Green Architecture and The Environment

As a big fun of mud houses and considering the fact that it is very environmental friendly and comforts its occupants, I could not think of anything else to write about. Mud houses have a long tradition in West Africa. Among the best-known are the Dogon villages in Mali, built of a mixture of earth and straw. Some of them are more than thousand years old and protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage. The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali is the largest mud building in the world.

In Ghana, traditional houses built of mud provide accommodation for households in villages, small towns and major cities. Mud houses are an important feature of historical urban structures. In Ghana's south, the traditional architectural design of mud houses is rectangular. Ghana's drier north, most mud buildings are round and have straw roofs.

Mud is copious in Ghana, even when it drizzles like the tears of a baby, there would be mud everywhere. Most of these mud is collected on the surface of the land and comparing this to sand winning for larger concrete houses, I would definitely go for the mud. The mud is then mixed with hardening substances to increase its durability or it is used like that and repairs are carried out when cracks develop on it. The roofing system for most of these mud houses are awesome and further makes the houses environmentally friendly. The straw used for the roofing system is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. So instead of disposing these by products, they are collected and used for the roofing system of the mud houses.

Comfortability? Shh….. You do not need air conditions or electric fans when you are enjoying a good sleep or nap in a mud house. Due to the ability of clay to retain temperature outside due to its compact particles, it is always cool and very refreshing inside a mud house with normal room temperature. Innovations have being raised and of late, more solar panels are being installed on mud houses to help individuals who may need electricity for their works / home works / assignments. Building such a house requires less capital and whenever you visit Ghana, do well to visit one and have a good sleep in it.

Green Cheers!

References and Img Src

1.     https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/aggravating-housing-crisis-erosion-threatening-ghanas-traditional-mud-houses#:~:text=Mud%20houses%20are%20an%20important,walls%20need%20protection%20from%20rain

2.     www.dw.com