This house is located in a quiet neighborhood in Maitama Extension, F.C.T. Nigeria. Bordered by a road in front and a central canal to the right side. The site had an existing single storey house. The program was to demolish the old house and construct a new one. The idea was to preserve most of the structural frame of the existing building; hence the new house predominantly occupied the area of the existing house and started responding to the surrounding.

The family’s request for privacy in these urban surroundings – full of private houses and apartment buildings – challenged the architects and acted as their primary focus in planning and designing the house. The lot is 1051sqm with a east facade overlooking a wide public green area and the city canal while the other facades face the neighboring apartment buildings and access road. The architects wished to eliminate the environmental “noises” and create an urban villa with maximal privacy. Therefore they chose a modern style, keeping the three facades relatively sealed and using vertical stripes of french windows for natural light and ventilation. They opened up the east facade with floor to lintel windows that overlook the public green, city canal and the pool.