Impact of adjacency of spaces in fire service station on fire crew response time

The fire has contributed positively to man development from time immemorial till today. But it also has its own negative aspect; people had lost virtually all they had in a single fire incidence including their life. It is in light of this negative side of fire that the fire service was established to prevent and extinguish fire and other emergencies that threaten the lives and properties of the people. These fire stations in Nigeria have challenges which result in late response to fire incidence and it is on this backdrop the research evolved. The research adopts an analytic approach; Systematic sampling was employed in choosing appropriate case study facilities. 36 questionnaires administered, 4 were not returned which forms about 11.1% of the total administered questionnaires. A total of 32 questionnaires were filled and returned forming 88.9% of the total administered questionnaires. A checklist was used to investigate the availability of essential activity spaces in the fire stations. Four stations were case studied. The data obtained were analysed using simple statistical method and results were presented in a simple descriptive tool (tables and figures). The research revealed that each Nigeria fire station lack one activity space or the other which is essential for a timely response like, dormitory, kitchen/dining space, day room, watchtower, etc. Beside activity spaces, adjacency of spaces is a lacking essential factor, time is lost in travelling from the gates of these fire stations to the watch room/dispatch during run-in calls, and time is also lost when firemen have to travel from different part of the station to the apparatus bay to respond to a fire call. The research then recommends the remodelling of the existing stations and a template for the design of sustainable on time fire station

Daylighting evaluation and optimisation of window to wall ratio for lecture theatre in the tropical climate

A base case model is a more potent dose for applied research; the passive architectural design for sustainability requires optimised experiments. However, experimenting with physical developments require construction and deconstruction until they achieved the optimal scenario. These wastes resources and time; hence, base models' development as useful instruments in the optimisation design process is desirable. Lecture theatres in universities have no specific design model whereby optimising one may not apply to the other. Therefore, this research evaluated a base model for lecture theatre regarding spatial configuration, daylighting potentials, and optimised window-to-wall ratio (WWR) for tropical daylighting. A study of ten existing lecture theatres in eight universities within eight states in Nigeria's hot-humid climate was analysed descriptively for the base model. The study employed Simulations with IES-VE software. The daylighting performance analysis adopted the daylighting rule of thumb, daylight factor, work plane illuminance (WPI), and WPI ratio. The results show that a typical lecture theatre in the study area has a dimensional configuration of 12×20 m floor plan, 6 m ceiling height, and a window wall ratio (WWR) of 13%. In the deduced base model, 4H was required for adequate daylighting against the thumb's 2.5 H daylighting rule. The research concludes a low window-wall ratio with poor daylighting quality and quantities in the base model; therefore, it implies that the daylighting was not a criterion in the designs. However, the experiment revealed a progression in daylighting performance with an increase in WWR from the base case until 30% WWR. Beyond that, there was a decline in the daylighting performance. Therefore, 30% WWR was optimal for daylighting performance in lecture theatre retrofitting within the tropical climate

Exploring motivational factors of indigenous house form for value-based development: The Tiv people of central Nigeria in context

The quest for contextual identity and value-based developments by concerned authorities justifies the necessity to explore the inherent motivating factors that influence housing formation and the built environments of the varied Nigerian ethnic groups. Rapoport's identification of socio-cultural values as the primary influencers of house form has come under scrutiny, stipulating a replication in different contexts. One tends to ask about the motivating factors for the indigenous house form of the different ethnic groups in Nigeria that need to be explored and harnessed for value-based planning, design, and development for future infrastructure. This study explores the motivating factors of the indigenous house form of the Tiv people of central Nigeria, filtered through Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. This qualitative study utilised the Means-End Chain soft laddering technique, where 24 participants were interviewed, analysed, and ranked. According to the findings, Tiv indigenous dwellings are circular-shaped, connecting them to their cultural heritage. The open compounds also permit communal interactions in their natural setting and express their determination to live independent family lives. For housing stakeholders in Nigeria, the primitive values evoked in this study are essential for developing a contemporary, culturally sustainable society