Council tasks architects, firms on innovative designs

Nigerian architects took further steps towards consolidating professional practice with the induction of newly registered architects and firms last week, by the regulatory body, the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

The event, which was held virtually, had in attendance more than 100 participants, who joined the ceremony. The virtual induction made ARCON one of the first in Nigeria to hold such a ceremony online.

ARCON President, Sir Oladipupo Ajayi who spoke at the ceremony, urged the architects to hone their entrepreneurial skills and explore numerous opportunities associated with innovative designs.

According to Ajayi, the council deemed it necessary to think outside the box, hence, the induction programme. “Despite these achievements, we still have a long way to go as a profession, especially in a changing society as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, which has brought change in our ways of life.

“At this very period, architects are advised to think outside the box; be more proactive and learn more about business strategies, adapting to dictates of situations around them in order to keep projects moving forward”, Ajayi said.

He assured that, the council would continue to respond positively towards lifting architectural practice in Nigeria and beyond. Ajayi, who wishes the inductees success in their chosen field, urged them to strive towards developing entrepreneurial skills, without compromising professionalism.

He said the council had arranged to give certificates to the inductees at their council’s nearest office to them. ‘’Architects are leaders in the construction industry all over the world and Nigerian architects can’t afford to be indifferent.

‘’Our council will continue to work ahead of time to position you (newly registered architects) and indeed all architects at a vantage standing,’’ he said.

Ajayi, who noted that the challenge of Covid-19, has greatly impacted every sector of the economy, said it had rather made ARCON council to go extra mile in delivering its mandate, which among others are licensure of architects, regulation of architectural practice and improving the standards of architectural education.

Speaking on the need for all registered architects to promote the use of ARCON Project Registration Number (APRN), registrar of the council, Umar Murnai said APRN was part of the initiative to improve standard of projects and to make architects involved in any construction project to take responsibility for his or her contract.

According to him, APRN is a unique composite-encoding of the architect’s registration number, the plot number, the project location, the application date and a unique serial number, followed by a special suffix (if required) for special sectors such as educational institutions and housing corporations.

And for quality control measure, Murnai said, an APRN certificate would be issued to the architect for transmission to the client, saying the certification binds the architect to standard of professional practice.

“Architects are reminded that this certification binds them to the highest standards of professional practice. A daily update of APRN registrations is transmitted to the development and, or approving authority by ARCON at the end of every working day.

Immediate past president of the council, Umar Aliu urged both newly inducted and old architects and architectural firms to adhere strictly with the conditions of engagement. He warned against any attempt by any architect to sideline their lawful conditions of engagement, saying such would be tantamount to misconduct.