Performance Assessment of Sustainable Architectural Practice in Nigeria: Insights from the Diminishing Role of the Architect

Abstract

This paper aims at examining the effect of the diversification of the increasingly shared role of the architect and the other allied building professionals on the future of the architectural profession in the country. A mixed-method study of the expanding role of the architect, public awareness of the diversification in construction industry practices and the effect on the users of the built environment show that architects participated in 83.3% of the observed cases during pre-construction or design stages but only 33.3% of the cases during construction. Architects are twice as likely to be supplanted on construction sites by allied professionals because client and user perception holds that architects fail to provide “realistic” solutions to the brief and charge too much in professional fees. The study recommends: 1) architects need to embrace the diversification of roles in the construction industry through specialized tools such as project management, scheduling, cost reconciliation, property development and product marketing; 2) improvement in the level of creativity and practice ideology to prevent architects from getting supplanted on grounds of incompetence and 3) reminds legislative bodies, stakeholders and clients to protect the constitutional role of the architect and increase public sensitization of the need to engage architects to preserve the essence of the built environment.