Sustainability in the Built Environment: The Challenge of the Nigerian Architect

Abstract

Among the several challenges which tend to redefine and broaden the role of the architect in the built environment in the last two decades, environmental sustainability is incontrovertibly the major one. Environmental degradation is one of the effects of global warming caused by man's activities in the global environment. The architect as the custodian of the built environment must wake up to his responsibilities in combating the challenges posed by the products of environmental degradation such as global warming and climate change through sustainable architectural principles and practices. This paper therefore discusses the principles of environmental sustainability in the face of global warming and climate change as a challenge to the architect. The paper also identifies drivers for a sustainable built environment and finally set up an agenda for the architect towards meeting current and future challenges. In order to achieve a sustainable built environment, the paper posited that the approach to the design of the built environment should be such that materials and designs are more energy efficient and less of greenhouse gases emission into the atmosphere.