Determining an Appropriate Architectural Style for Designing Cultural Buildings in Ghana.

Abstract

There is no established general pattern, philosophy or style for designing national cultural buildings in Ghana. Existing cultural buildings are often an expression of the designers own ‘DNA’ or his/ her most preferred architectural style and neglecting aspects of other archetypes which collectively constitute the Architecture and heritage of the Ghanaian people. This paper sought to determine an ideal Architectural style for the design of National cultural buildings in Ghana. The mixed research approach of both qualitative and quantitative methods was adopted. The qualitative method utilized historical reviews to establish the various architectural styles or types in Ghana to include Vernacular, Islamic, Western and Eclectic Architectures. Purposive and random sampling techniques were employed to obtain data for the quantitative study. Frequency and percentages was adopted for the description of this study. The study showed a strong approval rating for eclectic architecture as the ideal architectural philosophy for the design of cultural buildings in Ghana. The study also revealed that the high approval rating for eclectic architecture was because it represented more the diversity in Ghanaian Architecture.