REFLECTIONS ON THE CURRICULUM FOR STUDY OF ARCHITECTURE IN NIGERIA

As a licensed Architect and now a lecturer, reflections on the curriculum and duration for the study of Architecture in Nigeria comes naturally to one. This is mostly necessitated by the observed deficiencies revealed through interaction with some Nigerian university graduates including Architecture graduates in the past.

As a student of Architecture, this nature of thought never crossed my heart, because all we thought about was how to become the next graduate with first class honors. However now, that we have achieved that and moreso even joined the academia as a key player (lecturer) one cant help but speak out about this.

My personal opinion is that the four year duration for the award of Bacherlors degree in Architecture (B.Sc. Architecture) is grossly insufficient; considering the volume of work required to be done. I would expansiate more on the reason for this in my next post, but suffice it to say now that; I would move for an adjustment to a total duration of five (5) years - at least.

Also, the two-year mandatory Master programme which must be done in order to qualify for licensure amongst other things is non-negotiable.

However there are suggestions from some meaningful stakeholders that the practise licensure examination which is currently taken as a seperate exam after a minimum of two years puppilage under a licensed Architect, should be integrated as part of the MSc. final exam and administered by the Architects Registration Council Of Nigeria (ARCON) at the university level.

What do you think about this? Let us discuss your opinions in the comment section below.

CLIMATE, WEATHER AND BUILDING COLLAPSE

ABSTRACT

Climate change has become a reality and so has building collapse. Global Reports have already shown serious changes in rainfall volume and timing resulting in heavier floods or in other situations more intense temperature waves.  The science that deals with understanding and employing ethical processes in our daily activities in order to mitigate the negative effects of climate change caused by man's activities is referred to as Green Building or sustainable development. It is sometimes also called sustainable building/design. The idea of sustainable comes in three forms; Environmental sustainability, Economic/ Financial/cost sustainability and Social sustainability i.e. User friendliness/comfort/ health. The challenge of building collapse in  Nigeria is clearly an issue that traverses these three aspects.  This paper examines the occurrence of building collapse in Nigeria from the consultant's view point with a view to highlight the importance of adopting green building practices by Architectural Consultants as the leaders of the building team. Documented cases of building collapse in Nigeria within the past decade are reviewed, the stated causes are highlighted. Furthermore, industry bespoke practises on building collapse mitigation across the globe are studied. These include specifically America, Europe and Asia. A comparative analysis of the sustainable approaches adopted in these climes is drawn. In conclusion, it is recommended that the Nigerian Architect must imbibe these methods to see a future with less or absolutely no cases of building collapse. Keywords: climate change, building collapse, sustainable design, professional ethics, consultants' responsibilities.

KEEP WORKING EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE EMPLOYEES

LAW: Excerpt from the book
48 Laws Of Architectural Consulting

KEEP WORKING EVEN WHEN YOU HAVE EMPLOYEES

Don’t hire staff to replace you, hire people to help you keep being great at what YOU do.

As is very common with every business owner or professional practitioner, the moment they find someone who can stand in for them at work, they become lazy and start skipping their own CEO duties. The tendency to become slack with tasks that they ordinarily would have attended to keenly sets in and this is a natural human feeling often fueled by the belief that they (employees) are being paid to do ‘the work’ therefore we don’t have to do anything, any more.

48 LAWS OF ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTING

e-book review

by Author

The book 48 Laws of Architectural Consulting is an all-time classic collection of industry codes and ethics made for the sound and meticulous Architect who is eager to make an undying mark in his profession.

This book is a sequel to the main title; Learning to Be an Architect (published 2014). Both titles have the welfare of the aspiring Architect as the underlying theme.

Much controversy however have surrounded the release of this second part, 48 Laws of Architectural Consulting owing to it's large volume and frantically auto-suggestive mode of instruction to the reader. You will find it an interesting read, while you'ld love to make reference to it every now and then.

Ever wondered why you lost a potential client right after the first meeting? Do you think it was chance or Is there something you didn't get right? These and more are answered in this unique, book rendered with several real-life examples

HOW TO CREATE STUNNING ARCHITECTURAL ANIMATIONS & WORKING DRAWINGS IN TWO(2) WEEKS

If you are looking for how to create stunning Architectural animations, walkthroughs and complete working drawings and specifications that help you to put the WAWW!! on your client's face, then you are not alone in your search. Thousands of Architects, Engineers, students and ordinary researchers have been redirected to this page right after performing a simple google search.

Architectural presentation has simply moved on from the era of hand-drawn sketches to an age dominated with the increasing demand for computer generated(aided) design and drafting (hereafter referred to as C.A.A.D). Some Architects attribute this to the perceived superiority of the print quality (presentations) versus the hand made. Others say it simply saves time and improves their productivity, while some think it is simply a matter of how opportuned the Architect or Engineer is in learning the relevant C.A.A.D application packages.

ARCHITECTURE YEAR - 2016 AT A GLANCE

Posted by 

Kosi Emmanuel Chukwujindu

Project Architect

This post is dedicated to God, my beautiful girl, Chinonso,  and to all Architects who did their very best in the year 2016 and landed those juicy projects. Here, I have listed all the projects I directly (or indirectly) worked on in the year 2016. The list is not Chronological. 

For each project, I have put up a picture that tells the story as well as brief comments on them. I also endeavoured to mention the client and location including the status of the project, who worked on it with me and what exactly I did while on it. The duration of the projects have been left out as some are yet underway.

Feel free to leave your comments under this post. Details of the projects are always available for discussion/review anytime! Thank you.

1.0 De-World University Admin Block (Architectural Consultancy)

A private University located at Awgu local government area of Enugu State. Owned by a retired priest. Massive construction is underway. Under supervision of Arc. Eskay.

1.1 De-world university faculty of management sciences (Architectural Consultancy)

As built measurement was taken after which complete working drawings were produced. construction is underway. The medical Center and Cafeteria are also included in the developing projects.

2.0 Open Havens Estate Akpuoga-Nike, Enugu State (Architectural Consultancy & Supervision)

The client Emach Global Synergies, is desirous to develop a gated community style residential layout and thus commissioned us to develop the comprehensive master plan featuring four building prototypes and infrastructure design. Cheers to the Architects at Cadright! who worked with us on the project. A link to the animation video will soon be updated here.

PROJECT MANAGER : ISSUES WITH THE STAFF

Posted by :  Kosi Emmanuel Chukwujindu

This post is a sequel to the earlier post: "Project Architect: resolving staff conflict in site"

from left: Architect, Carpenter

As a construction project manager, issues with staff are going to abound. What matters in the end is still Results!

In my experience, workers over time tend to grow too friendly and thence become rebellious. They suddenly seem to have got a hunch that you have been manipulating them into doing 'your' Work while you get all the 'big' money. This feeling if not checked leads them into acting abnormally uncooperative and even ready to end the relationship.

As the Architect, and project  manager, you have the responsibility of keeping your site in control so that you can continue to produce results, Especially if you work for a senior Architect who has entrusted the site in your management.

Here are a few of my own  tips on managing crisis in the site:

1. Understand that; when all is said and done, violence or force benefits nobody. With this in mind, you are left with the effective tool : diplomacy. Use diplomacy to coerce your workers into doing whatever you want without realising they are all players in 'your' game.

2. Your boss expects results, results and more results, he hardly has time to attend to reports from you or your staff, he believes you should Handle whatever situation arises on site with minimum supervision. Dont prove him wrong! 

3. Preach and emphasize teamwork to your workers. They would think twice before starting up a fire next time, if they see you as a brother instead of a boss.

4. Remain aloof, but make sure you are the smartest guy in the site. No tricks can evade you unless you let it for a higher cause. Use occasional little favours like careless tips, relaxed timing or bonus pays, to buy the hearts of your workers in preparation for the day you will make huge demands from them. 

ARCHITECT: HOW TO MERGE SEVERAL .PDF FILES INTO A SINGLE .PDF FILE WITH MANY PAGES

by Kosi Emmanuel Chukwujindu

Architects in dealing with distant clients are often requested to send and receive drawings through or over the internet. these drawings may be pictures, .dwg or .pdf files. pdiles are however the most widely used formats for several reasons. This is due to its light weight, versatility, non-edit-ability (in some cases). Compared to the .dwg, .jpeg or any other file formats,  the .pdf file format has come to be known as the business file format.

This post is dedicated to teach the Architect how to convert a CAD drawing (.dwg) file into a  .pdf file as well as how to merge these .pdf files into one in case this is required.

Lesson 1: How to save a drawing from AutoCad as .pdf

Step 1: Open the drawing file on your AutoCad workspace.

Step 2: go to file - print - under plotter select .dwg to .pdf plotter (How to install PDF plotter) if its not found in your list of plotters.

Step 3: select desired paper size iI.e a4, a 3 or other.

Step 4: using the window tool marquee the drawing from your model workspace and cluck preview to see how it is positioned on paper.

Step 5: click OK and set save folder for the new .PDF file. You may repeat the process to create several sheets of your drawing eg floorplan, elevation, sections e.t.c.

LESSON 2: HOW TO MERGE MULTIPLE .PDF FILES INTO ONE WITH MANY PAGES

Once you have finished saving those different drawings as different .PDF files, you can either send them individually or merge them into one .PDF file. This has the advantage that the mail you will be sending to your client will be compact and scrollable as against the open- view-close, open - view - close .....method of viewing single .pdf files.

Step1: (dont laugh) please dont bother touring the web scavenging for apps that promise the whole world and deliver nothing. Just download an app called "PDF merger" (from playstore) on your android phone. You may also find it under the name "PDF Utils"

Step 2: once you have this simple but very efficient app installed on your desktop you can copy all the  pdf files to your phone using your usb cable.

Step 3: open the app interface and add the files which you need to merge and click merge.

Step 4: specify the file name and save location.

Step 5: you are done!