Forms and Elements of Recent Ethno-Acculturation Preferences of Yoruba Architecture in Southwest Ngeria; A Case Study of Abeokuta Historic City Core

Abstract

The evolution of indigenous architecture for any social culture is usually sectionalised into thresholds of different but succinct architectural styles. The continued survival of any indigenous style is the ability to accommodate changes in components while preserving the culture of the people. The postmodern and contemporary architectural styles are the most recent defined patterns that have been assimilated into the Yoruba areas of Southwest Nigeria. Existing literature on Yoruba architecture have not addressed the delineation of the current threshold of the indigenous style. In a bid to address this problem, this research set out to define the current outlook of the Yoruba indigenous architecture through the forms and elements that have been acculturised from the foreign styles. This was achieved by locating the study in a historic city centre where the social culture is preserved in the community and the buildings. Urban upgrades carried out in the area stimulated the renovation and fresh construction of buildings where they occurred in the otherwise sedentary community. The older buildings in the sedentary parts of the study area and the newer structures in the upgraded areas provided two different thresholds in the architectural evolution for comparison of the constituents of the building patterns. After defining the study area, building counts were carried out to determine numbers in the upgraded and sedentary areas. This helped to calculate the sample sizes for direct observation guided by a schedule. Questionnaire was administered to evaluate residents’ opinions on the subject. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the trends in typologies and preferences while existing literature was used to explain the chronology of styles and the architectural evolution of the area. The research identified the current natures of the forms and elements being adopted in the area and the reasons for their adoption. It concluded that the forms have been modified to suit the social culture and the climate.