Modern building design in Africa needs to incorporate more sustainable practices for naturally ventilating and cooling our homes. Many modern homes don't consider natural cooling or ventilation at all. Thanks for sharing this info!
Yes... and another thing I've noticed is that they don't often consider a little thing like orientation or how important planting for shade outside in the hot months as well.
@@lagringa7518 Senegalese architect here, Look up people like Francis Kere he is my inspiration and does buildings like no body else . I think his style and others alike are the future of african architecture
@@lagringa7518 Villages in Ghana are typically totally clear of grass, trees, and any other form of vegetation. Why? Trees and bushes harbor snakes, which are VERY poisonous and aggressive. Likewise, villages maintain numbers of cats and dogs to keep out rats, snakes, ants, and other pests. Clear ground around the housing allows this control measure to work efficiently, whereas shade trees would give shelter to the pests.
@@sinothizitha1280 I'm frim the U.S., I ask my god father in Nigeria to build me a mud house for when I come to visit, he said no, because people will think I'm crazy. Till this day, I'm still pushing for my clay house. The cement block houses there, are miserably hot. I will have my clay house
@@PopCultureCarnivore1 An American is a descendant of a white settler colonist. The term Black American is an oxymoron. It's new term. The Africans forcibly transported to the United States were just that: Africans. The term BA is goofy term. The descendants of forcibly migrated Africans are still there (... in the millions: ~50 million). There were no BAs in Africa long ago. Africans did create the 'porch' in terms of architecture that was embraced in the southern part of the United States.
The thing is that we are obsessed with borrowing Western concepts and ways that we forget that a lot of traditional African stuff can be further developed and adapted into modern day concepts for sustainable living. For instance Africans are obsessed with using cement based concrete as their primary building material in an environment that is way too hot for such material to be naturally comfortable as a result many homes are like furnaces and require constant air conditioning to keep them cool
@@QuartzMatrixed It seems they've long been ahead. Here in the States a week-long workshops on building this way costs thousands of dollars. Africans were right all along -- efficient, functional, and sustainable.
This is what I was discussing. I think we need to learn and give more respect to the eco-friendly architectural skill. And like you said, innovate and expound on the ideas. But in a way that benefits our originators, not exploits them. Thank you so much for this statement.
termites do this shape for the same reason. They use towers and funnel shapes and openings in a way to divert air and both keep the air clean, but also for temperature control. This was a great article. Thanks for sharing
I love when our awareness is brought back to the fact that WE are nature and we look to nature for ways of living. There are so many things that we do that are modeled after animals' behaviors because they're effective! This is why we can't be on this planet thinking we are the apex creatures and we have dominion over animals. We're completely interdependent, and that deserves so much respect. Much respect to you for sharing this!
I think lighting wasn't a priority because time and schedules back then conformed to nature, so artificial lighting wasn't needed beyond a fire on the outside or a small lamp on the inside. When you figure that most of these homes are in equatorial Africa it makes sense as there is enough bright daylight hours to get things done, unlike extreme north and south where daylight and night fluctuate throughout the year. Our ancestors built homes suited perfectly for the environment they lived in!
How would they do things inside the house without lighting. Maybe these were storage buildings, because lighting has always been a priority for people, doesn't matter what time or country it is.
@@Peak_Stone you didn't pay attention. In equatorial Africa, daylight is at an equal time as night, so you have plenty of time for light in side the house. As seen in the video, the opening in the top allowed for smoke to escape, but it also allowed plenty of light in, so during the day no artificial light is needed. At night you just need a small lamp or the embers of a fire, as most people sleep at that time. Especially back then, time schedules didn't run as they did as now. Even the calendar was different.
@@omggiiirl2077 I am saying houses benefit from Windows. It doesn't matter what year it is, or which part of the earth you are from. It doesn't make sense to make such huge buildings as houses, because you will have little light in them, which is not useful for everyday stuff, like finding a spoon, pans, knitting etc. I think you are wrong about houses not needing light because it's in Africa. Light is useful, and essential in daytime and night time. These buildings probably serve another function than housing, hence little lighting.
@@Peak_Stone but people clearly are still living in these houses. Did you not watch the video?😂😂😂😂 Just because it doesn't work in the western way doesn't mean it doesn't work. It works for them. And Africa isn't the only place with homes without windows. There the hale pili in Hawai'i the igloo of Inuit and Eskimo culture, even Sāmoa ho,es didn't have windows, but at the same time they didn't have walls, even in the Pacific island of Anita the homes were low and had no windows and when night came these people used a fire or a lamp by various means. Even the mongols and Turkic people lived in yurts, didn't have windows, they used animal fat lamps for light. But again most people didn't stay out deep into the night they stayed inside. It wasn't smart. In most of these places still it could be deadly. Bright artificial light such as street lights are recent needs for production and safety reasons, but in the past and in societies that are less developed it's not a requirement.
Other indigenous people also use the cone or dome shape in building housing. For example, the Native Americans and Mongols built teepees, and Eskimos made igloos. Yerts are also similar. I think many more aspects of indigenous living would go a long way to improve our "modern" lives. Simply put, to live in harmony with the environment and animals rather than seeing it as something to dominate and control for profit. There would be no need for profit as the Earth cares for all of its inhabitants abundantly if we would allow it.
This architecture is amazing to me , I love it . The opening on the top was meant to look at the stars and the sky. I remember seeing that somewhere else .I think Egypt.
There is a correlation between the poor lightening and the fact that Africans are one of the most social groups you will ever find. Our fore fathers hardly spent time indoors to worry about the lightening.
This is by far one of the best explanations I have received. I am just about to publish a video on how African villages and the lifestyle they promote helped to promote social well-being and prevent loneliness, social anxiety, and much more. The power of the community and knowing you did not have to do life alone had such an impact, and we are slowly losing that sadly
And I believe that that sense of communal living is one of the reasons why depression and the aged being left in senior homes is a funny concept to a lot of Africans😂 As a kid while growing up, once where were done with dinner, we all had a meeting point where we all play(according to your age group) till mama call.
go for it then ,,live in mud huts ,who cares ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,if it's so great why do you all want to live in western civilised countries.......maybe mud huts aren't that great
Its still strange why so many africans leave theirs countries and risk their lives for to go to europe. I mean if it is so good in africa why go to bad europe?
Your mindset is glorious 🌟. The way these architects and construction contractors look at you when you say "I want mud". The school system has always been our issue. A British colonial remainant - where they still worship concrete and burned clay bricks made by burning down medicinal trees. I remember a documentary on American homes. There was some crazy statistic on the cost of heating a cooling with electricity - it's very backwards. Slowly slowly though Africans are, on mass, reclaiming lost knowledge in all walks of human interactivity. Great vid!
Thank you for your enthusiasm! I am an African-American professor teaching Latin American literature and cultural studies. I start my classes with examples of African sovereignty or the struggle for said sovereignty said sovereignty. I believe but Africans can teach blacks in the diaspora a plethora about languages, architecture, traditional medicinal science and the translation of Ajami manuscripts. And we have a plethora of things to offer❤.
Very correct, in the US, the road management system in all cities of America uses domed shape storage to preserve salt for the winter. So, when driving on roads and you see domed-shaped storage buildings, they are made for preserving salt in America! Thanks for this information, wow, wow, wow, Africa has been ahead of the inventions before the Western countries, proud, proud, proud as an African.
Same here in the UK. Was even thinking the designs for the buildings in some of the concepts for colonies on the Moon and Mars look like these buildings.
I love how you kept saying pyramid. The West said we don't have any connection with ancient Egypt but here we still have tradition and cultures scattered all over sub-Sahara Africa that predates ancient Kemet/Egypt. It's also clear our predecessors used materials available in the tropics to build after migration. Like using clay and timber unlike the stones and rock in the arid and desert regions of Africa. I'm from the igbo tribe in Nigeria, and they were pyramid in Nsude Enugu. Thanks for the elaborate info. As an architect, I've started picking an interest in remodeling indigenous designs.
I find it amazing how only a few people can use common sense. Wash away in the rain Lumps of mud ?? I’ve slept in a mud hut they are amazing and it was cool all night, whereas the outside was warm and hot. Africans are inventors of everything! We saw the earth and used it to our knowledge.
When we were building our house here in Greece I was doing research on possibilities of cooling the house during summer without the need of electricity. So I found out about African and Arabic building techniques that are brilliant. Always have been wondering why modern architecture doesn't use those.
Discovery of 'black gold' rendered efficiency irrelevant; invention of fractional reserve banking created a way to expoit earth resources at an unprecedented rate; the invention of the 'corporation' rendered obsolete personal responsibility for the consequences of poor choices.
It’s high time we put off the color issue and come together as brothers as we are. The world is too forward thinking to be one race over another anymore. We need righteousness to cover the earth and come together and build together. This way of thinking is the only way! If we go your route it will end up exactly the same but a new oppressor! Let righteousness cover the face of thee earth like water covers the sea!
@@mikewilkins2030 why is it that when African need to reclaim and build on their thing that is when the same melinated and oppressed will be talking about righteousness. Is it only Africans that should be righteous? Besides is Righteousness stupidity. All the righteous things we gave the world what did the do with it? The used to oppress and still oppressing us. So why are you still preaching this passivity. Bother I disagree with you. The earth can only be healthy again if the first born take charge of the earth again. Just see what they did with climate and every body is suffering it. So no! The melinated are spiritual people that is why we keep the world safe for this long despite the suffering caused us. Theirs Time is up let the learn to be human for ins and stop stealing to be at the top. We must not allow three D vibration telling five D vibration what to do. Time up!
Ce n’est pas que vous êtes trop colonisés c’est juste que l’immense majorité des peuples africains n’avaient même pas d’écriture et étaient incapables de transmettre des informations sur plusieurs générations, (l’histoire commence quand l’écriture est inventée, avant ça c’est pas préhistoire)
I feel proud that a young African woman is egger and proud of her heritage and wants to promote it. I would want to encourage you to do more research and even document your findings. Be truly blessed
This information is so powerful. As an Africans historians, I'm very proud of your work and this research work. I've always tell myself, that Africans architects has not done enough to tap into our African Designs from our ancestors. They left us with such a wide knowledge of information in architectural designs that fits perfectly well into our Africa environment. Perhaps, there should be an African architectural schools who specialise in training a new generation of Africans architecture about African indigenous architectural designs. Kudos to you my dear sister. Well done. We will be using your videos as educational purpose.
I agree with you whole-heartedly. Also, this knowledge is not hidden -- many in Africa still build this way. I've seen videos of African women building homes on you tube.
i wish there was a love button, in stead of a like button. Ancient egyptians built with convection always 100 % in mind , those shafts in kufu pyramids , its one large oven , not a tomb.
The problem society has is that now they are fighting big businesses (Electrical, Water, Nuclear, Oil companies) who are fostering the incorrect building codes to keep us locked into “unnatural manners” of air conditioning or rather cooling management of our homes. In hotter climates thicker walled structures with doubled roofs or thicker roofed homes to keep the heat out has always worked best. Even the lighting is great needing no power during a daylight hours.
Those concepts must be inspired in nature. Learning from your environment to get solutions to challenges already solved millions of years back for you.
Adobe houses in the SW US & wattle & daub in the UK also made of mud & straw. Some in the UK are 1000 years old. Very thick walls, thatched roofs. Totally organic. Cool in the summer, warm in winter. Made from what is locally available. People are trying to revive these ancient & effective building methods but often find themselves fighting "city hall"!
The Trulli in the region of Puglie in Italy, have been built since any one can remember and they are still lived to day, they produce the same effect. There is no evidence to suggest that they copied any one, as they were built that shape for other reasons well.
Marcelo stop, nothing in Italy is original. Stop trying to take the credit away from Africa for the brilliant culture it has shed upon the rest of the world. The Moors brought so much to Southern Italy and the Pugile region is very much in the southern part of Italy. Nice try
@@Ghostintthemachine The trulli were built by local people who knew nothing about Africa, they probably never heard of Africa. You know nothing about Italy, the only thing that the moors brought to Italy was costal raid, killing of civilians, destruction, pilige, abducting white girls and woman as slaves, they were blood thirsty and uncivilised , with nothing to offer. Italy learned nothing from them. Muslims squatted in Sicily for 200 years. but not in Puglie, thankfully they were kicked out by the Normans. I have no idea where you come from , but one thing I am certain of, that is that in your schools the curriculum (Latin) does not include anything about Italy, so don't even think of lecturing me about my country.
@@Ghostintthemachine You can see who the Moors you speak of were. They are painted in the castle at Alhambra. They were not the Moors of today and the Africans of the past were not the Africans of today. Just like the Californians of today are more than 30% foreign born, the Californians of today are not the Californians of 1950, just 75 years ago. It's wrong to think that the people and technology of the past is the same as the people of today and made by the people of today. "The architecture of the Nasrid palaces reflects the tradition of Moorish architecture developed over previous centuries.[16][14] It is characterized by the use of the courtyard as a central space and basic unit around which other halls and rooms were organized.[17] Courtyards typically had water features at their centre, such as a reflective pool or a fountain. Decoration was focused on the inside of the building and was executed primarily with tile mosaics on lower walls and carved stucco on the upper walls. Geometric patterns, vegetal motifs, and Arabic inscriptions were the main types of decorative motifs. Additionally, "stalactite"-like sculpting, known as muqarnas, was used for three-dimensional features like vaulted ceilings.[13][17]" - Wikipedia Their contemporary depiction at Alhambra in the Hall of the Kings: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra#/media/File:Hall_of_Kings_(Alhambra)_08_(43582411254).jpg Persians even had domed and pyramids structures, so did Asians and Chinese. Persians had ice making domes in the middle of the hottest desert using no machines.
They did this exact same thing in ancient Persia. They still have the structures... Ancient history is amazing. I am sure that there are many other structures in Africa that we do not know of yet.
Except air circulation is not air conditioning. Here you're just directing draft from one opening to the other. At the top wind blows faster so you will increase force of the draft at the bottom.
The building itself is a system that creates a cooling and stack effect, thereby conditioning the interior air. Air conditioning is just defined as a means of controlling the humidity, temperature and ventilation within a building. These structures did that exact thing passively with no extra energy input, hence its more sustainable.
@@keithstevens5614 yes that’s how an AC unit works, but the principal is the same. Stack effect creates a pressure difference cold air with a higher pressure sinks and hot air with low pressure rises, simulating circulation
True, but add air flow to the tendency of mud to evaporate moisture (which is how our bodies cool themselves) and you have a very effective cooling system.
Oh wow, this is so beautiful Architecture! It looks also like a homage to nature and Life. Gaudi&Co tried to copy from it for sure….You in Africa had it all already. May you prosper with Peace and bring your evolution to the rest of the world
A modern version of this architecture could be produced as low cost refrigeration and housing to mimic the wonderful African style. I'd recommend looking into company called, "Domegaia". They have a foamcrete machine and a small group of people can pour the foamcrete into interesting shapes or bricks that can be cured and then cut using a bread knife. The best part of this building practice, is that it relies on human creativity and human labor to produce stunning architecture at a low cost.
With due respect, I believe the first issue favoring the use of the dome shape pertains to meeting the demands of the rainy season and the dry season. In some locals the home is primarily used for sleeping or as shelter from significant rain storms. The lack of windows is partly to save on cost and keeping the structure strong. The temperature difference inside and outside is very significant.
absolutely 💯 💯love your work 👏 look forward to learn more 👍 about the true meaning of African people , culture and brilliant architectural minds❤ Malo lava from your Polynesian sister❤
That's exactly the problem: when whites live with nature, its called self sustaining and living off the grid. When Africans do it, we get called backwards
This is SO COOL. Some of those homes look futuristic as well! Definitely going to try the apple experiment (may also try with my niece and nephew!) and then apply what I’ve learned in my home and garden. I can think of a few things I’d like to keep cooler naturally, and this is just the ticket. Subscribed! Thank you 😊
Beautiful, incredibly instructing presentation, I agree totally with your comments. It is crucial to implement traditional - eco construction, as we run great danger to loose such environmentally economic ways to buiild in these modern days. Great thank you
Very encouraging video! Frank Lloyd Wright used indigenous metals in his designs quite successfully. There is bamboo in the orient. Glorious sand and grasses in Africa. Hides in Norway (etc). Palms in the islands. Woods in South America. Africa doesn't need imports. No country does if it uses its own resources.
I grew up in the northwestern part of cameroon call Wum. As a kid, the villagers had mud houses with thatch roofs. I don't know why they abandoned the thatch in favour of corrugated zinc roofs. It was cool seeing that.
These are works of art! Between the ziggurat of Ur or the pyramids of Sudan and Egypt , all the tepee shaped structures found in Russia and the US including igloos. Inca pyramids found in central and South America . It’s amazing that this construction style used all over the world using mud , wood animal skins, clay mud and sand , earth technology is tremendous even today when you build a rammed Earth type of house you build in a spiral pattern building up like that kind of domed shape and even for a simple beehives way back in the 17 and 1800’s the beehives for you primarily skip baskets there was Wolverine in a spiral shape , some are even 3D printed on a large scale . I’ve watched several tribes building these same shapes out of bamboo. I have subscribed and am looking forward to more. Maybe more color images with temperature sensors to show the average temperatures in the heat of summer or cool of their winters.
I agree, they are gorgeous! We should always learn from our forefathers, centuries produced the height of practicality from local available materials which then evolved into a thing of beauty.
Growing up I always taught that the strongest structure was a pyramid. Pyramids/ domes are everywhere in the world for a reason. We certainly do need to learn from our past to have a better future.
Very fascinating. our ancestors obviously mastered their environments and we are just now starting to realize they were much more intelligent then what we give credit for
heat rises so the heat easily finds it way up, plus a flat roof would afford the sun a lot of square footage to heat up the abode! the hut homes are beautiful!!!! ingenious and artistic!
I like The domes and the cal earth style... Thanks for giving back our Afro diasporans the knowledge of architecture. Talking about indigenous peoples.. in Mexico there's a place called Azulic that maybe you would like to see... Namaste Haribol Asewe
Lepenski vir civilization, Vinca civilization was making same pyramid houses 10 000 years ago, American Nativ people also Tippi, Northern people also. All of them used also mad ,dry grass for outside insulation.
Less attention was paid to lighting because the houses were mostly used at night for rest and during bad weather for protection from the elements. In addition most activities happened outdoors hence limited time in the house.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful knowledge. I have been in an earth built home and it was so cool and the air quality was so excellent I did not want to leave.
What An Absolutely Gorgeous And Brilliant Design! Western Nations Are Responsible For Marginalizing African Knowledge, Culture And Brilliance! Thank You For The Wonderful Video! A Shout Out From Your Brother In Northern California, USA! Love, Peace And Blessings To You, Your Family And Our Lovely Motherland! 💯🙏♥️🙏
Always playing the victim. African countries have been independent for over half a century, but you are still crying about how evil westerners marginalised them! As if 50+ years wasn't more than enough time to counter any marginalisation (much of which only happened in the heads of people like you). Ridiculous.
A lot of designs are influenced by nature around us. I heard that the dome pyramid type shapes were influenced by giant termite mounds. Dirt/Mud is a great material to use for housing and it's cheaper than a lot of different options and lately I've been looking into compressed dirt options.
The Sidama people of Ethiopia are famous for their beautiful bamboo-woven houses known as tuguls. The tugul-known world-wide as the Ethiopian House-is a dome-shaped building with a small front porch shading the entrance. The building frame is made of locally available bamboo and covered with grass and ensete* leaves. Tuguls are specifically designed to protect their inhabitants during rainy seasons at the Sidama Zone. They have pointed tops and circular bodies that shed heavy rainfall away and prevent leaking.
The world would be so wonderful if different cultures preserved or developed further their different building and even aesthetics/decoration styles. It would feel surreal, like a movie set. Imagine a bank looking like that.
For an example of modern African architecture of a building that self-regulates heat, look up Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe. What's really cool is that it was constructed in the 1990s before sustainable architecture had become a buzzword.
That's sustainable building with small footprint it's not cutting down forrest. We were Living/building in harmony with creation. You don't need a mansion where you don't use half of the house
You’re adorable. The top of the huts that have holes are incomplete. Our ancestors knew how to create glass (durrh because they built with mud, painted buildings with tree ash, and made sculptures with precious metals). That glass was shaped as a circular pyramid (ie. pointed top circular bottom) and was applied at that top of the hut and was always thick. This thick glass amplifies sunlight within the hut without adding much to its heat, the glasses also had inscriptions and markings that helped to tell the time with sunlight and moonlight, and the time of the year through the position of the Sun. Some other cultures had geometrical designs in circular format on the floor as calendars and clocks, so when the sunlight and moonlight are hitting these carvings and designs, they’re basically telling the time. Yesss the African people of way back then; knew how the solar system worked. They even noticed when after a few hundred or thousand years; the Sun shifted or moved significantly in the Milky Way. This allowed them to do major renovations in the cities and kingdom, to accommodate the astronomical changes. Moments before the Sun came up, they had a clock called Dew Counter that works until the Sun comes up to dry everything, they also had a similar one for rainy days. If I want to explain it in a way you’d understand; imagine very thin paper stacked on top each other with mathematically precise spaces, once a drop falls on one of them, it tears. Then another drop on another paper then it tears. For a specific number of tears makes an hour, and the angled roofing of the clocks that makes the dew drop is different from the angle of the roofing of the clock used on rainy days due to the frequency of both water drops, with their surfaces purposely smoothened or altered to set a specific pace for these water drops. It’s soooo complicated I can’t finish this topic if I wanted to. I’d have to make a presentation that would only bore some to death. Also they had pools with dials that used the reflection of the Sun plus the tectonic movements of the Earth to tell the time. It’s fire 🔥.
Even basic clocks like water dials which uses the drops of water into a vessel with markings (ie. Clepsydras) to measure hours and seconds. They could tell how many seconds have passed by measuring the liter of water that made up the hour. Bruh I’m blown away.
the only evidence of glass fabrication in Africa have been found in Nigeria, and dated about XI-XV century. The opening on the roof was necessary to let the hot air going out, with a glass cork, people inside would have been slowly cooked
@@beanabong2896 Agreed. This woman was clearly just sharing what she was learning; she was not putting on airs or pretending to know more than she does. To then cut her down is a sign of insecurity of the sharer of their knowledge. Let's make this a win-win conversation and journey of discovery, not get all competitive for no reason.
a dome shape house can a withstand strong wind more than a box shape structure. Aerodynamics And one thing more is about harmonic frequency of the structure itself which is beneficial to those who dwells in it.
I love this. I really do ❤it. I also like u touching on modern urban planning & design - especially since our ppl like to copy the west (trying to import the ideas of urban sprawl in Africa cities & villages). Thank u so much for this video. I subscribed already
SubhanAllah! I don't know about the shape, but it makes sense that making clay bricks (a common practice in many African countries) from the earth would provide one of the most comfortable home interiors in intensely warm weather. After all, clay pots even keep water cool. Thank you for your video.
Brilliant! I agree with everything you say, especially the nonsensical way we now heat and cool modern homes, "at what cost?" Our ancestors were so clever, but we've been taught to denigrate their ways of life as dirty, unsafe, smelly, or whatever (I say this as a white/Jewish person myself - everyone has been taught to scorn their ancestral wisdom these days). But the fact is that they had elegant, sustainable, beautiful solutions to so many problems. We could learn so much from them. These are some amazing pictures you've found, too. I'm so inspired. Thank you for bringing these images to my attention. (PS, may I respectfully suggest the gender-neutral word "forebears" instead of "forefathers", since the creators of do many traditional homes were female?) You've got a new subscriber, and I can't wait to see what you put out next!
The world moves on and on and on. Humans invent and adapt which is why they’ve been able to become dominant in the world. This video is fascinating to learn how previous people lived. But for heavens sake don’t get carried away and think that such structures are going to work in heavily populated areas. I can see landscapes devoid of trees, and huge bonfires as the structures catch light.
Thank you for this research and I totally agree about the thing that tradition has to be studied to build future African architecture by expanding knowledge about black people. Ancient architecture was based on a way of thinking. It is because our ancestors were capable of thinking their home in the continuation of nature that they were apt to go everywhere and build different types of houses in Egypt, Nubia, Etiopia, Zimbabwe, etc. Also, we have to be sure that they had the time to build a lot of castles in Europe where they were alone in this world for a long period. Our ancestor presence is everywhere on this planet. Sometimes, some try to limit us to Africa, to say that we came just by boat with them and just from Africa. The same who know very well that when they arrived in Europe black lived in castles. It is the reason why they always ask us: where do you come from? Because they know inside themself that they aren't legitime, even in Europe. It is the reason that they are afraid to be robbed, that someone enters in their home, their city, to kill them, because it is what they do. In America, Australia, we know that they aren't native, even they ask, that isn't foolish that? But if they ask even in Europe, it is because there is a reason but not because they are from Europe. Every people who are native are welcoming, why ? Because they know the land and love what she gave to them and want to share. In France, a singer wrote a song that says: I will go be sleeping in white paradise where the world began and, the pictures of the clip don't show Europe but somewhere in the Baical Lac. ua-cam.com/video/Z2OawuAcIF4/v-deo.html What civilization they built in this place? Can they build something when black isn't around?
This is a common structure made all over the world. Used with ice and dirt and also animal skins plus many more stones and plants... something is profoundly familiar with these traditions, and many have thrived much more and out lasted today structures. I really enjoy your forward thinking and harvesting more dialog regarding these structures and how to return to our roots and long lost history of prosperity without increasing waste and environmental solutions for most problems we encounter today.
This dome shape is so beautiful. I think , this is just my idea based on my own idea 😂 . I think I would probably only use the inside to maybe sleep , but unless there were animals I'm sleeping outside. Cooking outside, doing everything outside.
@@Lulu-wv1nt This or like my grandparents, the kitchen was a separate hut/building. This is just as the bathroom was a separate building so you had to go there.
Pyramids were built by the ancients all around the world. It conducts energy, preserve life and used to travel through different dimensions. Now, if the pyramid slows down the decaying process for food, what will this do for body? Go Figure
@@danielhopkins2277 Am not taking about design made by man, am talking about the inspiration man got it from and it's scientific use. Am taking about the firmament/dome that keeps our atmosplane and atmosplane pressure contain. Because an pressurized atmosplane can not exist next to a vacuum without a barrier which disproving space. Go look up ancient cosmology from all cultures and you'll see what am taking about.
Excellent video. I agree with you. Local wisdom and expertise should be the foundation on which buildings and local economies are established. How, what and why we build affect everything in and around the buildings we create. I would love to hear more about architecture and the traditional wisdom of Africa.
The lighting was catered for i.e. the ratio of the height of the opening in relation to the distance traveled by light, so if the dome structure is like x meters wide (depending on region) the door and window height could be (2/3)x for light to travel deeper into the room hence proper visual comfort.
@@davidatkinson5858 they did have lighting but the sun was the primary way to light the hut. Still is. In South Africa bjts have small windows. Yes there's electricity inside
@@davidatkinson5858 don't forget people who ruled the country for 300+ years never believed in serving any other race but white. So they didn't have infrastructure for other races especially Blacks. What ANC did was to provide electricity to everyone. What they failed to do is invest in I infrastructure for the masses. Even invest in other sources of energy. So I'm not sure if you were trying to put me in my place but I'm ignorant to wins and fails of my country. I still love it with every fibre of my being it's my Home. My heart. Africa the land of my ancestors. I will always be proud of it
Not only are these buildings highly functional and sustainable, but they're incredibly beautiful. They also can be maintained by the people who live in them. I can't say that about the house I live in. Thank you so much for this video!!
Thanks for one of the best videos on African architecture. I researched the African hut for a project once, and you show material that I haven’t seen before. This building type is a magnificent example of how ingenuity can achieve so much with very little, while treading lightly and staying in harmony with nature. Often, African huts rise to the level of sculptural art, like the ones on your thumbnail. But I found out they have been woefully under documented, and I hope that the current generation of academics and practitioners will fill that gap, in response to the rising interest around the world to learn from an ancient practice that has withstood unadulterated the test of time. It’s one of the best examples of sustainability.
This “air Conditioning” is just called nature ventilation, which is not even that special, it origins can be trace back to the Stone Age. And it’s was and still is widely use throughout the world, not just Africa. But you know what was a game changer? Air conditioning, now you didn’t have to pray for wind to cool your house because the AC can cool air without winds and produce much colder air. This would have been more accurate if you said African where the first to use nature ventilation because that is where we came from,so it would have likely been invented there, but Africans didn’t not invent “air Conditioning before electricity”. And to those who say AC and nature ventilation are the same thing. Here is the meaning of air Conditioning system or process for controlling the temperature, humidity, and sometimes the purity of the air in an interior, as of an office, theater, laboratory, or house, especially one capable of cooling. an air-conditioning system or unit.
so that building naturally grew out of the ground? is the air outside the same temperature as the inside? so in the stone age they built the same structures? they built square structures in the stone age too. you sound bitter. so if the air inside is cooler by 30 degrees to you that is not air conditioning?show me where in the world that they build the same structures same materials and designs. but hold up. are you a historian, architectect or an engineer? are you a scientist of some sort? what degree do you have to be an expert on what you are saying? please let us know.
No its not. I know you dont know what you are talking about when you say "nature ventilation depends on the wind'. This is air conditioning and it does not depend on the wind. Funny enough the days without wind are the coolest, but you dont know any of this because you are just rumbling with your silly superiority ideas. The so called west could learn a lot from Africa, you have only "discovered" green living a few years ago, we been having it. Welcome to understanding that nature needs to be taken of as well.
@Binahx86 makes a lot of sense since the wind will not be blowing warmer air into the structure. Very insightful. The only thing "this guy" knows is that he must downgrade and lie about black people. If not, he would have to compete on an even field. Oh no he does not want that.
What an interesting subject! In the middle east people also used natural processes to cool houses. They even found out how to make natural refrigerator cellars.
Very informative and I shared your video with my Architect cousin in Barbados...these are the types of dwellings I would certainly consider when planning my home.
With such climate inventing and the installation of some form of ventilation and cooling methods on the continent makes perfect sense to me. This why modern museums, films and books are vital parts of the retention and passing on content's regarding our roots and contributiond to our future generations.
They may look primitive to some. However, they are a masterpiece.
They are never too cold in the winter and are cool in the summer.
They look primitive cos they are
They don’t look primitive
I know that's right. I think "cool in the summer" may be a matter of perspective and geography.
@@victoriapowell6318 I talk from experience coming from Sub Saharan Africa.
which winter? we arent talking about amsterdam. This is AFRICA!
Modern building design in Africa needs to incorporate more sustainable practices for naturally ventilating and cooling our homes. Many modern homes don't consider natural cooling or ventilation at all. Thanks for sharing this info!
Yes... and another thing I've noticed is that they don't often consider a little thing like orientation or how important planting for shade outside in the hot months as well.
@@lagringa7518 Senegalese architect here, Look up people like Francis Kere he is my inspiration and does buildings like no body else . I think his style and others alike are the future of african architecture
@@mouhaloI love his work!
Not just in Africa.
@@lagringa7518 Villages in Ghana are typically totally clear of grass, trees, and any other form of vegetation. Why? Trees and bushes harbor snakes, which are VERY poisonous and aggressive. Likewise, villages maintain numbers of cats and dogs to keep out rats, snakes, ants, and other pests. Clear ground around the housing allows this control measure to work efficiently, whereas shade trees would give shelter to the pests.
another issues is that earth materials are actually the best insulators from extreme temps. The actual soil is an incredible insulating material.
The grass alone is a good insulator, hence it retaians a uniform temperature in the house.
Together with the mud walls, its a potent combination.
My cat told me that.
@@sinothizitha1280 I'm frim the U.S., I ask my god father in Nigeria to build me a mud house for when I come to visit, he said no, because people will think I'm crazy. Till this day, I'm still pushing for my clay house. The cement block houses there, are miserably hot. I will have my clay house
@@WapajeaWalksOnWater Build that hut, Buld that hut, build that hut. Lol.
😄😁🥰💖
Excellent video! We as Africans need to cherish and expand upon our own ancient ingenuity.
Black Americans will say they created it though🤣
@@PopCultureCarnivore1 African food is gross.
@@PopCultureCarnivore1 An American is a descendant of a white settler colonist. The term Black American is an oxymoron. It's new term. The Africans forcibly transported to the United States were just that: Africans. The term BA is goofy term. The descendants of forcibly migrated Africans are still there (... in the millions: ~50 million). There were no BAs in Africa long ago. Africans did create the 'porch' in terms of architecture that was embraced in the southern part of the United States.
@@PopCultureCarnivore1 where do you think black americans came from, they have the same ancient ancestors
Dude. When we say we African Americans that means we come from Africa. You should be laughing at yourself.
The thing is that we are obsessed with borrowing Western concepts and ways that we forget that a lot of traditional African stuff can be further developed and adapted into modern day concepts for sustainable living. For instance Africans are obsessed with using cement based concrete as their primary building material in an environment that is way too hot for such material to be naturally comfortable as a result many homes are like furnaces and require constant air conditioning to keep them cool
Nobody wants to believe that the square shaped houses we're building today are spiritual traps! Our circular structures were inspired by the God
Is that why they are so ahead of us there in all measurable aspects of architecture? Lol
@@QuartzMatrixedThey are ahead where it matters.....birth rates😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@QuartzMatrixed It seems they've long been ahead. Here in the States a week-long workshops on building this way costs thousands of dollars.
Africans were right all along -- efficient, functional, and sustainable.
@@loriannrichardson7644 Exactly.
This is what I was discussing. I think we need to learn and give more respect to the eco-friendly architectural skill. And like you said, innovate and expound on the ideas. But in a way that benefits our originators, not exploits them. Thank you so much for this statement.
The information is so limited for real
The originators are dead who cares about them
How you gonna benefit dead people?
@@yungmentalproblemsokay whyte
@SNOWHITEY are you slow? Obviously the people discussing them
termites do this shape for the same reason. They use towers and funnel shapes and openings in a way to divert air and both keep the air clean, but also for temperature control. This was a great article. Thanks for sharing
This must be one of the best responses I have seen here
Not surprising that humans would copy from nature to built thier tech nature is the best teacher.
The creator is the best teacher
I love when our awareness is brought back to the fact that WE are nature and we look to nature for ways of living. There are so many things that we do that are modeled after animals' behaviors because they're effective! This is why we can't be on this planet thinking we are the apex creatures and we have dominion over animals. We're completely interdependent, and that deserves so much respect. Much respect to you for sharing this!
Having being in an African hut.
South Africa ❤🇿🇦
It's so cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold.❤❤
I love the ingenuity of Africans.
I think lighting wasn't a priority because time and schedules back then conformed to nature, so artificial lighting wasn't needed beyond a fire on the outside or a small lamp on the inside. When you figure that most of these homes are in equatorial Africa it makes sense as there is enough bright daylight hours to get things done, unlike extreme north and south where daylight and night fluctuate throughout the year. Our ancestors built homes suited perfectly for the environment they lived in!
Just think about true in-depth peacefulness at night❤Energetic and calming
How would they do things inside the house without lighting. Maybe these were storage buildings, because lighting has always been a priority for people, doesn't matter what time or country it is.
@@Peak_Stone you didn't pay attention. In equatorial Africa, daylight is at an equal time as night, so you have plenty of time for light in side the house. As seen in the video, the opening in the top allowed for smoke to escape, but it also allowed plenty of light in, so during the day no artificial light is needed. At night you just need a small lamp or the embers of a fire, as most people sleep at that time. Especially back then, time schedules didn't run as they did as now. Even the calendar was different.
@@omggiiirl2077 I am saying houses benefit from Windows. It doesn't matter what year it is, or which part of the earth you are from. It doesn't make sense to make such huge buildings as houses, because you will have little light in them, which is not useful for everyday stuff, like finding a spoon, pans, knitting etc.
I think you are wrong about houses not needing light because it's in Africa. Light is useful, and essential in daytime and night time. These buildings probably serve another function than housing, hence little lighting.
@@Peak_Stone but people clearly are still living in these houses. Did you not watch the video?😂😂😂😂 Just because it doesn't work in the western way doesn't mean it doesn't work. It works for them. And Africa isn't the only place with homes without windows. There the hale pili in Hawai'i the igloo of Inuit and Eskimo culture, even Sāmoa ho,es didn't have windows, but at the same time they didn't have walls, even in the Pacific island of Anita the homes were low and had no windows and when night came these people used a fire or a lamp by various means. Even the mongols and Turkic people lived in yurts, didn't have windows, they used animal fat lamps for light. But again most people didn't stay out deep into the night they stayed inside. It wasn't smart. In most of these places still it could be deadly. Bright artificial light such as street lights are recent needs for production and safety reasons, but in the past and in societies that are less developed it's not a requirement.
Other indigenous people also use the cone or dome shape in building housing. For example, the Native Americans and Mongols built teepees, and Eskimos made igloos. Yerts are also similar.
I think many more aspects of indigenous living would go a long way to improve our "modern" lives. Simply put, to live in harmony with the environment and animals rather than seeing it as something to dominate and control for profit. There would be no need for profit as the Earth cares for all of its inhabitants abundantly if we would allow it.
This architecture is amazing to me , I love it . The opening on the top was meant to look at the stars and the sky. I remember seeing that somewhere else .I think Egypt.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.
Rome. Roman villas had atrium, on open space in the middle of the structure.
Also, the opening at the top helps create an upward air flow, which cools the interior.
American Indian teepees also have opening at top ... to let smoke out from cooking and heating fires.
There is a correlation between the poor lightening and the fact that Africans are one of the most social groups you will ever find. Our fore fathers hardly spent time indoors to worry about the lightening.
This is by far one of the best explanations I have received. I am just about to publish a video on how African villages and the lifestyle they promote helped to promote social well-being and prevent loneliness, social anxiety, and much more. The power of the community and knowing you did not have to do life alone had such an impact, and we are slowly losing that sadly
And I believe that that sense of communal living is one of the reasons why depression and the aged being left in senior homes is a funny concept to a lot of Africans😂
As a kid while growing up, once where were done with dinner, we all had a meeting point where we all play(according to your age group) till mama call.
Thanks, Africa doesn't need western lifestyle in Africa to move forward. Construction must be built through the eyes of Africa culture.
go for it then ,,live in mud huts ,who cares ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,if it's so great why do you all want to live in western civilised countries.......maybe mud huts aren't that great
Facts
Its still strange why so many africans leave theirs countries and risk their lives for to go to europe. I mean if it is so good in africa why go to bad europe?
I completely agree ❤
infact that's just how every community does
Your mindset is glorious 🌟. The way these architects and construction contractors look at you when you say "I want mud". The school system has always been our issue. A British colonial remainant - where they still worship concrete and burned clay bricks made by burning down medicinal trees. I remember a documentary on American homes. There was some crazy statistic on the cost of heating a cooling with electricity - it's very backwards. Slowly slowly though Africans are, on mass, reclaiming lost knowledge in all walks of human interactivity. Great vid!
Thank you for your enthusiasm! I am an African-American professor teaching Latin American literature and cultural studies. I start my classes with examples of African sovereignty or the struggle for said sovereignty said sovereignty. I believe but Africans can teach blacks in the diaspora a plethora about languages, architecture, traditional medicinal science and the translation of Ajami manuscripts.
And we have a plethora of things to offer❤.
"....a British Colonial remnant"....like the language you're using right now? ;) LOL!
@@KarlKarsnark good one 😜. But no actually 🤔
@@KarlKarsnarkyes the bastard language a lot of the world use because of slavery and colonialism.
These comments salty asf lol maybe you should've had written language
Very correct, in the US, the road management system in all cities of America uses domed shape storage to preserve salt for the winter. So, when driving on roads and you see domed-shaped storage buildings, they are made for preserving salt in America!
Thanks for this information, wow, wow, wow, Africa has been ahead of the inventions before the Western countries, proud, proud, proud as an African.
Same here in the UK. Was even thinking the designs for the buildings in some of the concepts for colonies on the Moon and Mars look like these buildings.
@@CDN_Store Thanks for this added information, I really appreciate it.
I love how you kept saying pyramid. The West said we don't have any connection with ancient Egypt but here we still have tradition and cultures scattered all over sub-Sahara Africa that predates ancient Kemet/Egypt.
It's also clear our predecessors used materials available in the tropics to build after migration. Like using clay and timber unlike the stones and rock in the arid and desert regions of Africa. I'm from the igbo tribe in Nigeria, and they were pyramid in Nsude Enugu. Thanks for the elaborate info. As an architect, I've started picking an interest in remodeling indigenous designs.
The new species of mankind stay stealing from the original people of the Most High
The west isn't wrong, lot of fake history with an agenda going on.
These Arnt pyramids though. They're cones. A building shape every culture on Earth created on their own for thousands of years.
@@SvendleBerries I’m talking about something else. Read
A LOT of ancient civilizations built pyramids primarily Native Americans. Doesn't mean all are related
😮How very very satisfying it must be to sculpt architecture with your own hands directly from the Earth ❤ .
Mud houses are like cement houses, durable, and last forever in a hot climate.
@craigdendy5762rain don’t effect them
No they crumble and also wash away in floods!
I find it amazing how only a few people can use common sense.
Wash away in the rain
Lumps of mud
??
I’ve slept in a mud hut they are amazing and it was cool all night, whereas the outside was warm and hot. Africans are inventors of everything! We saw the earth and used it to our knowledge.
@craigdendy5762 rain don’t affect mud houses that are built by real architects who really knew how to build them.
The Mousgoum homes of Cameroon are exquisite! The patterns on the clay exterior is striking ⭐️ I would love to visit one, feel the coolth
When we were building our house here in Greece I was doing research on possibilities of cooling the house during summer without the need of electricity. So I found out about African and Arabic building techniques that are brilliant. Always have been wondering why modern architecture doesn't use those.
Because they don’t care about us or the environment.
Colonialism is thing hello
@@ugwuanyicollins6136 Greece was a colony, not a colonial power. Greeks were slaves.
@@pearls1626 that is dumb
Discovery of 'black gold' rendered efficiency irrelevant; invention of fractional reserve banking created a way to expoit earth resources at an unprecedented rate; the invention of the 'corporation' rendered obsolete personal responsibility for the consequences of poor choices.
Nobody led this. We are too colonised to think of our great healthy heritages. Is the bigger reason we need to decolonise fast!
That's hilarious you will play he getting rid of china . You owe them billions. How the electricity over in Africa right now?
Exactly Willie lynch and the making of a slave
It’s high time we put off the color issue and come together as brothers as we are. The world is too forward thinking to be one race over another anymore. We need righteousness to cover the earth and come together and build together. This way of thinking is the only way! If we go your route it will end up exactly the same but a new oppressor! Let righteousness cover the face of thee earth like water covers the sea!
@@mikewilkins2030 why is it that when African need to reclaim and build on their thing that is when the same melinated and oppressed will be talking about righteousness. Is it only Africans that should be righteous? Besides is Righteousness stupidity. All the righteous things we gave the world what did the do with it? The used to oppress and still oppressing us. So why are you still preaching this passivity. Bother I disagree with you. The earth can only be healthy again if the first born take charge of the earth again. Just see what they did with climate and every body is suffering it. So no! The melinated are spiritual people that is why we keep the world safe for this long despite the suffering caused us. Theirs Time is up let the learn to be human for ins and stop stealing to be at the top. We must not allow three D vibration telling five D vibration what to do. Time up!
Ce n’est pas que vous êtes trop colonisés c’est juste que l’immense majorité des peuples africains n’avaient même pas d’écriture et étaient incapables de transmettre des informations sur plusieurs générations, (l’histoire commence quand l’écriture est inventée, avant ça c’est pas préhistoire)
I feel proud that a young African woman is egger and proud of her heritage and wants to promote it. I would want to encourage you to do more research and even document your findings. Be truly blessed
Its like a giant termite mound
yes really :) I think they had equalizing ventilation
This information is so powerful. As an Africans historians, I'm very proud of your work and this research work.
I've always tell myself, that Africans architects has not done enough to tap into our African Designs from our ancestors. They left us with such a wide knowledge of information in architectural designs that fits perfectly well into our Africa environment.
Perhaps, there should be an African architectural schools who specialise in training a new generation of Africans architecture about African indigenous architectural designs.
Kudos to you my dear sister. Well done. We will be using your videos as educational purpose.
Yes. This. Good luck!
I agree with you whole-heartedly. Also, this knowledge is not hidden -- many in Africa still build this way. I've seen videos of African women building homes on you tube.
i wish there was a love button, in stead of a like button. Ancient egyptians built with convection always 100 % in mind , those shafts in kufu pyramids , its one large oven , not a tomb.
Smart lady I always thought of expanding on the African architecture to improve lighting, materials and ventilation.
The problem society has is that now they are fighting big businesses (Electrical, Water, Nuclear, Oil companies) who are fostering the incorrect building codes to keep us locked into “unnatural manners” of air conditioning or rather cooling management of our homes. In hotter climates thicker walled structures with doubled roofs or thicker roofed homes to keep the heat out has always worked best. Even the lighting is great needing no power during a daylight hours.
The structure are not only beautiful works of art, but beautifully funtional and innovative.
Those concepts must be inspired in nature. Learning from your environment to get solutions to challenges already solved millions of years back for you.
Dome homes would be much more durable, safe, and economical over conventional wood frame houses that are made today.
Adobe houses in the SW US & wattle & daub in the UK also made of mud & straw. Some in the UK are 1000 years old. Very thick walls, thatched roofs. Totally organic. Cool in the summer, warm in winter. Made from what is locally available. People are trying to revive these ancient & effective building methods but often find themselves fighting "city hall"!
City hall is a thorn in manys asses😂
Thanks for This Info my Sister.....These are Beautiful Homes and Smart Designs...Africa is #1✊🏽
The Trulli in the region of Puglie in Italy, have been built since any one can remember and they are still lived to day, they produce the same effect. There is no evidence to suggest that they copied any one, as they were built that shape for other reasons well.
Marcelo stop, nothing in Italy is original. Stop trying to take the credit away from Africa for the brilliant culture it has shed upon the rest of the world. The Moors brought so much to Southern Italy and the Pugile region is very much in the southern part of Italy. Nice try
@@Ghostintthemachine The trulli were built by local people who knew nothing about Africa, they probably never heard of Africa. You know nothing about Italy, the only thing that the moors brought to Italy was costal raid, killing of civilians, destruction, pilige, abducting white girls and woman as slaves, they were blood thirsty and uncivilised , with nothing to offer. Italy learned nothing from them. Muslims squatted in Sicily for 200 years. but not in Puglie, thankfully they were kicked out by the Normans. I have no idea where you come from , but one thing I am certain of, that is that in your schools the curriculum (Latin) does not include anything about Italy, so don't even think of lecturing me about my country.
::Face-palm. 🤡🤡🤡
@@Ghostintthemachine You can see who the Moors you speak of were. They are painted in the castle at Alhambra. They were not the Moors of today and the Africans of the past were not the Africans of today. Just like the Californians of today are more than 30% foreign born, the Californians of today are not the Californians of 1950, just 75 years ago. It's wrong to think that the people and technology of the past is the same as the people of today and made by the people of today.
"The architecture of the Nasrid palaces reflects the tradition of Moorish architecture developed over previous centuries.[16][14] It is characterized by the use of the courtyard as a central space and basic unit around which other halls and rooms were organized.[17] Courtyards typically had water features at their centre, such as a reflective pool or a fountain. Decoration was focused on the inside of the building and was executed primarily with tile mosaics on lower walls and carved stucco on the upper walls. Geometric patterns, vegetal motifs, and Arabic inscriptions were the main types of decorative motifs. Additionally, "stalactite"-like sculpting, known as muqarnas, was used for three-dimensional features like vaulted ceilings.[13][17]" - Wikipedia
Their contemporary depiction at Alhambra in the Hall of the Kings:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra#/media/File:Hall_of_Kings_(Alhambra)_08_(43582411254).jpg
Persians even had domed and pyramids structures, so did Asians and Chinese. Persians had ice making domes in the middle of the hottest desert using no machines.
They did this exact same thing in ancient Persia. They still have the structures... Ancient history is amazing. I am sure that there are many other structures in Africa that we do not know of yet.
Except air circulation is not air conditioning. Here you're just directing draft from one opening to the other. At the top wind blows faster so you will increase force of the draft at the bottom.
The building itself is a system that creates a cooling and stack effect, thereby conditioning the interior air. Air conditioning is just defined as a means of controlling the humidity, temperature and ventilation within a building. These structures did that exact thing passively with no extra energy input, hence its more sustainable.
@@IOdele You're not causing air to compress then expand drawing in heat from the surroundings as air expands. Instead you're just creating draft.
@@keithstevens5614 yes that’s how an AC unit works, but the principal is the same. Stack effect creates a pressure difference cold air with a higher pressure sinks and hot air with low pressure rises, simulating circulation
@@IOdele ok, sure
True, but add air flow to the tendency of mud to evaporate moisture (which is how our bodies cool themselves) and you have a very effective cooling system.
Oh wow, this is so beautiful Architecture! It looks also like a homage to nature and Life. Gaudi&Co tried to copy from it for sure….You in Africa had it all already. May you prosper with Peace and bring your evolution to the rest of the world
Our ancestors were futuristic and very intelligent.
A modern version of this architecture could be produced as low cost refrigeration and housing to mimic the wonderful African style. I'd recommend looking into company called, "Domegaia". They have a foamcrete machine and a small group of people can pour the foamcrete into interesting shapes or bricks that can be cured and then cut using a bread knife. The best part of this building practice, is that it relies on human creativity and human labor to produce stunning architecture at a low cost.
Are there books or authors you recommend about African architecture?
With due respect, I believe the first issue favoring the use of the dome shape pertains to meeting the demands of the rainy season and the dry season. In some locals the home is primarily used for sleeping or as shelter from significant rain storms. The lack of windows is partly to save on cost and keeping the structure strong. The temperature difference inside and outside is very significant.
absolutely 💯 💯love your work 👏 look forward to learn more 👍 about the true meaning of African people , culture and brilliant architectural minds❤ Malo lava from your Polynesian sister❤
Yes are of the same linage the Polynesian and African. Good to see you joining sister. Spread the world and let's build together.
This is what you would call sustainable living and living off the grid.
Living with nature instead of against it
That's exactly the problem: when whites live with nature, its called self sustaining and living off the grid. When Africans do it, we get called backwards
This is SO COOL. Some of those homes look futuristic as well!
Definitely going to try the apple experiment (may also try with my niece and nephew!) and then apply what I’ve learned in my home and garden. I can think of a few things I’d like to keep cooler naturally, and this is just the ticket. Subscribed! Thank you 😊
Beautiful, incredibly instructing presentation, I agree totally with your comments. It is crucial to implement traditional - eco construction, as we run great danger to loose such environmentally economic ways to buiild in these modern days. Great thank you
Very encouraging video!
Frank Lloyd Wright used indigenous metals in his designs quite successfully. There is bamboo in the orient. Glorious sand and grasses in Africa. Hides in Norway (etc). Palms in the islands. Woods in South America.
Africa doesn't need imports. No country does if it uses its own resources.
My late grandma don't have fridge but she always have cold water because she put her water in clay pot.
Funny....thats what we use at home.and she didn't lie, water is cold in a natural way.
I grew up in the northwestern part of cameroon call Wum. As a kid, the villagers had mud houses with thatch roofs. I don't know why they abandoned the thatch in favour of corrugated zinc roofs. It was cool seeing that.
These are works of art! Between the ziggurat of Ur or the pyramids of Sudan and Egypt , all the tepee shaped structures found in Russia and the US including igloos. Inca pyramids found in central and South America . It’s amazing that this construction style used all over the world using mud , wood animal skins, clay mud and sand , earth technology is tremendous even today when you build a rammed Earth type of house you build in a spiral pattern building up like that kind of domed shape and even for a simple beehives way back in the 17 and 1800’s the beehives for you primarily skip baskets there was Wolverine in a spiral shape , some are even 3D printed on a large scale . I’ve watched several tribes building these same shapes out of bamboo. I have subscribed and am looking forward to more. Maybe more color images with temperature sensors to show the average temperatures in the heat of summer or cool of their winters.
I agree, they are gorgeous! We should always learn from our forefathers, centuries produced the height of practicality from local available materials which then evolved into a thing of beauty.
Growing up I always taught that the strongest structure was a pyramid. Pyramids/ domes are everywhere in the world for a reason.
We certainly do need to learn from our past to have a better future.
Very fascinating. our ancestors obviously mastered their environments and we are just now starting to realize they were much more intelligent then what we give credit for
heat rises so the heat easily finds it way up, plus a flat roof would afford the sun a lot of square footage to heat up the abode! the hut homes are beautiful!!!! ingenious and artistic!
I like The domes and the cal earth style...
Thanks for giving back our Afro diasporans the knowledge of architecture.
Talking about indigenous peoples.. in Mexico there's a place called Azulic that maybe you would like to see...
Namaste Haribol Asewe
m.ua-cam.com/video/2jW7o60uCTM/v-deo.html&pp=ygUMYXp1bGlrIGRvbWVz
Azulik
EXCELLENT. Let's rediscover our AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE and learn from it.
Lepenski vir civilization, Vinca civilization was making same pyramid houses 10 000 years ago, American Nativ people also Tippi, Northern people also.
All of them used also mad ,dry grass for outside insulation.
Less attention was paid to lighting because the houses were mostly used at night for rest and during bad weather for protection from the elements. In addition most activities happened outdoors hence limited time in the house.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful knowledge. I have been in an earth built home and it was so cool and the air quality was so excellent I did not want to leave.
I am particularly fascinated by thatch roofs. Cannot see how water does not get through. Its beautiful!
What An Absolutely Gorgeous And Brilliant Design! Western Nations Are Responsible For Marginalizing African Knowledge, Culture And Brilliance!
Thank You For The Wonderful Video! A Shout Out From Your Brother In Northern California, USA! Love, Peace And Blessings To You, Your Family And Our Lovely Motherland! 💯🙏♥️🙏
Do you know about Jigger Victims?
Always playing the victim. African countries have been independent for over half a century, but you are still crying about how evil westerners marginalised them! As if 50+ years wasn't more than enough time to counter any marginalisation (much of which only happened in the heads of people like you). Ridiculous.
A lot of designs are influenced by nature around us. I heard that the dome pyramid type shapes were influenced by giant termite mounds. Dirt/Mud is a great material to use for housing and it's cheaper than a lot of different options and lately I've been looking into compressed dirt options.
The Sidama people of Ethiopia are famous for their beautiful bamboo-woven houses known as tuguls.
The tugul-known world-wide as the Ethiopian House-is a dome-shaped building with a small front porch shading the entrance.
The building frame is made of locally available bamboo and covered with grass and ensete* leaves.
Tuguls are specifically designed to protect their inhabitants during rainy seasons at the Sidama Zone.
They have pointed tops and circular bodies that shed heavy rainfall away and prevent leaking.
The world would be so wonderful if different cultures preserved or developed further their different building and even aesthetics/decoration styles. It would feel surreal, like a movie set. Imagine a bank looking like that.
For an example of modern African architecture of a building that self-regulates heat, look up Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe. What's really cool is that it was constructed in the 1990s before sustainable architecture had become a buzzword.
You know who designed it? A guy named Mick Pearce... Lol
That's sustainable building with small footprint it's not cutting down forrest. We were Living/building in harmony with creation. You don't need a mansion where you don't use half of the house
You’re adorable. The top of the huts that have holes are incomplete. Our ancestors knew how to create glass (durrh because they built with mud, painted buildings with tree ash, and made sculptures with precious metals). That glass was shaped as a circular pyramid (ie. pointed top circular bottom) and was applied at that top of the hut and was always thick. This thick glass amplifies sunlight within the hut without adding much to its heat, the glasses also had inscriptions and markings that helped to tell the time with sunlight and moonlight, and the time of the year through the position of the Sun. Some other cultures had geometrical designs in circular format on the floor as calendars and clocks, so when the sunlight and moonlight are hitting these carvings and designs, they’re basically telling the time. Yesss the African people of way back then; knew how the solar system worked. They even noticed when after a few hundred or thousand years; the Sun shifted or moved significantly in the Milky Way. This allowed them to do major renovations in the cities and kingdom, to accommodate the astronomical changes. Moments before the Sun came up, they had a clock called Dew Counter that works until the Sun comes up to dry everything, they also had a similar one for rainy days. If I want to explain it in a way you’d understand; imagine very thin paper stacked on top each other with mathematically precise spaces, once a drop falls on one of them, it tears. Then another drop on another paper then it tears. For a specific number of tears makes an hour, and the angled roofing of the clocks that makes the dew drop is different from the angle of the roofing of the clock used on rainy days due to the frequency of both water drops, with their surfaces purposely smoothened or altered to set a specific pace for these water drops. It’s soooo complicated I can’t finish this topic if I wanted to. I’d have to make a presentation that would only bore some to death.
Also they had pools with dials that used the reflection of the Sun plus the tectonic movements of the Earth to tell the time. It’s fire 🔥.
Even basic clocks like water dials which uses the drops of water into a vessel with markings (ie. Clepsydras) to measure hours and seconds. They could tell how many seconds have passed by measuring the liter of water that made up the hour. Bruh I’m blown away.
Would love to learn more about what you speak of
"Adorable", that was unnecessarily condescending 😒
the only evidence of glass fabrication in Africa have been found in Nigeria, and dated about XI-XV century. The opening on the roof was necessary to let the hot air going out, with a glass cork, people inside would have been slowly cooked
@@beanabong2896 Agreed. This woman was clearly just sharing what she was learning; she was not putting on airs or pretending to know more than she does. To then cut her down is a sign of insecurity of the sharer of their knowledge. Let's make this a win-win conversation and journey of discovery, not get all competitive for no reason.
We need people like you to teach in our African schools
Amazing video🤩 . We need to bring our ancestral architecture and combine them with CAD, materials, then develop.
a dome shape house can a withstand strong wind more than a box shape structure. Aerodynamics
And one thing more is about harmonic frequency of the structure itself which is beneficial to those who dwells in it.
I love this. I really do ❤it. I also like u touching on modern urban planning & design - especially since our ppl like to copy the west (trying to import the ideas of urban sprawl in Africa cities & villages). Thank u so much for this video. I subscribed already
SubhanAllah! I don't know about the shape, but it makes sense that making clay bricks (a common practice in many African countries) from the earth would provide one of the most comfortable home interiors in intensely warm weather. After all, clay pots even keep water cool. Thank you for your video.
Brilliant! I agree with everything you say, especially the nonsensical way we now heat and cool modern homes, "at what cost?" Our ancestors were so clever, but we've been taught to denigrate their ways of life as dirty, unsafe, smelly, or whatever (I say this as a white/Jewish person myself - everyone has been taught to scorn their ancestral wisdom these days). But the fact is that they had elegant, sustainable, beautiful solutions to so many problems. We could learn so much from them.
These are some amazing pictures you've found, too. I'm so inspired. Thank you for bringing these images to my attention.
(PS, may I respectfully suggest the gender-neutral word "forebears" instead of "forefathers", since the creators of do many traditional homes were female?)
You've got a new subscriber, and I can't wait to see what you put out next!
The world moves on and on and on. Humans invent and adapt which is why they’ve been able to become dominant in the world. This video is fascinating to learn how previous people lived. But for heavens sake don’t get carried away and think that such structures are going to work in heavily populated areas. I can see landscapes devoid of trees, and huge bonfires as the structures catch light.
Thank you for this. Fine, logical, beautiful, comfortable homes made of mud, the work of our foremothers, and just as superior for dwellings today.
Thank you for this research and I totally agree about the thing that tradition has to be studied to build future African architecture by expanding knowledge about black people. Ancient architecture was based on a way of thinking. It is because our ancestors were capable of thinking their home in the continuation of nature that they were apt to go everywhere and build different types of houses in Egypt, Nubia, Etiopia, Zimbabwe, etc.
Also, we have to be sure that they had the time to build a lot of castles in Europe where they were alone in this world for a long period. Our ancestor presence is everywhere on this planet. Sometimes, some try to limit us to Africa, to say that we came just by boat with them and just from Africa. The same who know very well that when they arrived in Europe black lived in castles. It is the reason why they always ask us: where do you come from? Because they know inside themself that they aren't legitime, even in Europe. It is the reason that they are afraid to be robbed, that someone enters in their home, their city, to kill them, because it is what they do. In America, Australia, we know that they aren't native, even they ask, that isn't foolish that? But if they ask even in Europe, it is because there is a reason but not because they are from Europe. Every people who are native are welcoming, why ? Because they know the land and love what she gave to them and want to share. In France, a singer wrote a song that says: I will go be sleeping in white paradise where the world began and, the pictures of the clip don't show Europe but somewhere in the Baical Lac. ua-cam.com/video/Z2OawuAcIF4/v-deo.html What civilization they built in this place? Can they build something when black isn't around?
How long have you been a racist sir? You seem quite confused.
It looks like they learned from nature, and They say that all the world migrated from Africa. That's pretty cool. I love the video. Thanks.
I would add rammed earth as another sustaible option for us africans.
Africa has a lot to teach but not heard in my opinion.
This was awesome! We need to the old ways into the future because they were the most beneficial for our people.
Indigenous people are people of the earth, and we are to care take the earth, not destroy it.
everyone is '''indigenous to the earth'' where do you think the rest of us came from????
@@bobbobbly7900space😂😂...but i think what he meant was people who didn't industialize on a destructive scale.
Africans, Eskimos, and Indian homes ancient construction till date are warm in winter snd cool in summer👍👍👍🙏
They also invented device's to harness electricity too.
of course and aeroplanes and space ships and computers but then they forgot
@@bobbobbly7900 Please dont come in here with that smart ass commentary.
@@bobbobbly7900a blind chick sometimes finds food by chance.
This is a common structure made all over the world. Used with ice and dirt and also animal skins plus many more stones and plants... something is profoundly familiar with these traditions, and many have thrived much more and out lasted today structures. I really enjoy your forward thinking and harvesting more dialog regarding these structures and how to return to our roots and long lost history of prosperity without increasing waste and environmental solutions for most problems we encounter today.
This dome... This dome is everywhere, reminds me of tartarian architecture all over the world before the reset.
In the 1970's in New York City, there was a Trend going around called Pyramid Power..
This dome shape is so beautiful. I think , this is just my idea based on my own idea 😂 . I think I would probably only use the inside to maybe sleep , but unless there were animals I'm sleeping outside. Cooking outside, doing everything outside.
I would live like this tomorrow if i had the chance
In villages Africans mostly cook outside unless there's extreme weather like rain,very cold or snow. Depending on which African country you live in.
@@Lulu-wv1nt This or like my grandparents, the kitchen was a separate hut/building. This is just as the bathroom was a separate building so you had to go there.
Oh wow, hot air rises......what genius
Pyramids were built by the ancients all around the world. It conducts energy, preserve life and used to travel through different dimensions.
Now, if the pyramid slows down the decaying process for food, what will this do for body? Go Figure
Pyramids were not built all around the world.
Europeans don't have pyramids
@@Lulu-wv1nt 13Love
@@loriannrichardson7644 13Truth
@@loriannrichardson7644 Yes they were.
I looooooove seeing glimpses of african civilisations. Thank you sister !
Well said sister ❤️🇯🇲 Africa is way advanced before the rest of the globe was
Wrong
Earth is not a globe . Where do you think the dome design came from.
@@Thetruepredictor Ukraine. The oldest dome house they found until today is from the Ukraine.
@@danielhopkins2277 Am not taking about design made by man, am talking about the inspiration man got it from and it's scientific use.
Am taking about the firmament/dome that keeps our atmosplane and atmosplane pressure contain. Because an pressurized atmosplane can not exist next to a vacuum without a barrier which disproving space.
Go look up ancient cosmology from all cultures and you'll see what am taking about.
Heat and light generally travel together. You may be able to tweak a little but in general, you can't have one without the other.
My electric furnace gives me good heat but no light.
@@dottiebaker6623 No argument here. I get your point. It has certainly tweaked my curiosity.
They copied the termites.
Excellent video. I agree with you. Local wisdom and expertise should be the foundation on which buildings and local economies are established. How, what and why we build affect everything in and around the buildings we create. I would love to hear more about architecture and the traditional wisdom of Africa.
The lighting was catered for i.e. the ratio of the height of the opening in relation to the distance traveled by light, so if the dome structure is like x meters wide (depending on region) the door and window height could be (2/3)x for light to travel deeper into the room hence proper visual comfort.
Or just invent interior lighting
@@davidatkinson5858 they did have lighting but the sun was the primary way to light the hut. Still is.
In South Africa bjts have small windows. Yes there's electricity inside
@@Lulu-wv1nt South Africa can't keep the lights on two days in a row because the power stations are literally falling to pieces around their ears...🤔
@@davidatkinson5858 we are talking about huts.
Electricity load shedding is a reality in most 3rd world countries across the world. It's nothing new.
@@davidatkinson5858 don't forget people who ruled the country for 300+ years never believed in serving any other race but white.
So they didn't have infrastructure for other races especially Blacks.
What ANC did was to provide electricity to everyone.
What they failed to do is invest in I infrastructure for the masses.
Even invest in other sources of energy.
So I'm not sure if you were trying to put me in my place but I'm ignorant to wins and fails of my country.
I still love it with every fibre of my being it's my Home. My heart. Africa the land of my ancestors. I will always be proud of it
Not only are these buildings highly functional and sustainable, but they're incredibly beautiful. They also can be maintained by the people who live in them. I can't say that about the house I live in. Thank you so much for this video!!
Ventilation is not air conditioning
Yes it is. Dome structures create natural air conditioning by circulating and pushing hot air up.
@@crystalsplace7163 they don't even understand the word they are using. Lol the arrogance of the Westerners is cringe 😅
Thanks for one of the best videos on African architecture. I researched the African hut for a project once, and you show material that I haven’t seen before. This building type is a magnificent example of how ingenuity can achieve so much with very little, while treading lightly and staying in harmony with nature. Often, African huts rise to the level of sculptural art, like the ones on your thumbnail. But I found out they have been woefully under documented, and I hope that the current generation of academics and practitioners will fill that gap, in response to the rising interest around the world to learn from an ancient practice that has withstood unadulterated the test of time. It’s one of the best examples of sustainability.
This “air Conditioning” is just called nature ventilation, which is not even that special, it origins can be trace back to the Stone Age. And it’s was and still is widely use throughout the world, not just Africa. But you know what was a game changer? Air conditioning, now you didn’t have to pray for wind to cool your house because the AC can cool air without winds and produce much colder air. This would have been more accurate if you said African where the first to use nature ventilation because that is where we came from,so it would have likely been invented there, but Africans didn’t not invent “air Conditioning before electricity”.
And to those who say AC and nature ventilation are the same thing.
Here is the meaning of air Conditioning
system or process for controlling the temperature, humidity, and sometimes the purity of the air in an interior, as of an office, theater, laboratory, or house, especially one capable of cooling. an air-conditioning system or unit.
Thank you
so that building naturally grew out of the ground? is the air outside the same temperature as the inside? so in the stone age they built the same structures? they built square structures in the stone age too. you sound bitter. so if the air inside is cooler by 30 degrees to you that is not air conditioning?show me where in the world that they build the same structures same materials and designs. but hold up. are you a historian, architectect or an engineer? are you a scientist of some sort? what degree do you have to be an expert on what you are saying? please let us know.
No its not. I know you dont know what you are talking about when you say "nature ventilation depends on the wind'. This is air conditioning and it does not depend on the wind. Funny enough the days without wind are the coolest, but you dont know any of this because you are just rumbling with your silly superiority ideas. The so called west could learn a lot from Africa, you have only "discovered" green living a few years ago, we been having it. Welcome to understanding that nature needs to be taken of as well.
@Binahx86 makes a lot of sense since the wind will not be blowing warmer air into the structure. Very insightful. The only thing "this guy" knows is that he must downgrade and lie about black people. If not, he would have to compete on an even field. Oh no he does not want that.
Ironically, an African American invented air conditioning...
It's more to do with "thermal mass" and insulating values.than ventilation.
What an interesting subject! In the middle east people also used natural processes to cool houses. They even found out how to make natural refrigerator cellars.
Blacks are also the first native Americans, jews, and Egyptians ...
Haha, love your comment.
Egyptians yes, I don't know about the other two.
@@beanabong2896 who built America
Black people are the aboriginals to this land
@@brandycoke713 yes...I stated that.. they were also first on the moon...fact
Very informative and I shared your video with my Architect cousin in Barbados...these are the types of dwellings I would certainly consider when planning my home.
With such climate inventing and the installation of some form of ventilation and cooling methods on the continent makes perfect sense to me.
This why modern museums, films and books are vital parts of the retention and passing on content's regarding our roots and contributiond to our future generations.
same in India too, traditional architecture naturally cooled the houses with several stories to them.