After sparking global protests over police brutality, George Floyd’s killing has left the city searching for its political, social and economic future.
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ICONIC HOME DESIGNS
As the population of Ghana’s capital expanded in the late 19th century, residents recreated the communal homes they knew from the countryside — an architectural template that endured for more than 100 years. These mini-complexes of houses, grouped around shaded courtyards set back from the street, were the building blocks of modern Accra, keeping together extended families who migrated to the city from rural areas. As international-style apartments and villas for nuclear families become the preferred housing type over time, the compound houses are increasingly being divided into smaller, tighter rooms, mixing strangers together and becoming places for poorer tenants with few options. No one wants to preserve crowded conditions. But in some ways, the community focus and architecture of the compound house could provide inspiration for future housing in Ghana. (Source: Bloomberg)
The postwar danchi style of homes lured Japanese salarymen and their families out of the city with suburban comforts and privacy.
Athens polikatoikias — concrete apartments with tiered balconies — were built quickly to create affordable housing, but their design has stood the test of time.
Singapore’s affordable housing program worked so well that some of its subsidized apartments now resell for more than $700,000.
A different kind of wealth distribution in 17th-century Amsterdam paved the way for its quintessential home design.
