‘We need innovative designs to reduce housing deficit’

For almost four years, LADIPO LEWIS has been the chairman of the most vibrant and most populous branch of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Lagos chapter. In June, he will bow out as the helmsman of the state branch. Last week, Lewis spoke to The Guardian’s EMMANUEL BADEJO on his mandate, challenges and the business of architecture within his domain and beyond.
WHEN you vied for the chairmanship of the NIA, Lagos, you set your minds on some goals, can you recall and assess your performance so far?
One of the most important challenges I observed was that, the state chapter was handicapped in terms of resources. We did not have a state chapter secretariat. We were epileptic in financial capacity and always depended on executive members individuals to donate for the chapter to run. And I wondered why some of us run our private firms successfully but having difficulties with the body. So, I set out to address this issue by ensuring some level of financial independence for Lagos architects. So, I decided that we must have a state secretariat and we were able to achieve this within the first year we took over. Secondly, I looked at our programmes, which I retuned to be more financially viable. I jettisoned programmes that will make us loose money. We’ve been able to procure a lot of assets that will portray architecture both in the past and in the future.

Unlike other allied real estate professionals in Lagos, it appears only NIA does not have a befitting secretariat, why?
In 31 years, the state chapter had no office of its own. But I can tell you that, that is almost settled as we during our recent meeting decided to buy a property, which we shall be presenting to the chapter during her next meeting. I am so happy that this dream is coming true in spite of fund’s constraints. And if this is the only legacy I eave behind, I will be very delighted. We would be buying land and then we would decide what type of building to be sited on it. To acquire the land, we are likely to spend about N30 million and about N150 to N200 million to construct the building.

For some years  you have been holding a program on  annual  basis, known to be LAF. Another one is coming soon. What has NIA been able to achieve with this forum?
On Lagos Architects Forum, we have moved on to know how the built environment should be. Through LAF, we have looked at programmes to make the architects dynamic shaper of Lagos State. We had one: The ‘Architects as Developers’; we had one: ‘Town, Buildings in Lagos’; we had another, ‘The Business of Architecture’. All these and more have in great deal impacted on the architects. Through this programme, we have been able to expose our architects to what is happening virtually all over the world. We have looked at architecture from everywhere with different resource persons from different continent and countries. Also, we had our own architects, especially in Lagos to present to us their projects. The idea is to empower, especially the young architects on what architecture should be. Personally, I have immensely benefitted from this programme and therefore enhanced the way I run my practice and I believe it has affected so many architects.

This year, we are looking at ‘Evolving Architecture’. We want to examine what it will take, the tools, procedures, requirements to evolve Lagos architecture. We are expecting various resource persons, who have evolved architectural ideas.

Do you foresee evolving architecture to address high level of deterioration of Nigerian cities?
Architecture has remedy for deterioration of our cities. It is however, most unfortunate that in Lagos today, architects are not involved in planning. All over the world, the architects are actually at the forefront of addressing how our cities turn out to be. I can name so many cities that were planned by architects. Abuja was actually master planned by a lead Japan architect; an architect designed the city of Chicago. It was an architect, Oscar Niemeyer that designed the Brasilia City in USA. It is in this part of the world that, cities are designed without the involvement of architects. Buildings should be designed in consonance and harmony with the environment. So, if I am going to build a housing estate, should it be just houses alone? No! It should be linked with transportation, walkway, entertainment, retail centres, schools, and institutions. If you look at the cities of London, you find a shop within a few distance. But what we find here is residential without supporting facilities. Many built up places are not liveable because we fail to relate our buildings with our environment.

Have you noticed any shortcomings in the Lagos planning regulations?
We talk about the National Building Code and the classification of buildings. According to Nigerian Building Code, hotels are classified under the residential, but under the planning regulations, hotels are classified differently, as a commercial venture. Under the Building Code, there is nothing like commercial. If we use the classifications as specified by the Building Code, we would have liveable environment.

I don’t know which planning regulation allows you to design one-bedroom apartment. In theory it does but not in practice. If you buy a 600 square meter plot in a high-density area in the Mainland for instance, are you allowed to do six dwelling units of what? Is it one, two, three, four, or five bedroom? It does not say that. But if you allow me do six units, and traditionally, I am likely to build three bedrooms. What happens if I have more young graduates living within that neighborhood? The law has to address this planning anomaly. In abroad, planning is done on gross floor area. They give you the area you can build and you are at liberty to do so many units you want in as much as you can provide enough parking spaces for the dwellers.

As NIA Lagos Chairman, what have you done or still doing to address this anomaly?
We have done so much to address this. For instance, every year, we invite the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development to our forum during which we talk about planning challenges in Lagos. And to address this issue frontally, the planning ministry has to be shaken up. We need to address the issue of party walls. We had issue of identifying the appropriate ventilation system for terrace housing and I don’t doubt it that my fellow architects have to increase their capacity in creating innovative buildings.

In Lagos, you get to build a hotel and they’ll tell you that you need cross ventilation design. The idea of cross ventilation is windows on both sides but latest designs have proved this to be wrong. We have been doing a lot to change this but we need the government to believe that these innovations are possible and good for us. The next stage is acceptance of these innovations.
There appears to be a wide gap between architectural education and practice. How best can this parity be tackled?

Well, it is not a wide gap but a process. What sometimes happens is that, somebody truncates the process. Anywhere in the world, it is after you finish from school of architecture before going into practice. That is where the problem starts. In Nigeria and UK, you need at least two years of consistent practice in an architectural firm to sit for the professional exams but it is three years in the US. You need that experience and that is where the problem emanates from. Secondly, our environment, which does not encourage innovations, affects the architects either from the clients or the regulatory agencies’ angle.

Architecture is different from other professions. One, architecture has both the practice and academic side. Both of them are required in the training of the young architects. In the United States of America, you must be a practising architect to teach some courses in the tertiary institutions. Unfortunately, the Nigerian University Commission does not recognise this. Instead, lecturers are being encouraged to do Ph.Ds and write papers rather than show competence in practice. The top architects worldwide are given professorial chair and are invited to give lectures in the higher institutions of learning. Practising architects teach these set of people, which is not a standard operated fully in Nigeria. To this end, the NUC has to change its mindset. In architecture, your work or buildings speak volume on your competence. We have to involve the core practice architects in the training of the upcoming architects.

Some have said that construction projects are vehicles of corruption in Nigeria. How best can all stakeholders tackle this?
It is a lot about integrity and ethics. We need to get back to ethical sound footings in Nigeria. Are the stakeholders and professionals ready to do the right thing? When we are engaged as architects, the clients do due diligent on us, even if he or she is to ask questions on somebody on the architect to be engaged. We too, should be courageous enough to do due diligence on the clients and we should be honest to decline offers from prospective clients whose sources of money are questionable. The city of Miami was built with money gotten through cocaine business. Crime actually influences the building industry. The mafia in America built Las Vegas and that has always affected real estate business all over the world. The fact however remains that it does not help the society in the end; it destroys the economy. The authorities have to rise to this challenge by evaluating projects. We believe that projects have to be done transparently and I should be to find out who is working and owns this project? Many of this information, is shrouded in secrecy. There are projects going on around you now and though you find the names of the developer, who can’t find out those behind the company. And until that becomes open, we may not be able to stamp out corruption in the sector, as many hide under shelf companies.

There are many PPPs on housing delivery and yet the nation still faces huge housing deficit. Is anything wrong?
You need to know that there is no country, which does have housing deficit. Why the deficit is so high in Nigeria is lack of good mortgage system and that system requires parity between the person’s income on one side, the loan he borrows and the rent he pays on the other. When you have that kind of parity, then the average individual can borrow to build, which is not realizable at the moment.

So, how will the gap be reduced? Many only build for rich and not for the poor. We can address this issue by looking at housing standards vis-a-vis floor ratios, if the planning laws will allow the people to build smaller buildings. Like in the UK now, the three bedrooms’ flat has dropped to less than 70 square metres. In Nigeria, you require 120 square metres and you cannot live on 120 if you are building at N120 per square metre, 120 square meters will be done at N12 million. In America a three bedrooms could drop to about 60 square metres for the apartment. We need to look at this, as it may be a saving grace. Also, we need to look at density where a single structure can serve a number of apartments. These are things we need to analysis in the development of buildings to bring down the cost of building in this country.

Architecture in Nigeria receives enormous threats from foreign architects. For this four years as chairman NIA, how have been able to resist this anomaly in Lagos.
Well, we have done quite a lot to determine who and who is working as architects in Nigeria. But, we are a state body and our best is to research and report to the national body. We have looked at the firms and the extant laws that govern architectural practice beyond the shore of this country. We have also enlightened our members not to be threatened by foreign architects by any means.

I have had cause to challenge unregistered architects never to address himself as one in Nigeria, as I cannot go address myself as architect in United Kingdom since I am not registered because I am not registered with their regulatory body to practice. Those foreign architects should be checked even by immigration. At the point of entry they should be made reveal their local partner(s) before granting them access to Nigeria. This is not peculiar to architects alone, every other profession encounters same thing. We have resolved to press on until we see the right done in our profession. But, the government has a key role to play in this fight. It is a known fact that the government of America protects its professionals and look out for foreign opportunities for them. So, we need to get our government behind in this struggle.