University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2012 Development of a framework for sustainable repair of adobe building in an urban area in Nigeria Shittu, Theophilus Adeyinka http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/1008 University of Plymouth All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent. i DEVELOPMENT OF A FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE REPAIR OF ADOBE BUILDING IN AN URBAN AREA IN NIGERIA By THEOPHILUS ADEYINKA SHITTU A Thesis Submitted to the University of Plymouth in Partial Fulfilment for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Architecture, Design and the Environment University of Plymouth April 2012 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The realisation of this thesis was due to the effort of many people who assisted me in several ways. My thanks go first to my two supervisors Linda Watson and Mhairi Mackie for their diligent supervision. Your effort is deeply appreciated. I will also like to thank the British Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for awarding me full scholarship for this doctorate degree programme. Due to the lack of sufficient data on the subject of study, data used in this thesis was mostly generated from interviews. I am therefore indebted to all the people that I interviewed in Offa, Akamkpa, Zaria, Jos and the thesis’ study area Sabon Gari in Kaduna. Unfortunately, I received news of the sudden death of Mr Valentine Ogunsusi who was one of the key persons I interviewed in Jos. I believe many practitioners and researchers that are conversant with Nigerian earthen architecture will agree with me that the death of Mr Ogunsusi is a great loss to the field of earthen architecture in Nigeria. He was the pioneered director of CECTech and was very influential for my interest in contemporary earthen architecture in Nigeria. May his soul rest in peace (amen). I also pray that his family will have the fortitude to bear the loss. Among the several people interviewed I will like to specifically mention and Adebisi Opadokun, Ali Mohammed and Abdullahi Nuhu for their extra supports during the field survey in Sabon Gari, Kaduna. I will also like to specifically mentioned Samuel Bello’s kind hearted gesture in administering the validation questionnaires on my behalf. Others who contributed immensely during the data collection through discussions, emails and telephone conversations include Tumi Aluko Olokun, Moses Oladele, Benjamin Angbashie, Ayoade Akano and Najim Yakubu. Your contribution to this thesis is deeply appreciated. I am also indebted to the CRATerre staff most especially Titane Galer and Philippe Garnier for sending me the following publications: my DPEA dissertation, two books on earth construction in Nigeria and the iii proceeding of the 1987 Terra conference in Rome, your prompt responses and kindness are deeply appreciated. I also received supports from several people here at the School of Architecture, University of Plymouth, of which space will not contain their names if I have to write all, however, Kevin Owen, Paul Burtnyk (both Senior Technicians) and Lynne Saunders (Secretary to Head of Subject) were exceptional. They were always there to assist me on any computing issues as well as ensuring that I lack nothing as long as it is relating to this thesis. Kevin, Paul and Lynne, I really appreciate sparing me your valuable time whenever you were called upon. Back home in Nigeria, I am indebted to many of my family and friends who kept supporting me morally through emails and continuous phone calls, thank you all. Unfortunately however, one of them - my foster Mum who was a pillar to my education and a motivator for this PhD, did not live to see the completion of this study. Mama Tumi as you were fondly called: how I wish you are still alive to share my joy? However, your effort will never be forgotten, may your soul rest in peace (amen). Finally, my sincere appreciation goes to my wife Bola and my children Abiola Ayomipo and Samuel Opemipo for their patience, support and understanding throughout this research. You have been part of this research from inception to completion, thus if there are persons that knows where the shoes pinches, apart from my supervisors and I, you are the ones, I therefore say thank you from the bottom of my heart. iv PREFACE My interest in earthen architecture began as a child in my native country Nigeria. Despite the fact that I grew up to be fed with wrong notion that earth buildings are for the poor, I was still not deter in my passion to know more about this technique. This influenced my decision to study architecture in the University. My training as an Architect in the University did not fully meet my initial expectations in terms of earthen architecture. However, this did not deter my determination to explore this area of speciality after my graduation. Fortunately, my first job upon graduation was with a construction firm that had a vision of earth construction and its conservation, and that was how my journey towards the promotion of earthen architecture in Nigeria began. In practice, we were faced with sceptics who believed that earthen architecture no longer had a place in contemporary Nigeria and those that believe that the material could still be used since it is cheaper. We were part of the second group and as such our first major projects were under estimated, since we believed that the material was very cheap. With variation in cost on almost all our projects we had to critically analyse the situation and this led to some findings that contribute to my interest on this thesis subject. Our discovery was that earth buildings were built at minimal or no cost traditionally because the construction was through communal labour or self-built. As a consequence the cost was never calculated. Furthermore, the cost of material was considered to be free, since it was usually manually sourced within close proximity to the construction site. In addition to these factors is the fact that these traditional earth buildings were built without architects or engineers that needed to be paid huge consultancy fees. These factors coupled with other overheads associated with modern construction contributed to the current high cost of earth construction. Consequently, our initial experience in earth construction as a private entrepreneur was not too successful. Only very few clients were ready to spend huge sum of money to construct new buildings using the traditional technique, as a consequence v most of our building projects we were involved with, were constructed of Compress Earth Bricks (CEB). The notion was that the CEB technique is more durable than the traditional techniques of tubali, cob, wattle and daub and the adobe block. However, this notion is not always true, with this conviction, I developed interest in adobe buildings most especially the repair of existing ones. This interest led to this PhD thesis. vi ABSTRACT Building with earth is still a living practice in Nigeria most especially in the northern region. Pear shaped sun-dried earth brick (tubali) was used traditionally by the Hausa in northern Nigeria. However, the use of tubali has ceased to exist in favour of the adobe blocks in both the urban and rural settlements in Nigeria. Sabon Gari, the study area is one of the urban areas in this region with buildings constructed with adobe. However, these adobe buildings are in deplorable conditions and in dire need of repair. Sabon Gari in Kaduna was selected as the thesis’ study area because of its strategic location and the dual function which the adobe buildings serve (i.e. residential and commercial purposes). This provided an opportunity to study the effect of the two activities on adobe building in an urban area. 20 compounds with buildings constructed with adobe blocks were selected and thoroughly examined. In the course of this study it was identified that the major factors inhibiting the repair of these buildings are social factors. This thesis therefore argued that with an appropriate framework these social factors can be corrected. Consequently, the adobe building in Sabon Gari can be repaired. This informed the decision to develop a repair framework through participatory approach involving the adobe building’s stakeholders, which include tenants, landlords, architects, masons and the planning authority. In the course of the development of this repair framework, this thesis draws on, and contextualises its argument on the fact that tried and tested repair strategies exists at international levels, which can be adapted to the situation in Sabon Gari. Consequently, ideas from relevant building repair literature, Terra conferences papers, earthen architecture conservation projects and adobe building repair projects were critically analysed and used in developing the proposed repair framework for Sabon Gari. To ensure the sustainability of the framework, which is one of the research aims, the content of the framework was validated by some of the stakeholders interviewed at the inception of this research. This proposal was amended based on the stakeholders’ recommendations and now has the input and approval of the stakeholders.