Academia

Solutions from Traditional Architecture for Housing the Urban Poor: 20-21 July 2013, Abuja, Nigeria

According to the United Nations, for the first time in history more of the world's population now lives in urban areas than in rural areas. There is thus tremendous pressure put on formal housing for the poor in cities, most especially in developing countries.  This is mainly due to the great influx of people from rural areas in search of jobs and basic services such as schools, hospitals, etc.  In order to solve this mounting problem there needs to be an increase in discussions and proposals about linking sustainable architecture and construction with urban housing.  Sustainable architecture and construction should transcend environmental design and embrace economic and social measures which will add value to the quality of life of individuals and communities. The developed world has been able to drive the architectural and construction industries towards reducing global concerns with a range of policy initiatives and instruments.  It is time for the developing world to join in the fight for the management of climate change.

The conference will bring together academics, architectural, building and policy professionals, state and local government officials and financial institutions working together to seek new housing models that will be affordable, healthy and inclusive as well as respectful of the environment and local cultures.

For the conference programme, please click here.

THEME
*Sustainable Housing for the Urban Poor

SUB-THEMES
•    Sustainable construction systems
•    Case studies of sustainable urban housing developments
•    Innovative techniques/systems using local or traditional materials
•    Housing and urban regeneration projects including renovation projects
•    Case studies of sustainable urban planning
•    Sustainable housing finance systems
•    Evolved workable models of housing finance based on socio-cultural backgrounds.
•    Industry-continuity of sustainable building crafts and technologies

CONFERENCE OUTCOMES
•    Proven sustainable methods of housing for the urban poor
•    New innovations in building with traditional materials
•    Implementation of policies  relevant to sustainable housing development in Nigeria
•    Sustainable urban housing prototypes
•    Secured public-private partnerships in the housing sector

ORGANISING COMMITTEE

1.    Ruqayya B. Tofa, INTBAU Nigeria, Development Manager, Nigeria.
2.    Arc. Maji Liberty , Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing & Urban Dev., Nigeria.
3.    Jite Brume, Director, Mappamundi Design, London.

ACADEMIC COMMITTEE

1. Dr. Marcel Vellinga, International Vernacular Architecture, Oxford Brookes, England.
2. Dr. Matthew Hardy, The Prince’s Foundation, England.
3. Professor William Bernabas Qurix, Vice Chancellor Kaduna State University, Nigeria.
4. Audun Engh, INTBAU Scandinavia, Member of Council for European Urbanism.
5. Arc. Otitoola, Pulications – Nigerian Institute of Architects, Nigeria.
6. Arc. Mas’ud Abdulkarim, HOD Department of Architecture, ABU Zaria, Nigeria.
7. Steve Mouzon, Author, The Original Green, Miami, Florida, USA.
8. Dr Paul Jaquin, Treasurer ICOMOS International Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage, England & Director Earth Building UK.
9. Mr. Oliver Braide, Nigerian Institute of Architects, Nigeria
10. Mrs. Cordelia Osasona, HOD, Dept. of Architecture, University of Ile Ife, Nigeria

DATE
20th-21st July 2013

CONFERENCE COMPETITION

An international architectural competition will be held alongside the conference, as a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development (Abuja) and INTBAU Nigeria.

Proposals will be accepted from architectural firms, architects and students (only as a design unit from the same university). 3 entries will be shortlisted for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. The winning team will work with INTBAU Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Housing on the implementation of the project. The 10 best submissions will be awarded an Honorary Mention and exhibited during INTBAU Nigeria’s conference on 20-21 July 2013.

The submissions deadline will be announced; please check back here for updates. For further information, contact Ruqayya Tofa using the details below.

KEY DATES

The deadline for the submission of drawings will be posted here soon.

CONTACT

Ruqayya B. Tofa
Development Manager
INTBAU Nigeria
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For further information about the conference please do not hesitate to contact INTBAU Nigeria using the above email address.

BACKGROUND

INTBAU Nigeria’s first event which was held in Kano on the 23rd – 24th of June 2008 was heralded a successful achievement.  The conference was the first of its kind to be held in Kano State, Northern Nigeria and indeed by any organisation other than the Nigerian Institute of Architects or ARCON.  There were 24 papers presented during the 2-day event. The conference welcomed a significant number of international participants and managed to raise enough money to sponsor their subsistence for the duration of the event.

Although the quality of papers presented was high and the publication of a book was being negotiated by INTBAU and Cambridge Scholars Press (CSP), it was felt that any publication would have failed to completely address the conference title.  Papers received mainly answered a few of the themes of the conference, and therefore in order to be able to have a fully comprehensive publication, it is imperative to include not only case studies of why social housing is failing in Nigeria or documentation on traditional building techniques that could be revived: we also need to put forward proven sustainable solutions for urban housing.  

For this reason, INTBAU Nigeria has decided to organise a sequel to its first conference in the hope of securing high quality papers and solutions that will expedite the regeneration of our urban landscapes into sustainable living environments for all. Once we are able to secure these papers we believe that we will be in a better place to publish an international standard publication like the rest of our INTBAU counterparts in different parts of the world.

It was understood from the previous conference that ‘housing’ is not at the forefront when discussing development for rural communities, but rather the need for the introduction of good standard services such as schools, hospitals, and catalysts for job creation in order for the communities to have a sustainable lifestyle. The conference in 2013 will therefore address only ‘urban housing’  so as to reduce the scope of the themes and be able to target a specific range of papers for the publication.