The Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Architects, Lagos State chapter, Mr. Ladipo Lewis, has said the roles of the different professionals in the built environment must be clearly defined to enable the sector grow beyond its present status.
Lewis, who spoke at the chapter’s Annual General Meeting held in Lagos on Saturday, said this would go a long way in making certain activities in the sector such as building plan approval easier.
He said, “We need to do this according to international best practices. We need to define what each person is trained to do; and when this is not done, there will be a little bit of chaos. Like the process of getting building plan approval now, we must make sure that it is streamlined and made easier.
“The easier it is to get building plan approval, the easier the economy becomes in terms of real estate because if you find it difficult to do a particular thing, you tend to shy away from investing in that area, you probably go into something else. That is what we have discovered is happening to a lot of people. It is so difficult to get building plan approval; it is also so difficult to get the right development in the right place.”
According to Lewis, the definition of role will help in planning better cities and in turn minimise the incidence of building collapse.
He said, “We see a lot of estates being built, but they are not related to good urban design principles, we simply build residential, there are no commercial or institutional buildings integrated into them.
“The idea is that if you live in a neighbourhood, it should be workable. There should be infusion of mass transportation. We design our cities without bus routes and the drainages are not planned. How infrastructure goes into these is not taken into consideration.”
He also said there was need to review the building code constantly as technology was constantly changing.
Speaking on building collapse, the NIA Lagos chapter chairman said government legislation and enforcement was the key to reducing the frequency of collapses, adding that those involved in practices that led to building collapse should be brought to book as practised in other parts of the world.
On the activities of the chapter in the past year, Lewis said 2013 had been a success so far and that the body aimed to have a closer relationship with the state government next year.
“We plan, as a chapter, to establish a closer working relationship with the state government with the objectives of making sure government legislation concerning our industry and practice are firmly put in place to ensure the continuous growth of our industry and the economy of Lagos,” he said.