TYPES OF BUILDINGS IN NIGERIA AND WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE
Nigeria has many different kinds of buildings, from mansions to bungalows to terraces. All of these different kinds of homes are different in some way. The whole field of architecture is about designing and building these kinds of buildings, with an emphasis on how they look. Some types of homes have come and gone from style over the years. But the basic idea of a home stays the same: it’s a safe place to stay.
Here is a list of the different kinds of buildings in Nigeria and what they have:
- Bungalow. They are simple homes with only one floor and no basement. It is also the most common type of building in Nigeria for both homes and businesses. Bungalows are either on their own or next to other houses. The detached ones stand on their own and don’t share walls with any other buildings. Because these homes are out in the middle of nowhere, they are usually very private. The semi-detached ones have a wall in the middle that joins them together. One side of each house is connected to the other by a wall, but the other side is separate. In terms of square meters, bungalows are usually not very big. Despite this, you can find very large bungalows today that combine technology with beautiful architecture to suit the more urban lifestyles most people live today.
- Flat or Apartment. One of the most common types of housing in Nigeria and around the world today is an apartment or flat. A building with apartments is made up of many separate homes that are stacked on top of and next to each other. Each apartment is its own place to live. Since each apartment is just a small part of the whole building, it gives less privacy than other types of housing. When you own a flat, you have access to common areas like parks, playgrounds, gyms, and rooftops.
- Terrace. A single-family home with two or three floors is called a terrace or terrace house. A terrace house is joined to other terraces so that they all sit next to each other in a row down a street or block or inside a gated estate. Most terraces have the same height and front, so they look like mirror images of each other. They are made to fit as many people as possible in cities like Lagos, which have a lot of people. A terrace is also an open outdoor space of your apartment that sits on the setback of a building and doesn’t go over the building’s facade. A balcony, on the other hand, is smaller and hangs over the outside wall of the building.
- “End of terrace”. This refers to the last house in a row of terraces. This is the row of houses, which are all the same and are built right on top of each other with shared walls. Most of the time, they have the same fronts and heights, and you can find them in estates, communities, and some housing units.
- Semi-detached. A single-family home that shares one wall with the next house is called a semi-detached building. This makes it different from row houses, which share walls on both sides, and single-family homes (with no shared walls).
- Detached. People who are rich and famous tend to live in detached houses, which have some pretty impressive architecture. Even though they aren’t as big as mansions, they can be just as luxurious, depending on the owner’s taste and how the house is finished and furnished. Most of the time, they have two or more floors and private gates that lead to a private compound.
- Maisonette. A maisonette is a small apartment that is part of a larger building but has its own entrance and staircase. Some people call maisonettes “duplexes” because they have more than one floor. You can usually find a Maisonette in a big old house that has been turned into apartments (usually on the first floor) or in the middle of a city, above the shops. In big cities, most single people who want to live alone choose to live in a maisonette. Maisonette can mean different things depending on the country or market. In Scotland, for example, a maisonette is one of a group of duplex apartments that are stacked on top of each other and have a shared entrance. In the United States, on the other hand, a Maisonette is the top floor of a high-rise building, which is also called a penthouse.
- Duplex. In Nigeria, a duplex is a house with two separate units (on different floors) that are stacked on top of each other like apartments. A duplex is basically like having two different homes in the same building. Duplexes are not as common as apartments, and most of them are in the suburbs instead of in cities. As a general rule, duplexes have at least two floors, and each floor has a separate apartment. This type of home is great for larger families because each floor has its own apartment. The same kind of building with three or four floors and three or four apartments is called a triplex or a fourplex.
- Apartments. Apartments, also called apartment blocks or blocks of flats, are buildings with more than one living unit. Most apartments are meant to be used as homes, but some also have shops or other non-living spaces.
- Penthouse. A penthouse apartment is a room on the top floor of an apartment building or hotel with more than one floor. The luxury features or elements of a penthouse are what set it apart from other apartments. Most of the time, penthouses are the most expensive type of home in most markets. In an apartment building, these types of houses are the biggest, most expensive, and have the best views. Because of this, penthouses are often associated with living a luxurious life. You can often find them in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, which are Nigeria’s three biggest cities.
HOW ARE THESE BUILDINGS DIFFERENT?
Detached v Semi-detached. A detached building is a one-family home that stands alone, while a semi-detached house shares a wall with another house. Most of the time, two semi-detached homes look exactly the same. The title for the semi-detached property only covers your half of the building and the land it sits on.
Bungalow v Flat or Apartment. A bungalow is usually a small, one-story house that is easy to move around in, gives you more privacy, and is simple to take care of. In Nigeria, an apartment, or “flat,” is a self-contained housing unit that is part of a larger building with multiple units.
Duplex v Terrace. A duplex is a building with two separate apartments. They are also sometimes called multi-family homes. When someone in Nigeria talks about a duplex, it can be either detached or semi-detached, depending on how it is set up. On the other hand, a terraced building is one of a row of similar homes that are connected by their sidewalls. A terrace is an open outdoor area of your apartment that sits on the setback of a building and doesn’t go over the front of the building. Penthouse v Maisonette. People often mix up Maisonettes and Penthouses, even though they are similar in some ways. This is because both are seen as high-end housing, but they are very different in important ways. A Penthouse is a flat on the top floor of a tall building that is usually luxuriously furnished. A Maisonette, on the other hand, is usually on the top two floors of a larger building and has its own entrance.
