Compound Housing

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Project idea

A thorough survey of the Abenase community in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti region of Ghana led to proposals being made having forecasted
Abenase to a 50 year future. This project sought to address the housing deficit that will arise through the provision of compound housing , a housing typology typical of the Ghanaian peri-urban and rural context.

The compound houses located at the core of Abenase are made of
indigenous materials with have undergone deterioration over the years.
Most of these compound houses have been occupied by the generations of
indigenes. Innovative ways to reduce the cost of construction or renovation of compound houses to make it affordable to the dependent masses was sought.

Project description

The idea sought to draw from the possibility of close neighbours pulling together their resources to help develop their neighbourhood. The project divided the location into sections. Each section to comprise, commercial, residential and recreational facilities.

The level of these zones would vary based on the overall planning of the Abenase community.

The scope of the project was to provide a compound housing that could meet the demands of the diversity in family sizes and income. The proposal focused on how the blocks could share some building elements and spaces; stairs, social gathering spaces and utilities.

With the differences in the existing housing shapes, ownership and even taste give rise to the architecture, one block was detailed to show the idea of shared spaces.

Technical information

The main material to be used for construction was reinforced concrete as structural elements and laterite and wooden panels for external and internal walls.

Recycled plastics was used for shading elements.

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