Arts and Design Studies www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-6061 (Paper) ISSN 2225-059X (Online) Vol.79, 2019 88 Assessment of Residence-Based Architectural Firms in South-West Nigeria: Users’ Characteristics and Perceptions Damilare Ifeoluwa Adebisi 1 , *Dorcas Oluwaseyi Adeoye 1 , Bolaji Samuel Oladimeji 2 , Olaitan Olutayo Odunola 3 and Abosede Olubukola Akindele 4 1. Department of Architecture, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria 2. Department of Architecture, University of Ilorin, Ilorin Nigeria 3. Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria 4. Department of Architecture, Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, Nigeria *E-mail of the corresponding author: odadeoye@lautech.edu.ng); Abstract A residence-based architectural firm operates at the Principal Architect’s house as it serves a dual purpose of being a place of residence and also a place of business. Most of the buildings used for this dual purpose fall short of the required facilities, thereby, making it difficult for effective discharge especially of architectural firm purpose. The study thus analysed users’ perceptions on the available facilities for use to serve both the home and office in order to design facility for the home-office architectural practice. A cross-sectional survey design of both exploratory and descriptive approaches was employed for the study. A structured questionnaire focusing on housing and workplace characteristics was administered to 150 respondents. The data were analysed using frequency counts, cross tabulations, charts as well as content analysis. Findings from the study revealed that majority (62%) operated out of private homes built exclusively for dwelling with 40% being detached bungalow house types with the highest room numbers, (47%) being within 5 to 6 rooms, of these 47% served primarily as architectural firms. The staff strength was generally low (32%) and were between 6-10 people with 44% staffers working for 8 hours daily. While 57% of members of staff would prefer to stay for work overnight, 33% currently do not. Building features and neighborhood facilities are the main factors of satisfaction. The study also gathered that though the residential facilities available for use were good enough, they were not adequate for professional practice. Keywords: architecture practices, accommodation, facilities, residence-based firms, users DOI: 10.7176/ADS/79-11 Publication date: December 31 st 2019 1. Introduction A residence-based architectural firm is an architectural firm that operates at the Principal Architect’s house. His house or private residence has either a space as an office or an office built separately on the same property. His house thus serves a dual purpose of being a place of residence and also a place of business howbeit separated as deemed fit by the Architect. Although the practice of architecture is rooted in classical antiquity, the name ‘Architect’ first came to be known in Italy during the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries (Chauhan, 1994). The establishment of the practice of Architectural practice in Nigeria according to Arayela (2001) and Oladiti et al., (2017) is dated back to the founding of University College, Ibadan, in 1984 as an affiliate of London University and two British Architects Maxwell Frye and Jane Drew were commissioned to prepare the master plan and design the building. Chauhan, (1994) further noted that architectural practice evolved together with the society it served, first being defined as art, then science, and recently as the business of designing buildings. The practice of architecture in Nigeria has not been without challenges. Abdulkarim, (2002) noted that there had been economic fluctuations in the industry, which resulted in the cyclical nature of the industry. Sagada (2002) also stated that architectural services industry had also become increasingly competitive because of increase in the number of practices which contended for the few jobs, as well as the infringement of allied professions on the roles of the Architect. These challenges may have led to the changing nature of Nigerian architectural industry. With these challenges, many Architects decided to have their independent practices so as to cut down on costs, utility bills and expenses with many setting up their firms in their homes. Working from home has become more than a trend. Hard-working people over the world are trying to find the best way to accommodate creative and inspiring working environment in their homes (Teicu, 2014). The economy also contributed to making people adopt this contraption. Due to these residences not being purpose-built, several factors challenged their existence. Since the economy is the new reality, many Architects now face, their houses need to be evaluated to check how well it indeed meets brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals