**3. Housing transformation design activities: specific dimensions, unwritten architectural ideas and building as a cultural product**

Several studies on house, form, and culture are specific to socio-cultural contexts. This results from the distinctive quality of human cultural traits. Morphologically, housing should distinguish between spaces that are adaptive to accommodating several functions, more so that sometimes activities performed particularly in the modern domestic space settings are irreconcilable. The morphology usually defines the distribution of family activities in a house setting. In this case, analysing the spatial configuration is less significant when compared to analysing the spatial pattern of activities. The later demonstrates the morphology of the domestic experience that also includes activities done not only outside the house but also around the surroundings of the dwellings. Thus, in cultured settings, activity patterns define the domestic experience rather than the spatial arrangement.

Similarly, flexible and multipurpose space uses are usually time bound. For instance, courtyards provide activity space for different functions across the day. Also, this is important in relating and integrating values in space utilisation. Thus, conflicting activities are assigned to a space but separated by time of performance in order to clarify the inconsistency [4]. Thus, social, private, and service spaces with some overlaps are found in flexible dwelling space ordering. The routine interaction with the spaces shows that despite the complexity in space use, conflicts of activity performance do not exist; rather mainstream values are exhibited in the use of space with optimum satisfaction exhibited by the inhabitants across the day.

Meanwhile, a great deal of buildings across the world are continuously remodelled or renovated by the owners without the involvement of architects or even engineers. In such circumstances, people derive their ideas from previous experiences and unprofessional comprehension of the built environment but mostly from relevant understanding of building

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**4. Sustainable housing: architectural themes related to socio-cultural** 

Often architectural problems are vague as the scopes of these problems are seldom clear as it sometimes emerges from cultural issues. Also sometimes, it is difficult to ascertain the aspects that professionally concern the architect. Thus, architects often face challenges that are not architectural in origin and by nature, but must be resolved in order to ensure effectiveness of design. Most often, these are accompanied by contradictions in physiological, activity pattern,

Meanwhile, the design process targets provision of a building product that supports psychological mindset, maintains needed physiological state of inhabitants, and also permits people to receive chances to exhibit specific pattern of behaviour. Therefore, in order to ensure that

In this regard, inclusive rather than exclusive design approach becomes essential. Architectural concepts of housing should dynamically express the socio-cultural tenets of its inhabitants [9]. In most Nigerian cities, for instance, houses are acquired mainly through self-developed initiatives from income savings. Other sources include purchasing of government housing estates [10], which are usually based on owner occupier schemes with gradual payment from income, loan schemes from mortgage banks, and institutional-based co-operative development schemes. Some categories of citizen access housing by renting from private developers or available government quarters. In all, only the first category exerts power of ownership and thus subjects their dwelling to transformation from time to time, thus expressing sustainable values in the dwelling. Usually, socio-cultural tenets are missing in the initial configurations. Some of these tenets are thus illustrated with examples in the succeeding sections of this chapter.

The concept of mixed-use building planning has steadily faded and replaced by neighbourhood zoning in most emerging and advanced cities of the world. This results from the growing complexities in these cities and changing lifestyle of the inhabitants. This operation has redefined the building culture in the contemporary world. Undoubtedly, single buildings now accommodate residences alongside commercial outfits, offices and civic functions, healthcare, and educational functions in both vertical and horizontal configured buildings.

Similarly, small family businesses have always determined the shop house of the early twentieth century in America and Europe [11]. Thereafter, home enterprise has become a common

people attain their goals, then designing for human behaviour becomes essential.

culture as reflected in space and activities' transaction.

psychological, and technological requirements [8].

**4.1. Mixed-use buildings and home enterprises**

**design framework**

Truly, in more western-influenced and traditionally conceived housing set-up, inhabitants' lifestyle distinguishes the arrangement of objects and activities in the home [2]. While flexibility of planning is seen in the later, inflexibility is associated with space design of the former as functions are rigidly assigned to spaces. Thus, housing transformational activities are carried out to adjust the form and functional spaces in order to accommodate flexible functional activities.

Even till today, globally vernacular design decisions have remained significant as though it relates basic human relationships, social habits, and cultural traits [5]. Both in tangible and intangible forms, it echoes typical building culture in the traditional and informal communal settings. And even though they may differ in their mainstream values, commonalities in their principles that are ingrained in the patterned building culture form a generic understanding of the roots of overall building culture. Indeed, even as they exist in varieties, the functional configurations depict similar situation hence rooted to the communal values. Therefore, the assertion confirms buildings as cultural products with traced link to the root. Thus, grasping the essential feature of the inhabitants' lifestyle becomes necessary in providing sustainable designs. Indeed, even though some architects are still linked to their cultural roots, it is understandable to note that the paradigm underlying design now seems to exhibit invariance usually associated with traditional and vernacular homes [6].

Incessantly, individuals' action on buildings and the built environment remains constantly a steady transformation of the built world. Invariably, actions taken on building systems are outcomes of a multifarious structure of human experience and knowledge attained through long historical evolution and consisting of specific configurations of knowledge, institutions, rules, and built results—a building culture (Howard Davis) [7]. Thus, origins of settlements are traced back to the revealed distinctive identity of their building cultures as they handle issues in similar pattern but differ in the mode of operation. Moreover, the knowledge of building is widely communicated as skills among community inhabitants across generations. Consequently, revealing the existing linkage between inhabitants on the one hand, their mainstream values and the built environment on the other hand. As these express deep meaning, aspirations and socio-cultural order of the inhabitants' culture.

However, contemporary building culture trends that grew through industrialisation and technological advancement are characterised with bureaucratic laws and management principles. Authorities are strict with regard to quality and standards, safety rules, performance, and operation. Explicit scientific knowledge evolved to replace traditionally shared communal methods and knowledge ideals. Most cities in their quest for such development in the built environment enforce these knowledge ideals irrespective of the users' socio-cultural values.

Meanwhile, a great deal of buildings across the world are continuously remodelled or renovated by the owners without the involvement of architects or even engineers. In such circumstances, people derive their ideas from previous experiences and unprofessional comprehension of the built environment but mostly from relevant understanding of building culture as reflected in space and activities' transaction.
