The built environment in Nigeria has witnessed some challenging moments in the recent past; from housing deficits to building collapse. In this interview, Ifelanwa Osundolire , a US-based writer and architect spoke on how Nigeria can bridge her housing deficit among other things. Excerpts by JOHN SALAU : Nigeria has recorded several building collapses in the recent past; what do you think are responsible for these? Buildings collapse for two reasons: It is either the structural members cannot (or can no longer) carry the load imposed on those buildings; or as a result of natural disasters undermining their stability.
To protect the public from the disastrous impact of building collapse, building control agencies in every nation institute and enforce a wide array of building codes. Where buildings pre-date those codes and are not updated; or those codes are not strictly enforced before, during and after construction, building collapse is imminent. Read also: FG plans affordable housing for low, middle-income earners On the back of this; what is your view on the regulatory framework in the Nigerian built environment? The regulatory framework in Nigeria is in fact robust.
There are national codes and guidelines written into our laws governing professional conduct in the environmental design and management sectors. I was opportune to provide secretarial support to the Lagos State Technical Committee for Policy Reform on Planning Regulation and Building Control dubbed Lagos Habita.
