The need for post-occupancy evaluation of public apartment buildings in Ghana

\u3cp\u3ePurpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine and show why post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of public apartment buildings in Ghana as a product of design is important. Design/methodology/approach: By design the paper is descriptive. It uses a literature review as a method to summarize, synthesize and show the gaps in the existing knowledge on public apartment buildings in general and Ghana in particular. These arguments are brought together in a conceptual framework for approaching POE studies. Findings: This paper finds that gaps exist in the existing POE research knowledge regarding public apartment buildings in Ghana not only as residential settings but also as designed artifacts intended for use. Research limitations/implications: There is a need for scientific research which focus on the design and use of public apartment buildings in Ghana to provide empirical basis for design, policy and research decision-making. Social implications: This paper shows that occupants’ feedback information is important, as it can benefits government, designers and builders, building regulators and managers, as well as end users. Originality/value: The paper contributes a conceptual framework based on which POE studies can be designed.\u3c/p\u3

A typological analysis of public apartment buildings in Ghana

\u3cp\u3eTypological studies are considered useful because they help trace and understand the changes in building characteristics from the past to the present. This knowledge serves as a basis for improvement and change in future designs. In Ghana, although different designs have been applied to public apartments since independence, it is not known what their typologies are in generic forms. This makes it difficult to raise research questions for post-occupancy evaluation and to formulate and test research hypothesis with respect to the relation between design attributes and use requirements. This study analyzes and presents a typological view of the public apartment buildings in Ghana synchronically using designs over the past five decades. A reductionist approach to data analysis, qualitative in nature, is used to describe the plan form characteristics of the designs, using the form of access – vertical and horizontal – as the criteria. The study found 11 mutually exclusive design typologies, the most dominant of which is the single central staircase with lobby access. The study builds on existing knowledge and contributes to knowledge and understanding with respect to the typo-morphological characteristics of public apartment buildings in Ghana.\u3c/p\u3

Towards sustainable infrastructure development in Africa : design principles and strategies for lifespan-based building performance

Societies and economies the world over develop on the wheels of infrastructure. In Africa, it accounts for about one-third to one-half of all public investment (Kessides, 1993). Significant about infrastructure in general, however is the fact that they have very long lives. Consequently, their impact on capital investment, resource utilization, the quality of the environment and overall quality of human life can be very significant. It is important therefore that they meet performance requirements in terms of economic, ecological and social sustainability. By the same token, their long lifespan fraught the design task with enormous amount of uncertainties, compounding the already ill-defined nature of design problems. Given that change is importune, and the fact that it is impracticable to foresee all the changes that will occur over time, a defining characteristic of all infrastructure will be the capacity to respond to change. Focusing on the case of buildings, this paper presents a discussion on some design principles and strategies which assure responsiveness to change and hence sustainable performance. Although the concepts have been advocated for over half a century now, studies show that they still remain marginal to the design profession. To clarify the concepts for research questioning and extension of knowledge, this paper seeks to examine their basic tenets with the view to harmonize the core principles and strategies. A literature review method is used with examples from field observations where necessary. The paper first attempts to review and harmonize these principles, and highlights the practical usefulness. It then highlights the implications for research and development in building technology as well as technology capacity building for sustainable infrastructure development in Africa