Erosion and Resurgence of Biohiphilia in the Evolution of Yoruba Architecture

Abstract

The concept of biophilia in architecture promotes features such as plants, water, light, and materials to increase occupant health and well-being while also fostering a connection with nature. In traditional Yoruba architecture, the buildings and cities were a continuum with the environment and all the construction materials completely sourced from the immediate environment. The evolution of Yoruba architecture into more attritive forms and spaces arising from acculturation of foreign architectures gave rise to less biophilic features. This presentation explores the extent to which the indigenous traditions have yielded towards absolute social-cultural functionalism to the detriment of conservation and bio-sustainability in modern environmental development in primarily Yoruba-speaking areas of southwest Nigeria. Information and data for the investigation were obtained from literature on biophilic designs and indigenous Yoruba architecture. The findings from the research indicate that there were no inclinations in the contemporary indigenous architecture of the Yoruba to bring back the elements of the environment into its building forms until the proponents of sustainability and greening gained prominence. The urban forms fare better due to the efforts of landscape and urban designers. The paper concludes that the proponents of indigenous architecture who are presently premising their advocacy on heritage preservation and urban tourism should include the advantages of biophilic architecture which was present in the Yoruba traditional architecture in their discourses.