Culture Consideration in the Design of Government Housing Estates - A case study of selected estates in Maiduguri, Borno State - Nigeria

Abstract

A study to investigate the extent to which design and planning have considered culture of the target users was carried out on three selected government-built estates in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria. The estates were: Abbaganaram or ‘State’ Low-cost, Dikwa Low-cost and 303 Estate. The original designs of these estates were studied and so were the post-occupancy modifications made to them. Although an attempt was made in all the three estates to cater for the value systems of the people through the provision of courtyards, the relationship between the various activity areas with the courtyards rendered the courtyards virtually none functional. So also, majority of the houses have been modified through the provisions of additional facilities in order to accommodate cultural issues of value to the people like polygamy, large extended families, privacy, gender segregation, etc. Thus, recommendations are made to government and estate developers to consider cultural traits in housing design and development.

Key words: Culture, Estates, Design and Planning.