REIMAGINING COURTYARD DESIGN IN NIGERIAN YOUTH CENTERS: A CLIMATE-RESPONSIVE AND USER-CENTERED EVALUATION

As architecture responds to the challenges of climate change, youth-focused public spaces in Nigeria offer a timely opportunity to merge traditional spatial wisdom with modern sustainable design. In warm-humid regions like Abuja, many youth facilities suffer from poor environmental performance, spatial inflexibility, and limited user engagement. This study investigates courtyard-based design as a passive, user-centered strategy to improve thermal comfort, ventilation, spatial adaptability, and social interaction in youth development centers. Grounded in bioclimatic and user-centered design theories, the research examines how traditional Nigerian courtyard typologies can be reinterpreted for contemporary youth spaces. A structured questionnaire was administered to 286 youths aged 18–30 across formal and informal facilities in Abuja. Descriptive statistical analysis revealed that fewer than 30% of users were satisfied with indoor air quality and thermal comfort, with strong preferences for shaded, green outdoor areas and flexible interior layouts. The findings support integrating courtyard-like spaces with passive features such as cross-ventilation, natural shading, and landscape buffers into youth centers. The study concludes by proposing evidence-based courtyard design guidelines tailored to Nigeria’s warm-humid context, positioning the courtyard not as a nostalgic form but as a resilient, functional solution for climate-responsive youth architecture.