was
built largely of stone, as were Zanzibar (where the mosque at Kizimkazi has a 12th-century
inscription), Dar es Salaam, Malindi, Mombasa, and other ports and city-states built by
Swahili- and Arabic-speaking traders along the Tanzanian and Kenyan coast. With the
coming of the Portuguese at the close of the 15th century, the east-coast towns were
plundered and burned. Only the northerly island port of Lamu, Kenya, retains the character of
the Swahili town. Built of coral ragstone, roofed with mangrove poles, and covered with rag
and lime mortar, the houses have fine plasterwork, decorative rows of niches, and deeply
carved doors.

Until the late 19th century, Christian influence on African architecture was minimal, with the
exception of the remarkable rock churches of Lalībela, Ethiopia. Following the Islamization
of Egypt, the Ethiopian church was isolated for many centuries, but, during the reign of
the ascetic Zagwe king Lalībela in the 13th century, 11 churches were carved out of the red
tufa, including the cruciform church of St. George excavated out of bedrock. Some of the
churches, among them St. Mary and St. Mercurius, were richly painted with biblical murals.
Throughout the Tigray region of Ethiopia, there are many other rock-carved and cave
churches, such as those at Cherkos, Wik’ro, Abraha Azba, and the great mountain monastery
at Debre Damo. In the 17th and 18th centuries, more Christian churches were erected, some
with splendid interior painting, such as Debre Berhan Selassie in Gonder, Ethiopia.

SPATIAL ORGANISATION OF WEST AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE

Traditional Sub-Saharan African architecture is diverse, varying significantly across regions.
Included among traditional house types, are huts, sometimes consisting of one or two rooms,
as well as various larger and more complex structures. The characteristic settlement form in
western Africa is the compound, a cluster of units linked by walls. Many compounds are
circular in plan, but others, conditioned sometimes by the uneven terrain, are more complex.
Earthen wall and floor surfaces are plastered smooth and dried to a rocklike hardness. These
surfaces are often decorated with coloured clays (as are the homes of the Bobo in Burkina
Faso and the Nankani in Ghana) and, in some instances, sculpted with ancestral motifs (such
as the Kassena do in Burkina Faso). Flat roofs with parapets are also built, sometimes in the
same compound, supported either independently by a log frame of forked posts and cross
members or by joists inserted into the clay walls; hollowed half-log gargoyles throw off water
during seasonal rains. Dwelling huts, granaries and other stores, and pens for goats and fowl
are built within the same compound.

Dwellings of approximately rectangular plan, though often with curved and moulded corners,
are also found among the cylindrical units, and some peoples, such as the Lobi of Côte
d’Ivoire, build compounds with straight walls. Throughout the western savanna region the
trend has been toward rectangular-plan houses, largely because of Islamic influence from the
north and contact with rainforest peoples from the south.
King's palace in Nyanza (Rwanda), unknown date Illustration from 1854 of Lunda
street and houses

Yoruba architecture depicted in a book by Traditional

Bamileke architecture,
Anna Hinderer in the mid-1800s main hall of the Bandjoun palace in Cameroon,

In much of West Africa, rectangular houses with peaked roofs and courtyards, sometimes
consisting of several rooms and courtyards, are also traditionally found (sometimes
decorated, with adobe reliefs as among the Ashanti of Ghana, or carved pillars as among
the Yoruba people of Nigeria, especially in palaces and the dwellings of the wealthy).
Besides the regular rectangular type of dwelling with a sharp roof, widespread in West
Africa and Madagascar, there also other types of houses: beehive houses made from a circle
of stones topped with a domed or cone-shaped roof. The round hut with a cone-shaped roof is
widespread especially in Sudan and Eastern Africa, but is also present in Colombia and New
Caledonia, as well as in the Western Sudan and Sahel regions of west Africa, where they are
sometimes arranged into compounds.
In several West African societies, including the kingdom of Benin (and of other Edo
peoples), and the kingdoms of the Yoruba, Hausa, and elsewhere, towns and cities were
surrounded by large walls of mud brick or adobe, and sometimes by monumental moats and
earthworks, such as Sungbo's Eredo (in the Nigerian Yoruba kingdom of Ijebu) and the Walls
of Benin (of the Nigerian Kingdom of Benin). The famed Benin City of southwest Nigeria
(capital of the Kingdom of Benin) destroyed by the Punitive Expedition, was a large complex
of homes in coursed clay, with hipped roofs of shingles or palm leaves. The Palace had a
sequence of ceremonial rooms, and was decorated with brass plaques. It was surrounded by a
monumental complex of earthworks and walls whose construction is thought to have begun
by the early Middle Ages.

HAUSA
Nigeria is located on the west coast of Africa, at the extreme inner corner of the Gulf of
Guinea. Islam, was introduced from the Mali Empire in the 14th century. In the early 19 th
century, the Fulani conquered the north through jihad or “holy war”. Emirates were then
formed by the voluntarily combining of Hausa’s.
The Trans-Sahara Trade coupled with the new religion of Islam had the most enormous
impact on the settlement pattern and local building practices of Hausa land. Cultural factors
including:
 Ideas, values and religion: Hausa is united by common language and religion of
Islam. The introduction of the Islam into Hausa land had an enormous impact on the
architecture and building practice, which dictated the use of curvilinear conical and
mud dome roof structures. Also, the ideology of seclusion and privacy for women is
traceable to religion. In the same vein, the separation between the genders responds to
Islamic regulation. Thus, dictates the traditional courtyard family compound design.
 Occupation: Most Hausas engaged in ornamentation and agriculture. Ornamentation
has played a significant role in their traditional architecture as evident in their craft
and dying ability (carving of calabash, making of fabrics). Thus affirmed the response
to Hausa ornamentation as reflected mostly in their building façade.
Spatial planning is a function of the use to which a building is put. It is also dependent on the
users' needs and aspirations, and their socio-cultural background. The traditional house is
rather a homestead comprising several huts in a walled compound. The compound (Gida) is
usually based on the extended family and often sub-divided into sections; each containing
family houses. The influence of Islam on the traditional architecture of the Hausas is pre-
eminent and dictates the organization and use of space in their dwellings. The compound
usually has sleeping and living quarters for household members (and extended family
members in some cases), space for rearing of domestic animals, and spaces for the practice of
the occupation of the family head, which could be carpentry, retail trading or clothe-dyeing.
Courtyards are enclosed within the compounds, which also serve as playground for children.
Thus, the compound is a complete environment for the physical and biological needs of the
household. The need for domestic privacy and safety for the inhabitants is a cogent factor
informing the spatial planning of the traditional Hausa house. As in city walls found in Hausa
cities, compound walls serve for protection against invaders and prevent uncontrolled
movement in and out of the compounds. The Hausas have mastery in ornamentation, which is
usually highly sophisticatedly done on elevations of their buildings.
Islam places a lot of premium on the privacy of women. Seclusion of women places severe
restrictions on the movement of women, limiting them to a part of the compound designated
for them. It also checks the movement of male visitors, and grown-up children in the
compound from reaching the inner women restricted area. The typical Hausa home is thus
virtually two houses in one, the outer male visitors’ reception area and the restricted area for
the women. This clearly defines the public and private areas of the house. In a typical Hausa
compound there are two courtyards, a forecourt (kofar gida/zaure) and the central courtyard
(cikin gida/ tsakar gida), which incisively separates it into two zones. The forecourt is an
intermediate zone between the centre of the compound and the public domain. The “Zaure”
major function includes reception, security, protection, privacy, moral, ethnic ideas,
decorations and administration. Before reaching the forecourt one has to go through
complicated entranceways, which block access and views into the interior of the compound.
In the forecourt are huts in which visitors are received. The main entrance feature (dakali) is
the first reception room for male guests. One has to go through another reception room
(zaure) to reach the interior of the compound. Male visitors of the head of the compound do
not go beyond the zaure. The rooms of the head of the compound called turuka (bedroom
only or bedroom and living room) are sometimes situated strategically at the entrance. This is
supposedly to enhance his supervisory role in the house. Access to the central courtyard of
the compound, which is the inner women' restricted area, is through a second entrance hut
(shigifa). The hut is sometimes divided into an additional sitting room for male children and
their visitors, and a smaller store room. The quarters of the women are located in the central
courtyard. This is the major part of the compound where the women spend most of their
married lives. Bedrooms for the wives as well as utility spaces such as kitchens and stores are
contained in this part of the compound. Children play area and space for rearing domestic
animals and toilet facilities are also located in the central courtyard. Since women are
restricted within this zone, a well and sometimes a tap for water are features of the central
courtyard. A common living room for all the wives, which serves as a reception room for
female visitors to the house, is also usually located in the central courtyard.
Factors Responsible for House Form
Climate: The climate forms part of factors that led to the development of Hausa house form,
which include rain, temperature, wind and humidity. Northern part of Nigeria falls within the
savannah area and is characterized by very little rainfall and extreme temperature difference
between day and night. Bright sunshine and hot, dry air dominates the daytime, and at night
associated with extreme cold. Also, climate in this area calls for design solutions that can
better the effect of daylight heat and midnight cold. Thus, the structures in these areas are
designed to be adequately protected by the introduction of shading devices.

Material: Hausas preferred the utilization of useful materials such as vegetation and soil that
were readily available in their immediate vicinity. However, the soil in their area is loose and
less plastic in nature: therefore, it becomes essential to add grass binders, cow dung, and
locust bean pod to the mixture before being moulded to improve the plasticity of the mud.
The indigenous materials for construction in Hausa land involve four major materials namely:
earth, timber, reeds/grasses, and stones. The construction involved pear-shaped sun dried
mud bricks that are moulded from the red laterite soil (Jankasa) found around the
neighbourhood. The laterite soil has high fibre content, when skilfully moulded, produces
excellent materials for buildings’ walls and roofs. Also, moulding the mud walls bricks
involves mixing the laterite soil with water thoroughly. When properly dried are then laid in
regular courses with points facing upwards (“Tubali” method of construction).
Construction
Egg-shaped units of Adobe (“Tubali”) which has been earth-plastered, are put together to
create buildings. In the construction, the roofs structures in this zone are formed with small
door space with little or no window openings which are usually achieved with the intention to
eliminate the hot, dry and dusty air. Similarly, the location and small size of the window
helps in curtailing the incursion of dust and flies. The construction of mud roofs involves split
palm frond pieces which are laid on palm frond beams in herringbone fashion and plastered
on both sides with mud. Plastering of the walls is made with mud containing a mixture of
potash or juice derived from the locust bean.
Meanwhile, the wide use of flat or vaulted mud roofs in Hausa land indicates method of
forestalling the risks of urban fire prevention. Consequently, while the structures in urban
areas had mud roofs and rectangular walls, the ones in sub-urban areas had simple thatch
roofs over circular planes. The wide use of mud roofs respond to extreme temperature
differences between days and nights, because they are semi-conductors that maintain
temperature equilibrium.
Decoration in Hausa traditional architecture is divided into three groups namely, surface
design, calligraphy and ornamental. These categories could be displayed on a single facade of
the Zaure. Graffito is the term given to a form of decoration in which different colour wall
plasters are laid in layers, and the design is made by scratching away the upper layers.
Another feature of Hausa facade decorations are the horns of mud (Zanko) shown along the
parapet of their buildings, which gives Hausa structure a lighter and picturesque appearance.

YORUBA
The Yoruba’s, one of the principal tribes in Nigeria occupy the south-western part of the
country which lies within the tropical rain forest. The climate is tropical with annual rainfall
of about 130—180 cm and relatively high humidity of over 60-80% throughout the year. The
mean temperature is also high, usually more than 25°C. Maximum temperatures are usually
more than 30°C while minimum temperatures are between 21°-25°C.
The average Yoruba man is a farmer, a trader, an artisan or a professional. He settles in a
village or town. In traditional Yoruba settlements, land use types were restricted mainly to
residential, markets, Oba's palaces (palaces of traditional rulers), farmland and shrines.
The Yoruba traditional house is of two types. The first is the traditional compound built
around one or more courtyards. It can then be inferred, that the form of a house is influenced
by the kind of relationships that exist among the occupants. Where the family is nuclear, the
house form was often enclosed in a villa type, while an extended family system tended to
have an open plan. The second house type in Yoruba traditional architecture consists of a
double row of rooms which open into a common corridor which is a common place for
working, sitting and storage. The corridor is also an additional sleeping area for overnight
callers. This second type is a new type of family house and it became prominent during the
1930s.
Preceding the major courtyard is the “akodi”, which served as an entry porch. This is a
reception area for receiving visitors and also serves as the rallying-point for the discussion of
family matters and for major festivities. The Yorubas build courtyard architecture. The basic
form is cuboidal with a rectangular courtyard, placed in the rectilinear compound. A typical
compound has only a single 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. Functionally,
the corridor, which is better lit than the rooms, is used for indoor activities such as weaving,
cooking, socializing and recreation. The colonnaded corridor (known as oode, odede), the
only interior circulation and socializing place allows for visual continuity into the adjoining
courtyard which is a ground for commercial (drying, weaving, carving) domestic (outdoor
cooking) and recreational activities. Some goats and chickens are reared in the courtyard.
The household head occupies the room near the entry gate to provide surveillance and
security, and show hierarchy from oldest to youngest. Sometimes two rooms (with one
serving as Visitor’s room are provided). The older boys occupy the corner rooms because
they are bigger than the other rooms, which are allocated to the wives and their children.
Construction and Materials
The wall plane is made of courses of mud materials, which are readily available and are
usually mixed with vegetative materials such as straw, as additives and adhesives (enhance
bonding). These rooms have small windows and doors, which open to the veranda and the
immediate courtyard. The small window openings are usually above the door lintel-level. A
little above the small window openings, the wall plane is germinated and a ceiling made of
mat from palm fronds or split-bamboo is placed on wood beams acting as reinforcement. A
pitched pyramidal wood structure is placed to cover the ceiling (locally known as Aja using
rope fibres as a tying-member. The ceiling-space is a storage area for items such as valuables
(e.g. clothes), and preserved foods such as yam flour, dried core, pepper, beans, etc. The
structural roof frames is then covered with woven thatched-mat. The basic geometry adopted
in the Yoruba traditional architecture is a manifestation of the interplay between culture and
architecture. The spatial arrangement of the rooms in hierarchical order reflects the level of
family ties and social order, as the household head occupies the room near the entry gate to
provide surveillance and security.

IGBO
In the eastern part of Nigeria where the Igbos are dominant, only a few architectural features
can be accepted as typical for the entire Igbo land. These are the rectangular plan of
dwellings, which are without windows, the veranda in front of the houses and universal use
of the forked posts to carry the roofs.
Apart from dwellings, other common features of Igbo architecture are: Massive compound
gates, meeting houses, shrines and two or three storey semi-defensive buildings called Obuna
Enu. Each compound is fenced with only one entrance and exit. There are roofs made with
such exquisite skill that their texture of palm ribs and grasses serves by itself as an
architectural adornment.
Various rooms, stores and a kitchen normally surround the living area. The men’s section is
separated from the women and children section is grouped together. The materials for
construction are mud, hardwood timber, palm leaves and midribs, bush twines and pawpaw
trunks. These two traditional indices of the Igbo society namely, the religious and communal
life traits were always expressed and represented in the building. For instance, in a typical
Igbo society, two distinct areas were discernible – the public quarters (ama) and the kindreds
(ezi).
The public quarters (ama) houses the assembly building and the shrines of the various deities
of that community. The other part of the community was made up of kindreds. Within a given
kindred, there were individual compounds. The number of houses in a given compound
depended on the number of wives married by the man. Agriculture is the mainstay of the
people’s economy and for one to actually be a successful farmer, he married many wives to
raise many children and increase the labour force for his farming. In so many communities,
the normal hut for the deity, the public rest house which housed the big wooden drum was
phased out. Also phased out was the defence wall constructed by the head of a family or
kindred round his family or kindred house. The house had thatched roof and it was pre-
dominantly these round-wall houses (ulo aja oto) with thatched roofs (aju or atani) that were
available in the traditional Igbo societies in the pre-colonial era.

Traditional Architecture in Contemporary Architecture.

The above analysis of traditional architecture shows a lot of useful characteristics that can be
incorporated into contemporary architecture.
The court layout or pattern reinforces the concept of genealogy based on descent with respect
for cultural values and preservation of family. This lies often destroyed in urban centres
which destroys community spirit, aggravates social disequilibrium through promotion of
residential segregation. The courtyard in the residential layout performs such functions as
socializing, ceremonial and recreation; productive economic activities such as weaving and
dyeing are carried on within it; it is a defensible space. It insulates the living areas from
environment hazards such as smoke, and noise. It equally protects the traditional culture and
genealogy which assists in curtailing some of the social ills such as violent crimes (murder,
rape, robbery) that characterize the new residential layouts in the urban and rural centres.
Courtyards also serve for ventilation and light purposes.
Functionally, the building layout with particular reference to the corridor is a multi-purpose
space for domestic, social and economic activities. It guarantees good visual and security
control for the compound. The hierarchical pattern of the layout, front, (courtyard) back
(dwelling units), rear (domestic activities — cooling, toilets) coupled with other aspects that
modern planning and architectural designs must learn to incorporate into their system are the
characteristics of functionality, use of local materials and the aesthetics. For example,
functionally coupled with the use of internal space reinforces (collective space, head of
household’s room, wife’s room and other rooms) balance, asymmetry, sequence, and order in
the traditional architecture.
The ceiling space aside from its good thermal conductivity is a functional space used as
storage. The high-pitched roof allows torrential rain of the tropics to run-oil fast thereby
preventing leakages. Run-off water is equally collected in pots in the courtyard for household
use such as washing of clothes and bathing.