RESIDENTIAL HOUSING TYPES IN NIGERIA
Just as individual taste for aesthetics, space, location and comfort abound, there also exist various housing types in the country in line with individual socioeconomic and cultural drives.
As we may have in Nigeria, affordability of the most suitable kind of homes is one of the major factors influencing the choice of housing options; one could desire a fully detached mansion while the pocket points to a bungalow; or rather, a duplex while the economy suggests the flat apartment building or the layman’s “face-me-I-face-you” kind of chilling.
Most people must have dreams of owning a suitable home for themselves but might still be stuck in the choice of home that would match their desire and affordability. Here we give an explicit illustration on the different housing types in Nigeria.
- The duplex house-type: This comprises single-detached or semi-detached dwellings each occupying two floors. The single-detached duplex is a kind of duplex that stands alone without a common wall with other duplexes, and in most cases, with a compound wall. The semi-detached combines some features of the single-detached and the terrace duplex, having one side of each buildings share common walls and the other sides detached. The terrace duplex is a set of structurally identical duplexes arranged in series with common walls in between. Basically, duplexes are units of two (2) or more bedrooms with toilets, Sitting room, parlor, dinning kitchen, and/or store on a two-floor deck; the ground and the first floor. In some cases, Triplexes (three-floor deck; the ground, first and second floor) are equally referred to as duplexes.
- The apartment (Flat) type: This consists of two to four bedrooms, a family lounge, kitchen, and other conveniences, with two or more of each type arranged as detached or semi-detached multi-apartment housing.
- Single family bungalow: This is a dwelling unit consisting of several rooms, family lounge(s), kitchen, and other conveniences, which vary according to the family size or structure. It could come as a stand-alone bungalow or a semi-detached bungalow.
- “Face-me-i-face-you”: This is characterized by two strips of linearly arranged rooms along a central corridor, each facing the other within a rectangular shaped form.
- Traditional courtyard housing: This is historically associated with the Yoruba ethnic origin in Nigeria. This type is characterized by a series of rooms arranged either in a square or rectangular form around a central courtyard. It has given way to the popular “face-me-I-face-you” in some rural areas.
