Studies identify dearth of affordable core houses for households who cannot afford whole houses. Architectural design characteristics affecting design simplicity have been found to positively influence core housing affordability. Despite this, documentation on whether design simplicity has been considered in the designs of existing core houses is lacking. This is required to check imputs in future designs. Study examined reflection of design simplicity in architectural design of existing public core housing schemes in Anambra State, Nigeria, using Mixed Method approach. Data were obtained from architectural drawings of existing prototypes, field observations and personal interview protocols. Observation schedules with “Yes” and “No” ratings were used in ascertaining reflection of the attribute in each of the 7 prototypes studied. It was found featuring only in 3 out of the 7 prototypes. For affordability improvement, the paper recommends inculcating the variables constituting design simplicity in future core housing design in Anambra State.
Studies identify that architectural design characteristics affecting design simplicity enhance core housing affordability. Effect of this attribute for affordability improvement, crucial in establishing design strategies for affordable low-cost urban homes, is lacking. Study examined this effect in Anambra State of Nigeria, using mixed method approach (primary data sourced from personal interviews, and questionnaire on 242 sampled residents from a 540 population. Using Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman’s Rank-Order correlation for analysis, all prototypes were found non-affordable, with p-value of 0.000 for significant variation for affordability. Significant relationship, strong and positive (p-value, 0.000; correlation coefficient 0.778), was established between architectural design characteristics affecting design simplicity and affordability. Recommendations for improving core housing affordability include: minimal floor area for initial unit (studio apartments for households earning below N161, 000 monthly, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom prototypes for those earning between N161, 000 and N200, 000); simple geometric plans; and local building materials for roof covering.
Studies indicate flexibility in space use in architectural design as enhancing core housing affordability. Despite this and the notion that intended residents cannot afford core houses, it is not yet documented what constitutes this attribute, and whether they featured in the core house designs. This information, required as a check for future designs, is lacking. Study examined flexibility in space use in architectural designs of existing public core housing schemes in Anambra State, Nigeria, using Mixed Method approach (data sourced from architectural drawings of existing prototypes, field observations and personal interview protocols). Observation schedule with “Yes” and “No” ratings was used in ascertaining reflection of the attribute in each of the 7 prototypes studied. The attribute was found featuring only in 1 out of the 7 prototypes. For affordability improvement, the paper recommends consideration of the variables constituting flexibility in space use in future core housing designs in Anambra State.
Anambra state of Nigeria experiences acute housing shortage for urban low-income population owing to inefficient public housing delivery system principled on conventional full-provision house types. Insufficiency of funds for housing development is a major cause. Increased rate and scale of housing production and volume of housing stock have been stalled. Low-income households are adversely affected, being priced out of the limited stock. Core housing, a partial-provision strategy believed to require less financial resources has been neglected. This research focused on the potentials of core housing strategy in financial cost-saving and other aspects of public housing products’ performance. Components of public housing products’ performance and the measuring variables were first outlined; followed by a review of the relationship between core housing and the variables, which was apt and revealing. This study has widened knowledge and prepared grounds for empirical studies of core housing performance in Anambra State public housing sector.
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