ABSTRACT
This thesis report is an attempt to encourage the application of traditional architectural elements in contemporary museum architecture and also to uplift the solemn atmosphere which exist around several museums today that make them unpopular and boring. The redevelopment of the national museum Kaduna using indigenous architectural elements as an attempt at a monumental museum complex which speaks for itself as a museum object in display not just a container of artifacts. Therefore the researcher had to shed light on every aspect of the museum and the existing problems in the national museum Kaduna. Other museums such as the Gidan Makama Museum in Kano, which was not designed as a museum, and the National Museum Jos will be considered as case study since they exist in the country and display Nigerian traditional architecture. The Solomon Guggenheim museum in New York and Bilbao will also be studied as they reflect contemporary museum architecture. The Architect when designing a museum is faced with the challenge of creating not just a functional museum but one that stands out as an object in display with significance and meaning. The challenge in this thesis is to create a functional museum complex that adapts successfully to the existing structures and at the same time in harmony with the new structures and expressing a cultural, traditional and artistical appearance and in totality creating spaces for alternative but supportive activities in the museum. Due to time constraint, the researcher could not study other related facilities such as cultural centers, trade centers e.t.c. the researcher hopes this thesis report has contributed architecturally by proposing a possible architectural solution to major problems experienced by most museums not only in this country, but globally.