Doctoral Degrees (Architecture)

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Afrocentric placemaking and architecture in contemporary urban built form: a case of Bulawayo’s civic precinct, Zimbabwe.
(2019) Mthethwa, Majahamahle Nene.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.
Inspired by Afrocentrism ideologists such as Molefi Kete Asante (2007), the researcher advocates for non-dominance of one community by any other, as this has created problems across sub-Saharan Africa. The social phenomenon of internal colonialism thrives on cultural authoritarianism that the ruling elites or dominant social groups accentuate through the built environment. This study explored collectively accepted makings of Afrocentric sources that would inspire Afrocentric placemaking and architecture in contemporary urban built form and promote social equality, justice and a sense of belonging. The study of these Afrocentric sources would motivate architects to design contemporary local built environments that respond to African value systems. The study focused on the Mthwakazi Nation’s historic capital, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. A mixed method approach was adopted, with a qualitative method applied generally and a quantitative one locally. Special consideration was given to concerns such as African cosmological orientation, culture and identity that pivoted indigenous legal, political, governance and economic institutions. This enabled a narration of precolonial built forms. Various concepts and theories such as placemaking, social identity, symbolic interaction theory, Afrocentricity and existential theory were drawn on to explore the possibility of contemporary architectural design and urbanism that captures the African worldview. Given their ability to exhibit identity phenomena, the focus was civic spaces and buildings. International precedents such as the Sydney Opera House and its linkage to the Bennelong House in Australia, which demonstrate the extent to which Australia has taken on the mantle of European culture and the significance of historical events as a source of inspiration in urban placemaking. Symbolic interactionism evokes indigenous ecological features to encourage creation of locally responsive built Page | viii environments. The Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature is presented in this study as a typical example. Built forms and parallel historical developments were examined from the precolonial, to the colonial and postcolonial periods to identify appropriate Afrocentric sources for contemporary placemaking. In Zimbabwe, Shona traditional built forms were anchored by Great Zimbabwe while King Lobengula’s historical settlement of koBulawayo reflects amaNdebele architectural developments that date back to KwaZulu. Both kinds of traditional settlements provide indicators to Afrocentric sources for envisaged strategies in placemaking and architecture in African cities. To the African mind circularity and movement capture what the cosmos represents. Movement is rhythmic, regular and seasonal. With respect to symbolic interactionism, circularity and movement is how the cosmos reflects itself to an African mind; hence the criticality of organic and rhythmic motion in his/her art and architecture. The study contends that the Collective Centred Afrocentric Placemaking (CCAP) knowledge model is to assist the conceptualisation of Afrocentric placemaking and architecture in contemporary urban built form and thus create an authentically existential sense of belonging in African cities.
Changing roles of women in housing processes and construction : the case of Lobatse Township, Botswana.
(2005) Kalabamu, Faustin Tirwirukwa.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.
This thesis explores variations and shifts in gender roles in housing delivery and the construction. Although presently excluded from construction activities, women have in the past constituted substantial proportions of builders in many countries worldwide. In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, for example, women have traditionally been responsible for building house. However, recent studies and reports indicate that women in Botswana and other countries in the region are grossly underrepresented in construction activities. The few women currently employed in the construction industry work mostly as labourers. Boserup and other scholars have attributed the gendered division of labour to economic development, technological changes, patriarchy, capitalism colonialism or modernisation Based on qualitative and quantitative studies undertaken in the township of Lobatse, Botswana, and adopting a pluralistic and holistic approach, I however posit that gender roles and relations are outcomes of negotiation and normalisation processes through which men and women (as individuals or in groups) use their power and positions in society to access and control resources and services. The outcomes and negotiation processes are themselves conditioned by a web of interacting and intersecting historical, social, economic, political and environmental factors. I further argue that in the context of Botswana, traditional gender roles were shaped by prevailing patriarchal ideologies and institutions, the country's fragile environment, subsistence modes of production, and frequent intertribal wars that characterised the region. However, men's takeover of housing and construction activities that emerged during the colonial period was due to the intersection of Western influences, men's temporary migrations to South Africa, commoditisation of labour and the introduction of the market economy. Women's exclusion from the construction industry has since been entrenched through the atrophication of women's traditional building skills caused by widespread preferences for exogenous building materials and Western style houses. Due to lack of non-traditional building skills, women have been forced to work as labourers in the waged construction industry or as unpaid managers, supervisors and caterers in self-help housing. Robbed of their ability to build houses, women have been obliged to negotiate new gender relationships and strategies for accessing and owning houses.
City morphology and effective control mechanisms: towards land use optimization and sustainable development: a case study of Lagos mega city.
(2018) Agamah, Franca Unekwu.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.
Rapid urban growth and resultant modifications to the environment have significantly changed urban morphologies. Given the rapid growth of metropolitan Lagos and its constrained access to land, spontaneous, muddled patterns of development have resulted in unsustainable development with varying consequences for the environment and its inhabitants. These have implications for carrying capacity, aesthetics, resources and urban liveability and call for policy formulation and measures to plan and control development patterns. The hypothesis of the study was underpinned on the argument that land utilization and control of urban spatial growth are functions of adequate planning and effective frameworks in achieving sustainable development. The study provides a framework for assessing urban structure and morphology with a rationale for planning sustainable cities. It reviews the dynamics of urban growth and its complexities alongside planning and design methods and approaches. The study notes that different elements of cities respond to various stimuli that should be taken into account in seeking to achieve sustainable development. Lagos mega city’s policies and spatial development strategies have, unfortunately, not done so. Guided by critical and pragmatic theory, the study employed triangulated mixed methods to assess the morphology and temporal growth of Lagos mega city and the factors that influence it; it examined urban planning frameworks, policies and control mechanisms; implementation, enforcement and compliance. Three study areas (Lagos Island, Apapa and Victoria Island) were purposively selected as case studies and data were collected through onsite surveys and observation; interviews with planners and the administration of questionnaires to property owners. The findings show that the metropolis is characterized by poor land utilization and ineffective control of urban development which is constrained due to surrounding water bodies and burdened by rapid population growth. The hypotheses tested using the T-Test statistic indicate that while poor land utilization and uncontrolled urban spatial growth are not exclusively a function of poor planning and ineffective frameworks, changing city functions and urban growth have implications for land use that require forward planning. The study therefore developed the Land Use Optimization and Effective Control Model that encapsulates approaches, process and factors towards compact, mixed-use development for a sustainable urban form. The model will guide planning agencies and development plans to align with the objectives of sustainability.
Regularizing informal settlements for sustainable housing development for the urban poor : the case of Nairobi, Kenya.
(2011) Diang'a, Stephen Onyango.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.
In Kenya, as in most developing countries, the provision of adequate housing for the urban poor has been an elusive exercise for the past five decades. Since the early 1960s when serious concerns were raised over housing provision for low income groups and the proliferation of slums and informal settlements, various intervention strategies have been applied without much success. The failure of these interventions has been attributed to high costs of implementation hindering their replication, and displacement of targeted beneficiaries by better endowed income groups upon their completion. As a result, the realised moderate density housing has been transforming into multi-storey housing with intense densification. Housing and the built environment in general are realised within the prevailing systems of social, physical, and economic, settings and are influenced by development and urbanization trends. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify, account and document the prevailing systems of settings and the embedded systems of activities in the informal settlements that determine and sustain them in the city of Nairobi, Kenya. The study analysed these systems at the city, the neighbourhood, and the dwelling levels with the objective of establishing relevant systems of settings and their embedded systems of activities appropriate for adaption in the regularization of informal settlements for sustainable housing development for the urban poor in Nairobi. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodology was utilised in this explorative study. The research methodology applied entailed questionnaires, interviews, observations and discussions. Three case study areas were selected representing three different settings for informal settlements namely; informal settlement on government land with minimal level of interventions; community based informal settlement upgraded for rental housing; and site-and-service settlement informally transforming into multi-storey tenements. Theories and concepts that informed this study include Environment-Behaviour Relations, Environment-Attitude Relations, Sustainable Livelihoods, Social, and Market Theories. The study was conducted in Mathare Valley informal settlement of Nairobi which is located approximately six kilometres from the city centre. The settlement was selected because of the varied informalities it hosts in addition to being the oldest informal settlement in the city. The findings of the study show that the social, economic and physical systems of settings are crucial determinants of housing outcomes and determine the location, nature and characteristics of these settlements including the activities they embody at the city, the neighbourhood and the dwelling levels. Similarly, the study shows that the dwellers adapt to the prevailing systems of settings in response to their livelihood constraints, opportunities and capabilities. As a consequence, limitations arising from economic constraints have led to the predominance of rental housing over owner-occupied housing. Limited access to land has led to crowding and densification. Poverty and unemployment has led to uncontrolled commercial activities within residential neighbourhoods. The study recommends that intervention approaches spearheading regularization of informal settlements commence by considering the problem of informal settlements at city level where their recognition and acceptance is important. This should then be related to job opportunities, ease of access to work, and other social amenities. At the neighbourhood and dwelling levels where the two are intertwined, emphasis should be given to maximum utilization of land and development of housing typologies that evolve with economic improvement of the nation. The government and local authorities should still be responsible for infrastructure development whereas private investors encouraged to develop rental housing targeting the low-income groups and on land designated for such purpose by the government. Market forces should be allowed to determine rent levels.
Technical know-how in the indigenous knowledge system underlying Batammariba traditional architecture in Togo and Benin.
(2013) Yavo, Phillippe.; Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi.
The desire to revitalise indigenous architecture and the built environment through socio-cultural, political and bio-physical relevance has created a strong need for the understanding of cultures and traditional built environments, especially in the developing countries. This study aims to fill the gap in understanding indigenous knowledge in relation to the production and maintenance of traditional architecture and settlements. This can be achieved by examining how such knowledge is depicted and communicated by the traditional master builder in the absence of written language; as well as exploring the forms, quantities and measurements, structural processes, thermal control and waterproofing systems used by the builders, and ecological resource management. The methodology used in this study emanates from the perspective of social anthropology. It includes informal interviews with local informants, participatory observation and reading, and interpreting written documentation of the Batammariba people and their indigenous knowledge systems. Information regarding prevailing technical know-how is obtained through investigations into readily observable facts and a comparative analysis of structure, context and style. It emphasises the importance of process rituals, building processes and technology, and an analysis of architecture in the context of both everyday use and special events. Findings of this study revealed that the works of Batammariba builders demonstrated structural stability, consistency in form, quantities and measurements, site layouts and resource choices in their traditional buildings and settlements. Furthermore the study substantiated the coding and sharing of such know-how in the absence of a written knowledge system. It therefore demonstrated that there is an unlimited reservoir of aesthetic, technical and conceptual wisdom locked up in the minds of traditional builders in Africa. The synthetic process so characteristic of the work of the great master builders of yesterday should be the answer to present day architectural problems. The present day generation of master builders all over Batammaribaland consists of a group of intelligent and active craftsmen, who are capable of adopting indigenous technology to modern needs if given an opportunity. The future generation of architects has much to learn from both past and present day traditional builders. The study also suggests a wide range of possible strategies to mainstream technical know-how of indigenous knowledge systems, as well as improve the way in which traditional indigenous architecture is synthesized in contemporary.

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Architecture) by Author "Adebayo, Ambrose Adeyemi."