Incorporate local culture into architectural design — Principal Architect Yaw Oppong

The Principal Architect at Awers Architects Limited, Mr. Samuel Yaw Oppong, has urged architects in Ghana to take into consideration the preservation and sustainability of Ghanaian culture when designing residential, business, and commercial buildings.

Mr. Oppong said that just as the University of Ghana has maintained its original building culture of using brick tiles for its roofing in current structures, it is important that architects help preserve original Ghanaian building styles.

He said this in an interview with the media as monitored by the Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult (CDA Consult) in Tema on the current trends in building designs and their implications for sustainability.

He expressed worry that the designs that were coming up would make it difficult to maintain Ghana’s building style, leading to the demolishing of existing structures to make way for unsustainable designed buildings.

He stated, for instance, that Ghanaian traditional buildings were built in a way that allowed natural light and ventilation, reducing the excessive use of electricity, whereas modern buildings used glass and others that consumed a lot of electricity.

"Our own way of building is more sustainable in terms of economy and energy, but because we want to copy and copy wrongly, for instance, one may have a big structure and have tinted glasses all over it; how do you sustain energy in such a building? It will use air conditioning throughout," he said.

The Principal Architect stressed that there is no way such buildings could be sustained, adding that the use of glazing for buildings does not suit the climate of Ghana, while in the past, the natural ecosystem was used in line with the country’s climate.

Touching on the evolving nature of architecture in Ghana, he said that, just like other aspects of life, civilization, and modernity were the cause as people tried to assimilate other cultures into the existing ones.

He said as people travel around the world, they see different architectural designs and request similar things in Ghana, adding that, for instance, he consults some of his colleagues in other countries to stay up-to-date on new designs that he imbibes into his work.

Mr. Oppong said it was unfortunate that sometimes such designs were being copied wrongly and replicated in a vacuum without consideration of the culture of the people, climate, and land type, among others.

He further said the building typology has also changed over the years, explaining that in the past, Ghanaians were building in the courtyard system, where the rooms were gathered around the courtyard so everybody could see everything you do, and there was a shared bathroom, kitchen, and compound.

"But now it has moved away from that, and everybody wants their own corner, so instead of the shared way, in designing, everyone wants an ensuite bedroom where you have everything for yourself, even in a rented apartment," he stated.

The Principal Architect indicated that even with terracing, people now prefer having terraces with covers instead of the original terrace serving as a transition point from outside to the room.