Architect’s Perspective in Remedy of Housing Deficit in Owerri, Nigeria

Abstract

Housing is one of the three basic needs of man. It is the most important factor for physical survival of man after provision of food. A deficiency in housing can profoundly affect the health, welfare and productivity of man. It is an indispensable necessity without which man’s survival is impossible. Housing as important and relevant as it is from the above premise however has not been accorded the attention it deserved. Nigeria’s housing deficit nonetheless is unacceptably high and needed to be reduced. This is because as at 1991, when the National Housing Policy was promulgated, Nigeria was said to have a housing deficit of seven million units. For close to a decade now, the figure has been at 17 million, because the population is increasing daily and needs urgent intervention to forestall the deteriorating trend. Furthermore unprecedented urbanization resulting from high rural – urban migration has created large demand for affordable housing accommodation which in turn gave rise to slum population in the urban areas and consequential inadequate infrastructural facilities in the rural areas. This paper seeks to address the deficit in housing by developing an architectural design techniques that will utilize available building materials, local artisans/skilled workforce to deliver housing units that are environment friendly and sustainable.

Keywords: House, environment, sustainable, archtecture, ambience, design