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Articles

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2016): December 2016

Buildings that Talk! Ornamentation and its Meaning in Osogbo, Nigeria

Submitted
January 18, 2017
Published
2022-02-22

Abstract

This discourse focuses on ornamentation and its meaning as projected on contemporary buildings in Oshogbo, south west Nigeria, from the year 2000 to 2015. Ornamentation is examined from the economic, cultural and socio-political perspectives as they relate to home owners. The research highlights four major decorations on domestic architecture elements and their significance in the society. The method adopted is a combination of historical and qualitative analyses. Results show that house owners have a preference for using a myriad of materials for ornamental decoration on their buildings. In many cases a quintessential aestheticism to the environment is noticed as a distinguishing genre in the area of study, which highlights how sophisticated the home owners are in creating artistic forms.

Keywords: Ornamentation, meaning, contemporary, domestic architecture, culture, decorations, Oshogbo, Nigeria.