Ghanaian architecture is rich in tradition, with the compound house standing as a significant example of this heritage. This article explores the evolution and modern adaptations of compound house designs in Ghana, highlighting how they blend cultural values with contemporary living.
A traditional compound house in Ghana.
The Traditional Compound House
The traditional domestic compound in Ghana is built around a central open-air courtyard and often needs to accommodate extended family. Historically, compound houses have been well-suited both to the local climates, family structures and to social formations. In a 2011 survey, 55% of households in urban areas across Ghana can be found in compound houses.
The compound house typology in Ghana takes several different forms with different layouts and facilities, but the common characteristic is the presence of a usually central compound. Compound houses can be found throughout the country and the in wider West African region, across different ethnic groups with some variations in the form of the building structures, materials, layouts and ornamentation, and ultimately there are enough similarities to classify it as a distinct architectural typology.
Danso-Wiredu & Poku, 2020 note that “family compound houses… represent the epicenter of the family and the point of unity” as among residential uses, they “serve as places for family meetings and also meeting points for family members living far and near”.
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The drawings below show different types of compound houses that I have surveyed. Traditional style compound houses continue to exist and be used for these reasons, but more newer forms have been built or adapted to modern (particularly urban) needs.
Compound House Types in Accra.
Across the African continent, these kinds of compound houses are ubiquitously found. As a type, the African compound house is also similar to Chinese Siheyuan houses, traditional Mexican pueblo houses and courtyard houses found in India.
While there are distinctions across the compound house type, defined by location, cultural and societal norms as well as traditions, there are elements that are common and recurring. This exposure to both public and private life within the home fosters a sense of civility. It is both a private domain and civic space and shows an example of the house as an institution.
The Decline of Traditional Compound Houses
According to a UN Habitat report, “the traditional compound house is now hardly being built” as “compound living is unpopular, especially with the younger generation”(UN Habitat, 2011). This is due to a number of factors - such as socioeconomic and sociopolitical transformations that have resulted in changes to family structures and associated living arrangements.
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These are not as recent as commonly assumed, because the state (both colonial and newly independent) through its architects and other industry professionals has associated tradition, rurality and backwardness with traditional housing types. Long before her practice in Ghana, various colonisers and Christian missions had introduced new building typologies into the region that were associated with power and prestige and thus were being adopted and adapted by native residents (Manful, 2015).
Still, it is a project that its author, architect Alice Asafu-Adjaye, has noticed stops people in their tracks - in a good way. As lifestyles change, there is an opportunity, argues Asafu-Adjaye, to take a more design-led, customised approach to single-family housing.
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Compact House: A Modern Interpretation
Black houses are unusual in Ghana. It’s a colour associated with death, melancholy and harshness, so Compact House, located on a sleepy, residential street in the capital city of Accra, naturally stands out. ‘Black buildings, let alone houses, are pretty much unheard of in Ghana,’ she says. ‘People rarely dress all in black, unless in mourning.’
Asafu-Adjaye set up her studio, Mustard, in Accra in 2015, following training in the UK, and working both there (her experience includes a position at Foster + Partners) and in her home country of Ghana, where she moved with her daughter in 2012. The boutique practice now works across a range of residential, commercial and cultural projects, as well as installations such as her participation at the London Design Biennale in 2021, but Compact House, the architect’s own home, has a special place in her heart.
Compact House by Alice Asafu-Adjaye.
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The house is located in a development in the Tse Addo neighbourhood, not far from the city’s Cantonments district, an affluent part of town with a buzzy feel, where many embassies are located. Set in a gated community, the site would have typically been sold with a simple, ready-made home. Asafu-Adjaye, however, bought just the land - a narrow 40ft x 80ft plot - and decided to build her own design.
‘I wanted something small that would contain my life. I am a bit of a hoarder so I wanted it to fit my and my daughter’s lifestyle and hold all the things I have amassed over the years,’ she explains. ‘I also wanted it to be a bit of a case study to test out building small contemporary homes in Ghana.’
Design and Sustainability
The house has also been constructed to work with the local tropical climate and to avoid the use of artificial air-conditioning as much as possible - louvres incorporated into the façade and operable windows ensure a steady breeze runs through the rooms, cooling them down. Ventilation is aided by ceiling fans if required, although additional help is needed during the harmattan season, when the Saharan winds blow sand south, as the windows have to stay shut to ensure it doesn’t enter.
Asafu-Adjaye hopes to install solar panels on the roof in the near future to take the house off the national grid, which suffers frequent power outages.
Interior and Space
Spread over two storeys, the home has a high-ceilinged, open-plan ground level that accommodates the living spaces, while upstairs are three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a small family room. The banister-free staircase, clad in walnut, adds warmth to the composition, while simultaneously acting as a piece of furniture (the absence of a handrail means that Asafu-Adjaye can use it as seating when guests come over). It also offers a great view of the small garden - the outdoor space on the ground level may be bijou, but it’s awash with greenery from potted plants (‘I am not much of a gardener,’ she admits, ‘but I have overloaded it with plants’).
Inside, a crisp grey colour palette forms a contemporary backdrop to all her furniture and objects - from a Norman Foster-designed ‘Nomos’ glass table and Arne Jacobsen chairs to a collection of vintage Asante objects, such as stools, and a chief’s customary staff and chair, some acquired and some inherited from her mother, who is of royal Asante heritage. ‘It was satisfying to see it all come together in the house,’ she says.
Choosing the Best House Plans
Choose from the best Ghana house plans in this collection and design your dream home. The popular floor plans have been carefully designed and curated to provide flexible options for comfortable residential living.
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