Good example of essay on culture & architecture

Compare & Contrast A Pueblo to a Town In West Africa

West African communities or towns or villages are made of small houses constructed from mud, stone and leaves. These hut-like houses surround a community plaza which is used as a place for gathering. This type of structure has symbolic meaning and the aesthetics of the structure is a manifestation of a spiritual worldview. Unlike the Mexican Pueblos, these communities are more spread-out and are not stacked on-top of each other. They have a focus on agriculture and living space. The placement of the structures revolves around sustainable living and a framework to battle the intense climates. The local materials used are the best for circulating air in the desert heat, which is similar to the Pueblos, since they use Adobe. However, they do store their food in Ghorfa’s, or hill-top grain storages, which is much like those of the Pueblos.
Pueblos are towns where old communities that are built by Native Americans and Southwestern Americans live in. These are made of a community of houses which are constructed from local materials including mud and stone from the rural areas. Later, these houses were built using sun-dried brick, or Adobe. These pueblos are usually situated on high hilltops and are found near flowing water sources. The pueblos are high structures, and in order to reach certain houses, ladders are built on the sides. This is a defence mechanism to prevent break-ins. The reason why pueblos are also built on high ground is to prevent unwanted guests from entering the town. These mutli-storied communities usually have an open plaza for gatherings and other social occasions. Usually, the ladders are only lowered from the inside.
The Pueblos and a typical town in West Africa are the same in a way that they both use local materials to build their shelter. However, they are structured in different ways. Towns in West Africa focus on aesthetics and sustainable living while Pueblos are more concerned about their defence and vulnerability to unwanted outsiders. Later on, like Mexican Pueblos, Africans started moving their communities near bodies of water because of the trade around the Niger River.