IMPROVING THE AESTHETICS OF RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN NIGERIAN URBAN CENTRES: A NEED FOR CONSIDERATION OF FENCE DESIGNS AS PART OF AN ENTIRE BUILDING DESIGN

Abstract

The beauty of an urban centre is a function of the buildings and the infrastructures. A building is considered beautiful when it can be appreciated from outside, this however, is not possible in the residential areas of most urban centres in Nigeria. The beauty of the building is covered up by the fence or distracted by the nature of the fence. The type of fences found in the urban centres tend to hide the entire building from the access road and in most case only the roofs of such houses are visible. This trend gives the urban centre a view best described as a jungle of walls. This paper examines the nature and function of fences in residential areas; it takes a look at the benefits derivable by a change in current fence design. The paper advocates for necessary laws that should govern the construction of fences. It makes a case for architects to include fence designs as part of building designs. The paper examines the generation of street character using fences. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need for a change so as to improve the beauty of urban centres and general living conditions of the urban dwellers.