Modern Architecture in Nigeria

The word “ARCHITECTURE” derives from the Greek word “architekton” (in Latin
“architecton”) which means “construction master” (Sevastean Ianca & Mircea Georgescu).
According to the Neologisms Dictionary [33], ARCHITECTURE is “the science and art
of constructing buildings, according to some proportions and rules determined by the
character and destination of the buildings”, but there are many other definitions given by
dictionaries, specialists or even by outstanding personalities of human kind, definitions with
more or less technical expressions and sometimes even “poetical”.
Therefore, Novalis says that “architecture is solidified music”, V. Hugo writes that
“architecture is the Great Book of Human Kind”, and G. Călinescu defines architecture as “one
of the purest arts, next to music and poetry”.
Our everyday life is conditioned to a significant degree by the architecture that surrounds
us each day – at home, in the workplace, shopping. Even during our leisure time, at the pool or in
the football stadium or at the museum, architecture creates the necessary architectural
environment for our activity. Without architecture, human society would be impossible (H.F.
Ullmann, 1985).
Our cities present a colorful, multilayered world. Buildings from many centuries mingle
with contemporary architecture to form a living organism. Towering next to Gothic cathedrals
are high-rise buildings made of steel and glass, or with reflecting granite façades. Exciting
museum buildings, almost like sculptures large enough to walk in, coexist with soberly
functional factories or dreary administration buildings (H.F Ullmann, 1985).
Most times, the word “Modern” is used to refer to something that is of its time and
probably up-to-minute and fashionable. Modern architecture or modernist architecture,
therefore is a term applied to a group of styles of architecture which emerged in the first half of
the 20th century and became dominant after World War II (Tietz 1999, pg 6 – 10). In avant-
garde circles, around this time, the term “Modern Architecture” also referred to a particular
approach by a group of architects who sought to cast off historical precedent and develop
something entirely new and different for their own time (Nicola Spasoff, 2012).
It was based upon new technologies of construction, particularly the use
of glass, steel and reinforced concrete; and upon a rejection of the traditional neoclassical
architecture and Beaux-Arts styles that were popular in the 19th century (Tietz 1999, pg 6 –
10). The revolution in materials came first, with the use of cast iron, plate glass, and reinforced
concrete, to build structures that were stronger, lighter and taller. These developments together
led to the first steel-framed skyscraper, the ten-story Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built
in 1884 by William Le Baron Jenney (Bony 2012, pp 42-43). Other notable structures that was
the brainchild of this material evolution include:  The iron frame construction of the Eiffel
Tower, then the tallest structure in the world, captured the imagination of millions of visitors to
the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition (Bony, 2012, pp 14 - 16).  In 1853, Coignet built the first
iron reinforced concrete structure, a four-story house in the suburbs of Paris (Encyclopedia
Britannica).
The debut of new materials and techniques inspired architects to break away from the
neoclassical and eclectic models that dominated European and American architecture in the late
19th century, most notably eclecticism, Victorian and Edwardian architecture, and the Beaux-
Arts architectural style (Crouch, Christopher, 2000).
It is also noteworthy that this movement was influenced by architectural theorist and
historian Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (27 January 1814 to 17 September 1879). He said in
1863:
“Suppose that an architect of the 12th or 13th Century were to return among us, and he were to
be initiated into our modern ideas; if one of put at his disposal the perfections of modern
industry, he would not build an edifice of the time of Philip Augustus or St Loius, because this
would be to falsify the first law of art, which is to conform to the needs and customs of the time.”
He formulated a model of architectural history linking the frank expression of building
construction and materials to the progressive march of history. Viollet-le-Duc was well aware of
the importance of the new materials and believed the 19th century must try and develop new
styles that were reflective of the current times.
Modern Architecture in Nigeria
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa that is geographically and well located on
the West African coast. It has a great diversity in the area of its natural components that
comprises of the varied topography, climatic conditions as well as vegetational patterns. With a
population of 140 million people, Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and accounts for 47
percent of West Africa’s population (World Bank, 2010). In terms of land mass, it covers an area
of about 924, 000 km and is bordered on the North by the Niger Republic, on the East by Chad
and Cameroon, on the south by the Gulf of Guinea, and on the West by the Republic of Benin
(Diso, 2005).
Before and during the early part of the European colonization of Africa, the entire
continent was unwittingly perceived as one without any civilization, let alone, a cultural heritage
(N. Uchegbu, 2015). However, many European travelers, traders and missionaries who visited
Africa during this period marveled at what they discovered: Africa has a rich civilized culture,
Empires and kingdoms whose achievement could be compared to those of Europe. The ancient
kingdoms of Benin, Oyo and Kanern-Borno were known to have achieved remarkable feats in
architecture. Some testimonies of these achievements have survived till this modern time (N.
Uchegbu, 2015). This goes to show that Architecture has always been a major part of man’s way
of life whether he’s formally educated or not. It is the manifestation of an innate desire.
Today, in Nigeria however, this Traditional Architecture has been replaced by Modern
Architecture, an expression of Industrial Age. This transition from Traditional Architecture to
Modern Architecture can be said to be rooted in Colonization of Africa by Europe. Nigeria was
colonized by Great Britain in the year 1901. On 1st October, 1960, Nigeria got independence
from their colonial masters. But, without a doubt, the European ways had rubbed off on them.
During the period of colonization, the colonial masters when making shelters for themselves, one
that compared to the standards in their countries, they got Nigerian citizens to do this for them.
As a result, the white man’s way of architectural thinking and skills was imbibed.
Although, the colonization of Nigeria was a strong drive for the presence Modern
architectural style in the country, it does not accurately account for its presence. Just as Modern
Architecture was a brainchild of the desire to express the Industrial Age, Modern Architecture in
Nigeria was not an exception to this factor. With the invention of the new materials: plastic,
glass, reinforced concrete and also new means of applying them, a new era had dawned.
Also, another contributor to the present style of architecture in Nigeria is the bizarre issue
of security or rather insecurity (Godwin. 1998). With the rise in violent crimes. Nigerian
buildings now look more like prisons than residences or offices. In an attempt to keep out
robbers and assassins, building designs must incorporate security feature ranging from high
fences and equally tall gates to metal doors and window oars. Initially these were an aesthetic
killer, but very fanciful designs have come up to soften the aesthetic of what would have looked
like mere steel cage ((N. Uchegbu, 2015).
Based on these reasons, Modern Architecture is now a dominant style of Architecture in
Nigeria. Manifestations of the Style can be seen in different buildings in Nigeria today.
Examples include:
 Commercial Buildings as in the case of Central Bank of Nigeria Building, Lagos.
 Religious buildings as in the case of Saint Flanna’s Church, Ngo, Anambra State.,
 Educational Buildings particularly Nigerian University Libraries and other
University structures.
While all of the above are epitomes of the Modern Movement, the crux of this thesis, is a study
of Nigerian Modern Architecture using Nigerian University Libraries in three highly revered
Universities: Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile – Ife, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, University of
Lagos, Lagos, as typologies. They serve as case studies to inform on what Modern Architecture
is.
Nigerian Universities Brief History
In Nigeria, historically, it is said that the period between 1882 and 1929 marked the beginning of
modern education in Nigeria and was definitely accompanied by intense missionary activity and
expansion in Southern Nigeria. However, the Northern part was not quick to accept this change
because of religious purposes and political reasons.
In 1932, Yaba Higher College was established after amalgamation of the Northern and
Southern Protectorates by Lord Lugard in 1914. Before the advent of the University, post s
secondary education in the form of vocational and sub – professional courses was given in
agriculture at the central agricultural research station, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, and at Samaru
near Zaria, in veterinary science at Vom near Jos and in engineering in Lagos by the Nigerian
Railway company and Government technical departments (Taiwo, 1998:77). Unfortunately for
the college, World War II in 1939 – 1945 affected Institute negatively. This was because, there
was reduction of lecturers due to military call – ups and a drastic reduction of fund. In July 1947,
Dr K. Mellanby arrived in Nigeria and was appointed principal. 104 students of Yaba Higher
College moved to Ibadan during Christmas, forming the foundation students of University
College, Ibadan an affiliate of University of London (Ike, V.C. 1976). The University was
opened on 2nd February, 1948 on a temporary site, Elyeele Ibadan with Dr K. Mellanby as its
Principal, having 104 students and 14 instructors.
In 1960, the University College, Ibadan became a full – fledged University. In the same
year, University of Nsukka was founded, while, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of
Ife, and University of Lagos kicked off 1962. As at 1977 – 1978, 7 new universities in Jos,
Calabar, Maiduguri, Kano, Ilorin, Port – Harcourt commenced operation with a total of 7, 449
students.
In Nigeria today, there are various institutes of higher learning, from Private Universities,
Technical Colleges, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and so on and so forth.
Campus Planning and Design
The architecture of campuses is quite peculiar and also enthralling. Architecture and
urban design no doubt play a major role in the success and popularity of universities, generally
speaking. Campus planning is being conceived as the intended guidance of the amount, quality,
and location of facilities for higher education so as to achieve predetermined objective that is the
plan which may be illustrated as a physical form depending on the type of plan, the form may
range from a portion of a building to the entire campus and its environs (Dober, 2012). It is
important because a campus is a place where diversified activities are carried out. For example,
there are residential parts, as in the case of student hostels and staff housing, academic parts,
administrative parts, all expected to be provided on the same site and function adequately. To
deal with this land mix use, it is discovered that universities are highly pedestrianized for
example. Also, to cater for these various academic uses, it is noticed that designers of campuses
buy into the idea of segregation of non – related activities and aggregation of similar uses. In
other words, Zoning is generally employed in Campus design. In the observation of (Zegras,
2004), the purpose of a higher concentration of non – work land uses appears to reduce vehicle
miles travelled and in perhaps decrease urban energy consumption (Newman and Kensworthy,
1999), produce better health indicators (Joseph et al., 2009), and foster social cohesion (Gans,
1962).
Another important aspect of campus planning worth mentioning is the location and road
networks. Campuses according to a study done by Prof. Olu Ola Ogunsote and Dr. (Mrs). Bogda
Prucnal – Ogunsote (2006), they are located in large cities, and they are integrated into city
transportation network. They are usually well serviced bus and train routes leading to these
campuses. The buildings are integrated into the city fabric, and there is usually no fence
separating the university from the neighbourhood (Prof. Olu Ola Ogunsote and Dr. (Mrs). Bogda
Prucnal – Ogunsote, 2006). This means that after proper Zoning, a common feature of designing
campuses is that road networks and pathways are incorporated for efficiency in going about
academic activities.
Additionally, campus planning involves an incorporation of the building with the site,
whether sloping or flat and considering the climate of the site itself.
In conclusion, Campus architecture is generally characterized by Student Hostels,
Religious buildings, Libraries and Senate buildings among others. Parking and transportation are
also not exempted.
Nigerian University Libraries
University Libraries have a unique character. According to Yusuf and Iwu (2010), the
academic library was described as the nerve centre or the hub around which scholarship revolves
and as an indispensable instrument for intellectual development, being a store house of
information to which user, specifically students as well as lecturers, may turn to for accessing
information. Also, Aguolu (2002) described that the university as the heart of the university and
Oyegunle (2013), states that the academic health, intellectual vitality and effectiveness of any
university depends largely upon the state of health and excellence of the library which is its
lifeblood.
There are few literatures on the origins of libraries but according to Momodou O.M
(2015), he said in 1338, what is considered to be the first academic library; the library at
Sorbonne in the University of Paris, evolved and contained over 1700 volumes of lectures. As
time pass by, more writing became available and universities saw the value in having books that
could not be included into the course of studies. In this regards, Sir Thomas Bodley; a benefactor
of the University of Oxford, took it upon himself to fund the library collection and travel the
continent to buy. As the number of universities aided by the advent of printing continued to grow
and their curriculums broadened; reflecting a rise in literacy and a trend towards scholarship,
during this period, the Harvard University was established. In 1638 John Harvard donated £800
and 300 books to establish what is known as the first state-side academic library and in 1667
Harvard’s first librarian was appointed (Momodou O.M 2015). During this period, use of the
library was limited to senior members of the university and the library was only open between 11
am to 1pm (Budd, 1998). Access was limited as no catalog system existed until 1723 and even
then they were usually arranged by size or donor (Momodou O.M 2015).
The history of university library development in Nigeria can be traced to pre –
independence time when the University of Ibadan and its Library was established in 1948 (L.A.
Ogunsola, 2004).
Statement of Problem
Modern Architecture is a style of Architecture has always been a prominent style of
architecture since the 20th century spreading across different countries including Nigeria.
Granted, in Nigeria today, there is still the presence of old buildings with an old form of
architecture despite the level of technological advancement in the world, nevertheless Modern
Architecture in the country is still a sight to behold,. Particularly, educational institutions which
serve as the pinnacle for showcasing advancements in architecture are a paradigm of the
manifestations of Modern Architecture in Nigeria. All these exhibit characteristics of Modern
Architecture in their own unique way. Hence, the study becomes necessary to take a look at how
well Modern Architecture has been adopted in the structures of some Nigerian Educational
Institutions. This gives us a better insight to what Modern Architecture is by understanding the
characteristics serving as a means of informing new generation architects and reforming them
into better architects. As it is commonly said ‘…..The past causes the present, and so the future.

Research Questions
 How evident is Modern Architecture in the structures of some Nigerian Universities?
 To what extent has Modern Architecture been adapted in these Nigerian Universities that
serve as case studies?
 When was Modern Architecture was fully embraced in these Nigerian Universities?
 What has influenced the adoption of Modern Architecture in these Nigerian Universities?
Aim and Objectives
 To determine the level of manifestation of Modern Architecture in some Nigerian
Universities.
 To examine the influence of Modern Architecture in the structures of some Nigerian
Universities.
 To examine the origin of Modern Architecture in the structures of some Nigerian
Universities.
 To examine the transition of some Nigerian Universities architecture to a Modern
Architecture.
 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Basis for Modern Architecture

Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc
Architectural theorist and historian Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (27 January 1814
to 17 September 1879) as stated earlier had an influence on the Modern Movement.
In his 1872 book Entretiens sur L'Architecture, he urged: "use the means and knowledge
given to us by our times, without the intervening traditions which are no longer viable today, and
in that way we can inaugurate a new architecture. For each function its material; for each
material its form and its ornament." (Entretiens sur L'Architecture, Viollet – le Duc, 1872). This
book influenced a generation of architects, including Louis Sullivan, Victor Horta, Hector
Guimard, and Antoni Gaudí (Buiollion, 1985 p.24).
Structural Innovations
Important milestones in Architecture was development of iron and steel in construction
(Mohammed Azmatullah, 2015).  The development of the steel frame, which became a crucial
aspect of Modern architecture, had its roots in the iron frames that began to make their
appearance in the tall office buildings of Chicago in the 1880s (Nicola Spasoff, 2012).
The evolution of steel frame construction in the 20th century entirely changed the
concept of the wall and the support. In architecture before 1800, metals played an auxiliary role.
They were used for bonding masonry (dowels and clamps), for tension members (chains
strengthening domes, tie rods across arches to reinforce the vaults), and for roofing, doors,
windows, and decoration (Encyclopedia Brittanica – Francis Coignet).
Before the invention of steel, almost all buildings of any size—including all masonry
buildings—had depended on their walls to hold them up; the material of the walls both kept the
weather out and formed the structure of the buildings. The taller the building was, the thicker the
walls had to be at the base to support the vast weight above them (unless architectural devices
such as domes and vaults were employed in combination with buttresses, as in ecclesiastical or
large public buildings). But with the development of the steel frame, the walls were no longer
required to bear any weight; instead, the building was held up by the interior frame, while the
walls kept the weather out (Nicola Spasoff, 2012).

Examples of this innovation, include:

 Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884.
 The Royal Insurance Building in Liverpool designed by James Francis Doyle in 1895
(erected 1896-1903) was the first to use a steel frame in the United Kingdom (Jackson,
Alistair, A., 1998).
Another citable innovative material which aided this movement was the reinforced
concrete. Reinforced concrete, or RCC, is concrete that contains embedded steel bars, plates, or
fibers that strengthen the material (Aggeliki K., 2011).
 Before 1877 the use of concrete construction, though dating back to the Roman Empire
and reintroduced in the mid to late 1800s, was not yet a proven scientific technology. American
New Yorker Thaddeus Hyatt published a report titled An Account of Some Experiments with
Portland-Cement-Concrete Combined with Iron as a Building Material, with Reference to
Economy of Metal in Construction and for Security against Fire in the Making of Roofs, Floors,
and Walking Surfaces where he stated his experiments on the behavior of reinforced concrete.
His work played a major role in the evolution of concrete construction as a proven and studied
science. Without Hyatt's work, more dangerous trial and error methods would have largely been
depended on for the advancement in the technology (Condit, Carl W., January 1968), (Collins,
Peter (1920–1981).
Joseph Monier, a French gardener and known to be one of the principal inventors of
reinforced concrete, was granted a patent for reinforced flowerpots by means of mixing a wire
mesh to a mortar shell. In 1877, Monier was granted another patent for a more advanced
technique of reinforcing concrete columns and girders with iron rods placed in a grid pattern.
Though Monier undoubtedly knew reinforcing concrete would improve its inner cohesion, it is
less known if he even knew how much reinforcing actually improved concrete's tensile strength
(Mörsch, Emil, 1909).
François Coignet was a French industrialist of the nineteenth century, a pioneer in the
development of structural, prefabricated and reinforced concrete. Coignet was the first to use
iron-reinforced concrete as a technique for constructing building structures (Encyclopedia
Britannica - François Coignet).  In 1853, Coignet built the first iron reinforced concrete structure,
a four-story house at 72 rue Charles Michels in the suburbs of Paris (Encyclopedia Britannica -
François Coignet). Coignet's descriptions of reinforcing concrete suggests that he did not do it
for means of adding strength to the concrete but for keeping walls in monolithic construction
from overturning (Condit, Carl W., 1968).
Notable structures made of reinforced concrete includes:
  Saint-Denis near Paris, designed by François Coignet (1853)
 Reinforced concrete apartment building by Auguste Perret, Paris (1903)
 Stepped concrete apartment building in Paris by Henri Sauvage (1912–1914)

A further important step forward was the invention of the safety elevator by Elisha Otis,
first demonstrated at the Crystal Palace exposition in 1852, which made tall office and apartment
buildings practical (Bony, 2012).
Another important technology for the new architecture was electric light, which greatly
reduced the inherent danger of fires caused by gas in the 19th century (Bony, 2012).

The Skyscraper
The emergence of skyscrapers was made possible by technological improvements during
the middle of the 19th century (Schleier, 1986). The skyscraper is arguably the most important
building type to emerge in the modern era (Sarah Allaback, 2003). Of all building types, the
skyscraper strikes observers as the most modern, in terms not only of height but also of boldness,
scale, ingenuity, and daring (E. Duvert, 1985). Early skyscrapers emerged in the U.S. as a result
of economic growth, the financial organization of American businesses, and the intensive use of
land (Condit, 1968). Though, more recently, scholars have pointed out that the skyscraper
concept dates back to antiquity that the new building type was hardly an American invention,
that it was not born in Chicago and that improvements in technology were not the only reason for
its creation (Thomas A. P. Van Leeuwen, 1986). After the introduction of the elevator in 1857
and a decade of experimentation with the new machinery, tall buildings began to spring up
throughout New York City (Sarah Allaback, 2003). Before the structural innovations, almost all
buildings of any size—including all masonry buildings—had depended on their walls to hold
them up; the material of the walls both kept the weather out and formed the structure of the
buildings (Nicola Spasoff, 2012). Masonry buildings supported their internal floors through their
walls, but the taller the building, the thicker the walls had to become, particularly at the base
(Condit, 1968). In the 1860s, French engineers experimented with using built-up plate
girders made of wrought iron to construct buildings supported by internal metal frames (Landau
& Condit, 1996). These frames were stronger than traditional masonry and permitted much
thinner walls (Landau & Condit, 1996).
There is academic disagreement over which building should be considered the first
skyscraper (Schleier, 1986; Condit, 1968). The term was first used in the 1780s to describe a
particularly tall horse, before later being applied to the sail at the top of a ship's mast, tall hats
and bonnets, tall men, and a ball that was hit high into the air (Landau & Condit, 1996). In the
1880s it began to be applied to buildings, first in 1883 to describe large public monuments and
then in 1889 as a label for tall office blocks, coming into widespread use over the next decade
(Landau & Condit, 1996). Identifying the first "true skyscraper" is not straightforward, and
various candidates exist depending on the criteria applied (Goldberger, 1985). However,
according to Sarah Allaback, when the fire of 1871 devastated Chicago, a unique opportunity
appeared for designers and engineers to experiment with new building methods. Over the next
twenty years, improvements in skyscraper technology would take place in Chicago, where
necessity created a demand for steel framing, better ventilation and every means of improved
fireproofing (Sarah Allaback, 2003).
The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, opened in 1885, is, however, most often
labelled the first skyscraper because of its innovative use of structural steel in a metal frame
design (Schleier 1986, Condit 1968, Ford 2005). The Home Insurance Building was a 138-foot
(42 m) tall, 10-story skyscraper designed by William Le Baron Jenney, who had been trained as
an engineer in France and was a leading architect in Chicago (Condit, 1968; Goldberger, 1985).
After this trailblazing achievement, there was a boom in skyscraper construction in
Chicago from 1888 onwards (Willis, 1995). By 1893, Chicago had built 12 skyscrapers between
16 and 20 stories tall, tightly clustered in the center of the financial district (Willis, 1995;
Bluestone, 1991).
In comparison, New York trailed behind Chicago, having only four buildings over 16
stories tall by 1893 (Willis, 1995). In particular, New York newspaper companies adopted the
skyscraper, building several along Park Row, sometimes termed "Newspaper Row", in the 1880s
and 1890s (Gray, 2005).  A few early skyscrapers were also constructed in Baltimore, Boston,
Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Rochester, and Buffalo, such as the Wainwright Building, Wilder Building,
and Guaranty Building (Ford, 2005; Revell, 2005).
 Although the exterior of the Chicago skyscrapers buildings were relatively plain, the
entrance ways and lobbies were fitted out in a grand style (Bluestone, 1991). Early skyscrapers
were mainly made up of small office cubicles, commonly only 12 feet (3.7 m) across, which
were placed adjacent to one another along long corridors, following a pattern first invented in
the Oriel Chambers building in England in 1864 (Ford, 2005).
Write on the use of reinforced concrete in skyscraper.
Remarkable structures are:
 The Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building in Chicago by Louis Sullivan (1904–
1906)
 The neo-Gothic crown of the Woolworth Building by Cass Gilbert (1912)

Pioneers of Modern Architecture

Modern architecture was as a milestone in the history of Western architecture or in other
words in the history of world architecture, because for the first time, the attitude of the tradition,
history and past changed its direction as a source of inspiration of architecture and future and
development were introduced as main objective and subject of architecture (Niki Amri, 2016).
Architects and theorists tried to make homogeneous the architecture as a science and technology
with evolving world (Ghobadian, 2003).
In the context of modern architecture, the pioneering architects materialized the image of
modern architecture not only with the buildings they erected but also with the ideologies they
produced (Zeynap Ceylani, 2008). At the end of the 19th century, a few architects began to
challenge the traditional Beaux Arts and Neoclassical styles that dominated architecture in
Europe and the United States.  Architects also began to experiment with new materials and
techniques, which gave them greater freedom to create new forms. In 1903-1904 in
Paris Auguste Perret and Henri Sauvage began to use reinforced concrete, previously only used
for industrial structures, to build apartment buildings (Poisson, pp. 318-319). The Glasgow
School of Art (1896-99) designed by Charles Rennie MacIntosh, had a facade dominated by
large vertical bays of windows (Bony, 2012).
William Le Baron Jenney (1832-1907), founder of the Chicago School, is
usually credited for designing the first tall office building employing skeleton
construction: the First Leiter Building in Chicago (1879, demolished), which had
exterior brick pillars and interior iron columns (Le Baron Jenney’s second Leiter building,
completed in 1880, is a National Historic Landmark).
In his designs, he used metal columns and beams, instead of stone and brick to support
the building's upper levels. The steel needed to support the Home Insurance Building weighed
only one-third as much as a ten-story building made of heavy masonry (Condit C., 1964).
Henry Hobson Richardson (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was a
prominent American architect who designed in Albany, Boston, Chicago, Buffalo, Hatford,
Ciccinati, Pittsburgh and other cities. The noted Marshall Field Wholesale Store (Chicago, 1885–
1887, demolished 1930) is Richardson's "culminating statement of urban commercial form", and
its remarkable design influenced Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, and many other architects
(Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, 1982).
According to architectural historian William H. Jordy, “Richardson’s work immediately
inspired, among others, three of the most impressive Chicago buildings to rise in the Loop during
the late eighties…These are Adler &Sullivan’s Auditorium [NHL], Jenney’s second Leiter
[NHL]…and…Burnham & Root’s Monadnock (William H. Jordy, 1976).
Architectural critic Henry-Russell Hitchcock states that in the Field Store, Richardson
"was, perhaps, never more creative architecturally (Hitchock, Henry-Russell, 1966). The style he
popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Wright and Henry
Hobson Richardson, Sullivan is one of "the recognized trinity of American architecture".
(O'Gorman, James F., 1991).
Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect,
and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" (Kaufman, Mervyn D., 1969), and "father of
modernism" (Chambers Harrap, 2007). Louis Sullivan, an architect who was highly influential in
the development of the Chicago School, and who had a profound effect on Modernist architects,
coined the phrase “form ever follows function” in 1896 (Sarah Allaback, 2003). His idea was
that the design of a building should be based on the needs of its function, not on historical ideas
or precedent (Sarah Allaback, 2003).  In 1883, Louis Sullivan was added to Adler's architectural
firm, creating the Adler & Sullivan partnership (Morrison, Hugh; Timothy J. Samuelson, 2001).
His more than 100 works in collaboration (1879–95) with Dankmar Adler include the
Auditorium Building, Chicago (1887–89); the Guaranty Building, Buffalo, New York (1894–95;
now Prudential Building); and the Wainwright Building, St. Louis, Missouri (1890–91) (H.F.
Koeper - Encyclopedia Britannica). Sullivan is arguably best known for his influence on the
modernists that followed him, including his protégé Frank Lloyd Wright (Rory Stott, 2017).
Frank Lloyd Wright, (born Frank Lincoln Wright, June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959),
like Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, he had no formal architectural training. In
1887-93 he worked in the Chicago office of Louis Sullivan, who pioneered the first tall steel-
frame office buildings in Chicago, and who famously stated "form follows function (Tietz,
1999). In 1888, Wright learned that the Chicago firm of Adler & Sullivan was "looking for
someone to make the finished drawings for the interior of the Auditorium Building" (Wright,
2005). Wright demonstrated that he was a competent impressionist of Louis Sullivan's
ornamental designs and two short interviews later, was an official apprentice in the firm (Wright,
2005).
Frank Lloyd Wright first used the term ‘organic architecture’ in an article for
Architectural Record in August 1914. In a statement made by him, he explained,
“So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic
architecture to be the modern ideal and the teaching so much needed if we are to see the whole
of life, and to now serve the whole of life, holding no traditions essential to the great
TRADITION. Nor cherishing any preconceived form fixing upon us either past, present or
future, but instead exalting the simple laws of common sense or of super-sense if you prefer
determining form by way of the nature of materials …” (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1954).
According to him, the term organic architecture is usually used to mean buildings whose
shape or function mimics nature. This philosophy was best exemplified by Falling water (1935),
which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture" (Brewster; Mike, 2004)
Inspired by the broad, flat landscape of America’s Midwest, the Prairie style was the first
uniquely American architectural style of what has been called “the American Century.” (Frank
Lloyd Trust Collection)
Wright was not concerned with architectural style, because he believed that every
building should grow naturally from its environment. Nevertheless, Wright's architectural
elements found in the "prairie house" — homes built for the prairie have overhanging eaves,
clerestory windows, and one-story rambling open floor plan — are elements found in many of
Wright's designs (Jackie Craven, 2017). Between 1900 and 1901, Frank Lloyd Wright completed
four houses which have since been identified as the onset of the "Prairie style". Two,
the Hickox and Bradley Houses, were the last transitional step between Wright's early designs
and the Prairie creations (Clayton; Marie, 2002).
In the last phase of his career, he began designing houses that he thought any person
could afford to live in. He called this series of houses his “Usonian” houses and many can still be
found today in various parts of the country (Martin House, 2010).
Wright was a prolific architect, designing over one thousand structures. About forty
percent of these were actually built, including Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, the Robie
House in Chicago, the textile block houses in Los Angeles, California, Falling water on Bear
Run in Pennsylvania, and the Johnson Wax Building in Racine, Wisconsin (Martin House,
2010).
It has long been acknowledged that Frank Lloyd Wright had a powerful on the
development of modern architecture in Europe, beginning with the publication of his designs in
1910 by Ernst Wasmuth in Berlin (Paul Venable Turner, 1983).
Le Corbusier (1887 – 1965) was of the founding fathers of the Modernist Movement and
of what has come to be known as the International Architecture (Le Corbusier, 1929). His was
the bold, nearly mystical rationality of a generation that was eager to accept the scientific spirit
of the 20th Century on its own terms and to throw off all pre - existing ties – political, cultural,
conceptual – with what is considered an exhausted outmodelled past (Le Corbusier, 1929).
In Paris he studied under Auguste Perret and absorbed cultural and artistic life of the city.
During this period he developed a keen interest in the synthesis of the various arts. Charles-
Edouard Jeanneret adopted the name Le Corbusier in early 1920s (Amit Tungare, 2001). Over
the course of fifty years, Le Corbusier’s stern drive for architectural progress matured into a
binary philosophy of modernism and classicism, resulting in a legendary modernist architect
whose work is still celebrated today (Curtis, 1986).
“The rhythm of his steps was the cadence of his personality: precise, uncompromising, but
contradictory” (Wogenscky, 2006, p. 5).
Among Le Corbusier’s most widely known works is the Villa Savoye (Audrey Healey,
2014). It was designed by Swiss architects Le Corbusier and his cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, and
built between 1928 and 1931 using reinforced concrete (Robert Courland, 2012).
Lying on the outskirts of Paris, France, and completed in 1931, Villa Savoye was
designed as a private country house by the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier (Jacques Sbriglio,
1999). The villa was to be constructed according to the emblematic ‘Five Points’ Le Corbusier
had developed as guiding principles for his modernist architectural style:
 Pilotis, such as columns or pillars, which elevate the building and allow an
extended continuity of the garden beneath.
 Functional roof, serving as a garden and terrace, reclaiming for nature the land
occupied by the building.
 Open floor plan relieved of load-bearing walls, allowing walls to be placed freely
and only where aesthetically needed.
 Long horizontal windows, providing illumination and ventilation.
 Freely designed façades, serving as only as a skin of the wall and windows and
unconstrained by loadbearing considerations (L’Esprit Nouveau, 1922).
While the implementation of Le Corbusier’s ‘Five Points’ would complicate the building
process and, later, create a number of practical issues for the Savoye family, the result remains a
stunning fusion between modern architecture and the surrounding nature in which it is placed
(Jacques Sbriglio, 1999).
Le Corbusier was quite rhapsodic when describing the house in Précisions in 1930: "the
plan is pure, exactly made for the needs of the house. It has its correct place in the rustic
landscape of Poissy. It is Poetry and lyricism, supported by technique” (Bony, 2012). The house
had its problems; the roof persistently leaked, due to construction faults; but it became a
landmark of modern architecture and one of the best-known works of Le Corbusier (Bony,
2012). 

Staatliches Bauhaus commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a German art

school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for
the approach to design that it publicised and taught (Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists, 2009).
The Bauhaus is an answer to the question: how can the artist be trained to take his place in the
machine age (Bayer, Herbert, 1938). It began as a school which became the most important and
influential institution of its kind in modern times (Bayer, Herbert, 1938).
  Its roots lay in the arts and crafts school founded by the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-
Eisenach in 1906 and directed by Belgian Art Nouveau architect Henry van de Velde (Pevsner,
Nikolaus, ed., 1999). It comprised of Walter Gropius, its founder and first director, Kandinsky,
Klee, Feininger, Schlemmer, Itten, Moholy-Nagy, Albers, Bayer, Breuer, and others (Bayer,
Herbert, 1938).  In 1919, after delays caused by the destruction of World War I and a lengthy
debate over who should head the institution and the socio-economic meanings of a reconciliation
of the fine arts and the applied arts (an issue which remained a defining one throughout the
school's existence), Gropius was made the director of a new institution integrating the two called
the Bauhaus (Frampton, Kenneth, 1992).
However, the crunch came when the Nazis took control of Dessau Council - the main
source of funding - and eventually shut down the now famous school in September 1932 (Simon
Hall, 2008). In April 1933, the Nazis closed the Bauhaus (Jeanne Willette, 2011). This happened
under the directorship of Mies Van der Rohe, the final director of the school who on the morning
of April 11 1933, the architect turned up for work as normal (Tom Dyckhoff, 2002) but,
the Bauhaus, the 20th century's greatest school of art, architecture and design, was closed (Tom
Dyckhoff, 2002). This was because, the Gestapo was scouring the school for a secret printing
press suspected of publishing anti-Nazi propaganda, and documents linking Bauhaus to the
Communist party (Tom Dyckhoff, 2002). The school managed to reopen after Mies protested but
eventually decided to voluntarily shut down (Kevin Muriuki, 2013). “In 1932,” Mies van der
Rohe said, “the Nazis came. “In 1933,” he continued, “I closed the Bauhaus.” Although the
school was closed, the staff continued to spread its idealistic precepts as they left Germany and
emigrated all over the world (Rachel Barnes, 2001).
The Bauhaus is known as one of the most influential modernist art schools of the 20th
Century. The Bauhaus influence travelled along with its faculty. Gropius went on to teach at the
Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, Mies van der Rohe became Director of the
College of Architecture, Planning and Design, at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Josef
Albers began to teach at Black Mountain College in North Carolina, Laszlo Moholy-
Nagy formed what became the Institute of Design in Chicago, and Max Bill, a former Bauhaus
student, opened the Institute of Design in Ulm, Germany (Larissa Borteh, 2012).

Characteristics of Modern Architecture

The modern world offers a different vision of the universe versus old world that arose
from the intellectual and human-oriented beliefs (Ghobadian, 2003). Modern architecture was
formed as an architecture school with a comprehensive theoretical foundation and constructed
buildings according to modern thought of the late 19th century (Niki Amiri, 2016). This
architecture was known in Chicago City of America and in Europe in cities like Paris, Berlin and
Vienna (Ghobadian, 2003).
Modern architecture focuses first and foremost on the efficiency and pragmatism, and
uses the style and tools that has not had a history of such use to this size and in a way tries to
develop in the modern era and uses all possibilities to achieve this purpose (Kit of relativism,
2007). Modern art is accompanied with a kind of formalism and anti-familiarity and alienation
(Niki Amiri, 2016). Modern society threw away traditional and mythological elements from the
domain of knowledge by relying on human reason and intellectual logic and objective facts and
social recognitions and subjective qualities entered in to the art field both in terms of separation
and sense of aesthetics (Kanti) (Raygani, 2014).
Artistic modernism characteristics are: identity and unity, independence and self-stability
(Niki Amiri, 2016). Unity means establishing a link between discontinuous elements and
integration in the multiplicity and confusion. Independence and self-stability mean being far
away of any external ornament and being internal its nature (Niki Amiri, 2016). Another feature
of modern art is emphasis on the unconscious strains and mentality (Surrealism) (Niki Amiri,
2016). Modern art is simple and universal, and is far away of local standards (modern
architecture and International Style) (Niki Amiri, 2016).
A salient characteristic of modernism is self-consciousness. This self-consciousness often
led to experiments with form and work that draws attention to the processes and materials used
(and to the further tendency of abstraction) (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991).
Modern architecture was organized with the norms of rational, and used of one of the
most efficient materials such as concrete, steel and glass (Malpas, 2007). This architectural style,
acts to meet the needs and because it uses a single form is the anti-decorated, anti-show, anti-
metaphor, anti-historical, anti-remembering and anti-humor and the meaning has been lost in this
architectural style in a way (Kit of relativism, 2007).
Finally, modern art is of concept, is not a representation of reality and thus is not also
indicator (Alizadeh, 2012).

Nigerian University Architecture

University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
The University of Ibadan (UI) is the oldest Nigerian university (Teferra et al. 2003), and
is located five miles (8 kilometres) from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in
Western Nigeria. The origins of the university are in Yaba College, founded in 1932 in Yaba,
Lagos, as the first tertiary educational institute in Nigeria. Yaba College was transferred to
Ibadan, becoming the University College of Ibadan, in 1948 (Nkulu, Kiluba L., 2005).
Colonial rule was imposed by the British in 1851 -1903 on the various entities that made
up Nigeria (Abiodun Akeem Oladiti / Dorcas Oluwaseyi Adeoye / AjibadeSamuel Idowu, 2016).
Due to this, the colonial authorities deemed it necessary to build the Nigerian environment using
the colonial funds and resources internally generated to develop unimaginable projects of some
buildings that can be obviously described as symbols of colonial architecture in Nigeria
(Usanlele, 2013). In order legitimize themselves in the face of nationalist challenge with a
development agenda in 1945, the British model of architecture was introduced with an agenda
for development in African colonies (Killingray, 2003). Consequently, this led the colonial
government to embark on the massive infrastructural developments of office buildings
for the colonial civil services, foundation of a new university, establishment of prisons, hospital
facilities, a university college hospital, the Railway station and construction of staff quarters for
British expatriates, which were associated with the construction of a new built environment of
the country (Killingray, 2003).
For the purpose of building a new environment, two famous British Architects were
invited from England, Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew to design the building plan (Liscombe, 2006).
Both architects relied on the British model in the designing of structures founded by the colonial
government in major Nigerian cities such as Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano, Jos as well as Enugu
(Preston, 1981). All these can be said to have culminated in the establishment of University
College Ibadan (now the University of Ibadan) the premier University in Nigeria ((Babatunde E.
Jaiyeoba, Abimbola O. Asojo, 2016).
According to Fry (quoted in Jackson, 2011), the universities could form part of the
moral betterment of post-war society. Fry wanted universities to express this purpose through
their buildings and as such, it was the architect’s ‘function’ to venture beyond mere utility and
shelter (Abiodun Akeem Oladiti / Dorcas Oluwaseyi Adeoye / AjibadeSamuel Idowu, 2016).
Jackson and Holland, argue that Ibadan was selected as a site to establish a new college
in West Africa as it was less congested than Lagos, and with a burgeoning population of
400,000, a new hospital was required in the city which might be planned in conjunction with the
medical school. Also, Abiodun Akeem Oladiti, Dorcas Oluwaseyi Adeoye & AjibadeSamuel
Idowu added, it was also a city, which had existed independently of the colonial regime and as
such suited the nation building and nationalist agenda of the political landscape. However, the
existing site conditions and occupants were not considered.

Fry and Drew (1956) responsible for designing University of Ibadan campus noted “an
architecture and form of urbanism will emerge closely connected with the set of ideas that
haveinternational validity, but reflecting the conditions of climate, the habits of the people and
the aspirations of the countries lying under the cloudy belt of the equatorial world" (p. 29).

The University of Ibadan’s buildings present an interpretative labyrinth – but that’s what
makes them so interesting (Tim Livsey, 2014). University College Ibadan campus was built in
two phases. Phase one was completed in 1955, five years before independence from colonial
rule. Phase two was completed in the 1960s ((Babatunde E. Jaiyeoba, Abimbola O. Asojo, 2016).