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Investigating Social and Experiential Architecture in Urban Entertainment Centres in Victoria Island: A Case for Eko Atlantic City, Lagos

AKARA Evangeline, AKANI Chizy PhD

Abstract

Urban entertainment centres have emerged as multifunctional spaces that respond to contemporary lifestyle demands for leisure, social interaction, and recreation. However, in many rapidly urbanizing cities, urban entertainment centres are often designed with programmatic emphasis over experiential integration, resulting in spatially disconnected and experientially flat environments. Eko Atlantic is envisioned as a new city extension on Lagos’s Atlantic coast that will host commercial, cultural, and entertainment infrastructure. To inform its development, this study examined how social and experiential architectural qualities were employed in existing urban entertainment centres on nearby Victoria Island, and investigated the role of experiential architecture in shaping immersive, user-centred entertainment environments. Drawing on experiential theory, environmental psychology, and case study analysis, this research explored how design elements, including spatial sequencing, sensory layering, materiality, and thematic zoning, influence user engagement. The paper proposed a spatial framework for an urban entertainment centre that integrates experiential design principles to enhance orientation, comfort, and emotional resonance. Findings suggest that embedding experience-oriented strategies in urban entertainment centre design improved not only spatial functionality but also social and psychological satisfaction.

Keywords

Urban entertainment centresexperiential architectureuser experience

References

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