Embedded Files
Active Case Files
A|WA organizes its research as a series of Case Files.
Each Case File addresses a defined architectural question and records the relationship among evidence, reconstruction, analysis, and interpretation.
A Case File may contain historical investigation, field documentation, environmental modeling, material study, design experimentation, or a combination of these.
The research status of each file is identified explicitly.
Status: Baseline Analysis / Model Development
Region: Northern Nigeria / Sahelian climatic conditions
Subject: Earthen masonry and thermal behavior
A comparative investigation into how high-mass earthen wall systems behave under strong diurnal temperature variation.
The study examines the relationship among material density, wall thickness, geometry, solar exposure, and thermal response.
Primary Question:
How does documented earthen masonry compare with selected contemporary wall assemblies under comparable climatic conditions?
Evidence:
Architectural documentation / historical sources / reconstructed geometry / environmental analysis
Methods:
Section analysis / digital reconstruction / thermal modeling / comparative analysis
Output:
A documented comparative model and an evidence-based assessment of thermal behavior.
Status: Forensic Research / Hypothesis Testing
Region: Southwestern Nigeria
Subject: Yoruba courtyards and impluvium systems
A study of courtyard and impluvium configurations as architectural systems for water management, daylight, spatial organization, and environmental exchange.
Rather than assuming that the courtyard performs a single climatic function, the investigation examines the interaction among geometry, shading, rainfall, airflow, humidity, and occupation.
Primary Question:
What environmental effects can be demonstrated in documented impluvium and courtyard systems, and which proposed relationships remain hypotheses?
Evidence:
Historical documentation / spatial analysis / field documentation where available / environmental measurements
Methods:
LiDAR or spatial documentation / environmental logging / airflow analysis / comparative interpretation
Output:
A documented environmental model of selected courtyard systems and an assessment of the evidence supporting proposed micro-climatic effects.
Status: Applied Research / Design-Build Prototype
Region: Enugu, Nigeria
Subject: Stabilized earth construction and tropical building performance
The Touch Root Vocational Center provides a contemporary setting in which questions emerging from A|WA research may be tested through material and architectural experimentation.
The project investigates the relationship among local earth materials, stabilized earth construction, enclosure design, rainfall, ventilation, thermal behavior, and construction practice.
Primary Question:
How can contemporary earth construction be developed and evaluated in a humid, high-rainfall environment without confusing contemporary experimentation with evidence of historical building performance?
Evidence:
Project documentation / material testing / site conditions / design development / future environmental monitoring
Methods:
Soil characterization / material testing / digital modeling / prototype construction / environmental monitoring
Output:
A monitored contemporary building experiment and a documented record of material, environmental, and construction performance.
RESEARCH PIPELINE
RESEARCH PIPELINE
Phase I — Investigation
Phase I — Investigation
Document the architectural and historical evidence.
Document the architectural and historical evidence.
Phase II — Reconstruction
Phase II — Reconstruction
Develop defensible spatial, material, and environmental models.
Develop defensible spatial, material, and environmental models.
Phase III — Analysis
Phase III — Analysis
Test defined questions through measurement, simulation, and comparison.
Test defined questions through measurement, simulation, and comparison.
Phase IV — Application
Phase IV — Application
Where appropriate, translate research questions into contemporary experiments.
Where appropriate, translate research questions into contemporary experiments.
Phase V — Publication
Phase V — Publication
Publish findings together with evidence, assumptions, limitations, and supporting documentation.
Publish findings together with evidence, assumptions, limitations, and supporting documentation.
HOW TO READ A CASE FILE
HOW TO READ A CASE FILE
Every A|WA Case File distinguishes among:
Every A|WA Case File distinguishes among:
WHAT IS DOCUMENTED
WHAT IS DOCUMENTED
WHAT IS MEASURED
WHAT IS MEASURED
WHAT IS RECONSTRUCTED
WHAT IS RECONSTRUCTED
WHAT IS MODELED
WHAT IS MODELED
WHAT IS HYPOTHESIZED
WHAT IS HYPOTHESIZED
WHAT IS INTERPRETED
WHAT IS INTERPRETED
WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN
WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN
The purpose is not to eliminate uncertainty.
The purpose is not to eliminate uncertainty.
It is to make uncertainty visible.
It is to make uncertainty visible.
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