African low-cost housing programme: Development strategy

This paper highlights Development strategy adopted in most low-cost housing in African towns and cities. The configuration of structures in housing, the orientation and spatial arrangement maintain certain concepts in specific regions. It is a well known fact that built environments produce significant changes, so general design approach would differ from place to place. A critical appraisal of the changes on architectural concepts and planning of housing in Africa is presented with full illustration of past and present experience. Suitable form and function of most African low-cost design by present-day architects are becoming more and more relegated to the background. For example acute shortage of housing due to rapid urbanization has found solution in the concept of low-cost housing with the attendant negative effect of designs that are focused only on cost savings. Housing irrespective of low-cost or high-cost, should provide solutions of the built environment where interrelation­ship between people, socio-cultura, house and climate are well accommodated. The paper contains a comparative analysis of housing problems in time based on past and present design concepts, forms, func­tions, construction methods and materials in relation to the environment. The adverse consequences of present day technological innovations on low-cost housing design are documented and the paper concludes with proposed solutions and guidelines for low­cost housing.