Housing Working Nigerians

13/08/2017

Designblendz Blog
The 5 Best Architecture Trends of 2017

Written by Designblendz | 3/24/17 1:01 PM
Architecture Trends of 2017

With technology inching its way into architecture, and homes getting smarter, the scope of architectural trends is rising. It isn't just about what color to paint your walls any longer!

Decor may change; architecture remains. You can lay down new rugs, maybe add a lick of paint and renovate the furniture, but you can't knock down walls one year to another just because you don't like the alignment.

Structural changes are much harder to achieve, so it's imperative for one to have a clear and detailed plan when building a house. Architecture trends change from year to year, like in any other creative field, but the core concepts of good building and structural integrity remain constant.

You might want to look out for the latest trends in architecture and construction, and imbibe elements of new-age building culture, to make sure your house retains the best of traditionally sound architecture and hip new trends!

Here are the coolest new architecture trends of 2017!

1. Invisible Buildings.

The greenest of ideas are all about trying to blend buildings into the surroundings. But scientists are going one step further and are trying to build houses that are completely invisible, using a minimalist mirror like facade materials or by using LED lights.

The Avenue Leclerc Office Building, or Tower Infinity in South Korea, are examples of almost entirely invisible buildings.

2. Timber.

Timber is having its big moment in the spotlight! Engineered and laminated timber is now as the architectural wonder material of 2017.

Trumping steel and concrete in quality, strength, and sustainability, timber is now being used to build entire apartment blocks, like the one in Finland, or this one in London.

3. Imagination-defying bridges.

Bridges are getting artsy, and how! Impressively artistic bridges are quickly becoming all the rage, across the world.

Be it the sensuously undulating curves of the Dragon King Harbour River Bridge in China, the trippy waves of Henderson Bridge, Singapore, or the clean lines of Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge, Brazil, bridges are done being boring.

4. The emergence of public spaces.

With the evolution of open kitchens, communal dining spaces, shared common rooms, and private spaces have merged into a new-age melisma of shared space.

With the public and the private melding, the modern house shatters older notions of clearly demarcated spaces and embraces the open, the natural and the free.

5. Exposed bricks.

The old world charm of rustic, unadorned brick walls is coming back in an uber cool avatar.

From being a sign of run-down, old building, exposed brick is now the hottest new wall texture, and is seen everywhere--cafes, houses, even offices.

For millennials, nostalgia is everything. With the reemergence of old-school flip phones, iPods, vinyl records and mom jeans, architecture is in for an old-school makeover too. Rustic, faded brick walls, are the perfect architectural flourish to evoke those warm feelings of gentle nostalgia, with maybe a hot cuppa in hand!

Architectural trends are often a precursor to the future. If current architecture trends tell us anything, it’s that the houses of the future will be minimalistic, edgy and technology-fuelled. Which trend are you most excited for?

01/03/2017

For today, I have a very interesting post that is called "12 Fantastic Home Hacks You Should Not Miss". Are you excited?

11/02/2017

UN-Habitat to partner with Cape Verde for sustainable communities for the implementation of the New urban Agenda. The cooperation that started in 2009 was assessed to be very positive with encouraging results & the authorities concluded that this is a moment of change since all the basic conditions were established and that new investments should be jointly mobilized for the common agenda of the organization's intervention in Cape Verde. Read more http://ow.ly/Mnwf308p71q

11/02/2017

Mark your calendar-->2nd International Conference on National Urban Policy: Implementing the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda.
Date: 15 - 18 May 2017 Venue: OECD Hq, Paris, France
Don't Miss! http://ow.ly/oTdg308L83K

11/02/2017

UN-Habitat will support the redevelopment of the Kabul riverfront through various ways. Last week, the first concept public space design was presented. Other proposal and its concepts for walkability, reorganization of current activities, water and waste management, materialization and vegetation were also discussed. Read more http://ow.ly/Su8o308LgeR

02/10/2016

Architecture is a science

16/09/2016

16/09/2016

11/09/2016

Mass Housing in Nigeria, Customize the Brief: Provide a Desired House
Adedayo Olatunde Folaranmi
Abstract
The nature of the housing designs in mass housing schemes in Nigeria is a function of how architects were trained to handle mass housing designs. It is common practice to find that the houses in majority of the mass housing schemes in Nigeria are never owner specific. It is often assumed by architects working on mass housing schemes that the process of making the houses specific is cumbersome. The nature of the construction method of these mass housing schemes allows for the design briefs of the individual house to be different. This paper examines how design brief in mass housing in Nigeria can be customized. This is done through the development of a customization brief model with aid of a network of computers. It is expected that if the model is applied into mass housing in Nigeria, desired house by house owners in mass housing schemes would be met.
Keywords: architects, customization, house owner, mass housing, model

03/09/2016

FG ‘ll strengthen mortgage policy for affordable housing—FASHOLA

By Funmi Olasupo
ABUJA— Federal Government has promised to strengthen the mortgage policy for Nigerians to access affordable housing, reduce corruption and encourage productivity in the sector.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who disclosed this at the ongoing Affordable Housing Summit 2016 in Abuja, stressed the need for stronger mortgage policy, in line with the change promised by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to pursue infrastructure development and specifically address the housing needs of Nigerians.
The minister said the enthronement of best practice would help to reduce corruption, restore investors’ confidence in the housing sector and create an atmosphere of transparency and dependability.
He said: “I think that mortgage is the best practice and the way to go to reduce corruption and to encourage productivity.
“I suggest that our houses must be tied to our income, which must be tied to our jobs and I think it is the way to create credit that our housing sector desperately needs.
“I do not think that we can seriously talk about transparency, if a large number of our people pay a two- year advance housing rent when they receive their arrears monthly. Where will the money come from?
“I am sure there must be other ways in which we must create credit because economies where people get paid at the end of the week and able to pay their rent at the end of the week; or are paid at the end of the month and are able to pay their rent at the end of the month, allow for a much more beneficial quality of life.”
He also expressed confidence that the ministry’s collaboration with the German Development Cooperation, GIZ, and other development partners would, among other key objectives, proffer a clear, sustainable, realistic and strategic blueprint for affordable housing delivery in Nigeria.
He noted that some anomalies had affected the housing sector over the years, explaining that “if the income marches your obligation, you pay in arrears.
“No matter how hard we try to build to meet the budget of the demanding public, we must also respond to the question of credit for rent. So I say that this mismatch in advance rent and arrears of income is one of the reasons many completed houses are empty,” Fashola added.