Oyebanji, Olutola
(2025)
Protecting heritage by quantifying the thermal comfort benefits of traditional adobe buildings in Ilorin, Nigeria.
PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
Abstract
Traditional adobe buildings are often recognized for their lower environmental impact and responsiveness to climate. However, they can be susceptible to erosion and damage caused by exposure to weather conditions, and their maintenance can be laborious and reliant on craft skills passed on through generations. Therefore, they can fall into disrepair and/or replace parts with less laborious materials that may impact their performance. In this work, interventions focused on improving performance and optimizing building fabric to ensure occupant comfort were explored to help safeguard these culturally significant buildings from extinction.
In Nigeria, the usage of adobe material is widely spread in areas where there is a shortage of construction materials and/or limited access to modern building techniques. The country has a wealth of heritage adobe buildings, with their characteristics responding to ethnical diversity. The assessment of these buildings has gained increasing interest among researchers in Nigeria, driven by concerns about their rapid deterioration and erosion despite their cultural value. In this study, the author has quantified the ability of traditional adobe buildings to provide thermal comfort through four main case studies based on the tropical savanna climate of Ilorin City (latitude 8.5°N, longitude 4.45°E), which is warm and humid all year. A multi-method approach combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies was taken, and it included a series of occupant surveys, interviews, in-situ measurements, and computer simulation analysis. Four existing traditional Adobe residential building designs, with various layouts, courtyard systems, plan configurations, forms, and shapes, were characterized to assess their distinct cultural aspects and investigate their suitability for performance improvement alongside conservation.
Survey findings indicated that 91% of the occupants were satisfied with the indoor thermal living conditions, and this also gave insights into the cultural value, attachment, and sense of belonging of Ilorin people. The in-situ monitoring has revealed that the standard effective temperature (SET) point was 28.7 °C while the lower and upper indoor temperatures were 25.2 and 32.1 °C, respectively, which surpassed the temperature range (22 – 27 °C) for naturally ventilated residential buildings by a standard for the tropical warm-humid climate. These findings were used to produce dynamic simulation models that enabled the exploration of the impact of the materials on comfort. The simulation analysis revealed that the original (as-built) building was within comfort for 65 % of the time compared to 59 % for the current as-occupied buildings. However, when heritage-sensitive strategies were applied to create an improved/optimized building, the spaces were within comfort for 81 % of the time. Based on the findings, a maintenance, performance, and improvement framework were developed with practical recommendations for preserving and enhancing traditional Adobe buildings. The results were used to shape a framework to inform Nigerian policymakers, architects, builders, and occupants to improve the adoption of best practices for adobe construction in warm-humid climates and help protect their heritage.
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