Evidence-Based Design of University Zoological Gardens: A Perception Study in South-west Nigeria

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A B S T R A C T Evidence-based design (EBD) has become an acceptable paradigm in environment-behaviourendeavours in recent years with documented benefits especially in healthcare facilities. However, little is known of its application to University Campus Open Spaces (UCOS) like University Zoological Gardens (UZGs) which accounts for the repetition of design mistakes. This study aims to assess the UZGs as a major component of UCOS in South-west Nigeria with a view to formulating EBD frameworks. It adopts a comparative post-occupancy evaluation (POE) approach through a Stratified Random Sampling protocol of users (n=3,016) of the gardens in Federal Universities in South-west Nigeria. Results of the quantitative data analyses suggest that while walk-ability is a primary satisfaction factor among thirty design considerations in the formulated model, legibility is the most primary cognitive factor for designing perceptible high quality UZGs. The study argues in favour of the developed framework as design tool-kit and recommends its application as a feed-back input into the design process of UZGs.

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Evidence-Based Design of University Zoological Gardens: A Perception Study in South-west Nigeria *Dr.JOSEPH ADENIRAN ADEDEJI1. Dr.JOSEPH AKINLABI FADAMIRO2, Dr.TIMOTHY OLUSEYI ODEYALE3 1,2,3Department of Architecture, School of Environmental Technology, the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria 1E MAIL: jaadedeji@futa.edu.ng , 2E mail: jafadamiro@futa.edu.ng , 3E mail: toodeyale@futa.edu.ng A B S T R A C T Evidence-based design (EBD) has become an acceptable paradigm in environment-behaviourendeavours in recent years with documented benefits especially in healthcare facilities. However, little is known of its application to University Campus Open Spaces (UCOS) like University Zoological Gardens (UZGs) which accounts for the repetition of design mistakes. This study aims to assess the UZGs as a major component of UCOS in South-west Nigeria with a view to formulating EBD frameworks. It adopts a comparative post-occupancy evaluation (POE) approach through a Stratified Random Sampling protocol of users (n=3,016) of the gardens in Federal Universities in South-west Nigeria. Results of the quantitative data analyses suggest that while walk-ability is a primary satisfaction factor among thirty design considerations in the formulated model, legibility is the most primary cognitive factor for designing perceptible high quality UZGs. The study argues in favour of the developed framework as design tool-kit and recommends its application as a feed-back input into the design process of UZGs. CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2018) 2(2), 46-59. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2018.3670 www.ijcua.com Copyright © 2017 Contemporary Urban Affairs. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The university campus is the total physical environment, including all buildings, open spaces and landscape elements (Aydin and Ter, 2008). It is this combination of buildings and landscaped open spaces between buildings that functions as an organized whole with a distinctive identity (Gehl, 1987). Rapoport (2004) states that these environments are structured and composed of fixed (infrastructure and buildings), half-fixed (open spaces and their components) and non-fixed (users, user actions and vehicles) elements. Half-fixed open spaces and components are the important determinants of the environment’s influence on user attitudes (Aydin and Ter, 2008; Lefebvre, 1991; Abu-Ghazzeh, 1999; Dober, 2000). The design qualities of these open spaces are related to their spatial, social, cognitive and affective characteristics (Adedeji, Bello and Fadamiro, 2011; Adedeji and Fadamiro, 2012). The spatial characteristics are the design considerations and include accessibility in terms of circulation systems, opportunities for spatial preferences, way-finding and location qualities (Helsper, Johnson, Johnson, Rubba and Steiner, 1990; Arenibafo, 2016; Heitor, Nascimento, Tomé and Medeiros, 2013; Payne, 2007; Muñoz, 2009; Ambler, Webb, Hummell, Robertson, and Bailey, 2013) and disability (Asadi-Shekari, Moeinaddini and Shah, 2014). University campus open spaces (UCOS) are thus learning spaces, natural settings associated with strong public culture, the form and symbol of integrated social relationship, open air communal museums, spaces for social interactions and great public activities in their utilization (Lyndon, 2005; Mumford, 1938, 1969; McHarg, 1969; Geddes, 1906;Sahraiyanjahromi, 2017). From the utilization perspective, campus open spaces have also been described as being arenas that allow for different types of activities encompassing necessary, optional and social activities (Gehl, 1987; Woolley, 2003; Swensen and Stenbro, 2013; Nia, and Suleiman, 2017). UCOS include zoological and botanical gardens, recreation parks, pedestrian linear corridors, sports pitch, playgrounds, courtyards, parking, waterfronts, squares and plazas. A zoological garden is a park containing plant material, but primarily designed for exhibiting wild animals (Alan, 2005). UZG functions as “a cultural showcase of animals and nature” and its design is “a consequence of human interpretations of the way in which the natural world should be perceived and presented” (Couper, 2013: 235). She posits that “zoological architecture is the physical embodiment of cultural understandings of scientific knowledge” and its interpretation exists within a cultural context of place and “the stages of zoological garden as a scientific endeavour had an interwoven relationship with architecture and place” (p. 235). UZGs focus on public education and nature conservation. Wolf and Tymitz (1979:17) argue that “education includes observation, perception, satisfying curiosity, making sense out of one’s observation or experiences, accidental learning and, of course, direct efforts to collect or offer information” According to Gewaily (2010), the five components of visitor experience in zoological gardens are “exploration, authenticity, aesthetics, education and recreation” (p. 45). UZGs are therefore of great academic significance while their recreational benefits as an opportunity for connection between their non-human nature and human nature. Fadamiro and Adedeji (2014) discovered that recreational benefits are contingent upon experiences of users and relies on the quality of the zoological gardens which depends on design considerations and parameters. Although research concerns on UCOS include the design, designers, design decisions, materials and construction, maintenance and management, and the users, this research focuses on the users of university Zoological gardens (UZGs) which is a major category of UCOS. The users are at the receiving end of all the processes and are thus very central. It is therefore pertinent to carry out a study on UZGs with a prism of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) focussing on the users as a feedback into the design process towards developing framework for sustainable UZGs in South-west Nigeria. 2. Statement of the Research Problem Designers of UCOS including UZGs are not fully acquainted with the performance of the spaces during their use. This leads to repetition of design mistakes and the university community using the spaces in ways that were only partially predicted (Watson and Thomson, 2005; Venkat, 2011; Cubukcu&Isitan, 2011). As a result, the satisfaction of the users that can enable the formulation of EBD framework as a feed-back process is grossly missing. 2.1 Research Questions, Objectives and Hypotheses Enhancing the performance of UZGs is contingent on users’ satisfaction. This study’s concern about users’ satisfaction is guided by the following questions: i What is the perception of quality and factors that underpin the users’ satisfaction with the UZGs? ii. What aspects of user satisfaction can inform design frameworks for UZGs? Accordingly, the study seeks to: i. Examine the perception of quality and factors influencing users’ satisfaction with the UZGs; and ii. Develop design policy framework for UZGs. To guide the study, the following hypotheses were formulated: HO1 There is no significant difference in the perceptions of qualities of the UZGs among the Federal Universities in the study area.

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