The Volta River Project: planning, housing and resettlement in Ghana, 1950–1965

Abstract

This paper investigates the housing schemes proposed in connection with the Volta River Project, Ghana, in the mid-1950s to early 1960s. The Volta River Project formed part of Kwame Nkrumah's vision for Ghana's modernisation and industrialisation in the wake of political independence. Three associated worker housing schemes demonstrated somewhat contradictory design and construction methods, from high specification, extensive amenities, and comprehensive servicing, through to self-build 'core' houses amounting to little more than single-room dwellings. The paper traces the complex and controversial history of these schemes, supplemented with findings of several field trips to the settlements in question, to unravel the value of the 'Core Houses' approach. The most successful project to incorporate indigenous agency and true collaboration was the semi-formal 'Combined Area' housing at Akosombo, a positive model for shared agency and collaboration in planning, housing, and facilities delivery. Sitting alongside the carefully manicured plan of Akosombo, with its regulated market, excellent health care and desire to set high standards of cleanliness, the Combined Area has not only provided homes for the lower-paid and labouring workers of the town, but has developed over time into a settlement where professionals and retired government workers are also now residing, not out of necessity but by choice. By actively developing their own homes, shared spaces and amenities there has developed a strong sense of ownership, community, and identity. The success and level of attachment to this settlement clearly extends beyond its material presence and through the shared experience of helping to cultivate a place of one's own.

The Impact of Post-War Transnational Consultants in Housing and Planning Development Narratives: The Case of Otto Koenigsberger

“…His field survey equipped him with a knowledge of the country and an acquaintance with individuals and government officials (Koenigsberger, 1954), which was very important for the UN Technical Assistance Administration's housing mission. The country was undergoing other major infrastructure developments, including the port and rail terminals in Tema (Ghana) and the new towns that were required due to foreign investment in the country, which made housing policy critical (D'Auria & de Meulder, 2010;Jackson et al, 2019).…”

Architecture and Politics in Africa

“…The foreign countries introduced Western modernist planning ideology to Ghanaian dwelling cultures thereby stagnating the traditional forms of architecture in the country (d'Auria, 2014). For example, Constantinos A. Doxiadis's reconceptualisation of the Tema master plan and his model city of Akosombo presented visions of high modernist planning and state building and were seen as a guarantee of emancipation, although they could also be described as a form of neo-colonialism, based as they were on a very generalised, Western model which took little account of local aesthetics, norms and needs (Bromley, 2003;d'Auria, 2010;Miescher, 2012;Jackson et al, 2019). In terms of architecture, foreign modernist architects such as James Cubbit, Jane Drew, Maxwell Fry, Leo De Syllas and Otto Koenigsberger served as advisors in Ghana's town planning and designed many modernist buildings (Uduku, 2006).…”

“…Being in West Africa, the Gold Coast's relative geographical proximity to the UK meant that mail boats could make the trip in around two weeks. Thus, the nation benefited from relatively fast access to British products, design expertise, and building contractors (Jackson et al, 2019). As the British ties waned, the government extended invitations to Dutch and West German financiers (Biney, 2011).…”

“…The Schokbeton prefabricated housing programme was suspended following a visit to the Gold Coast by experts from the United Nations Technical Assistance team on housing (Daily Graphic, 1954a: 1). They asserted that it was more costly to build a prefabricated house in Ghana than to construct a self-built house because almost all the components were imported and such an action would negatively impact the traditional self-help methods practised throughout the territory (Jackson et al, 2019). Instead, the experts suggested that the £2 million grant be split between two programmes: £890,000 invested in a mortgage bank, and the rest to start a 'roof loan program' (Arku, 2009).…”