The President of American Institute of Architects (AIA), William J. Bates and the Former President of Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) Sam Oboh have paid a courtesy visit to the Abuja Chapter of Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA).
The team arrived Nigeria capital city of Abuja last Friday on a mission to exchange ideas and learn about how architects are practising in Nigeria; the challenges they have and how they can collaborate with them for greater benefits.
While speaking to AfricaHousingNews on Monday in Abuja, William J. Bates who is the second ever black American to head the American Institute of Architects said that during his visit to Nigeria, he has found that architects in the country are passionate about the same issues that they and other architects around the world are passionate about.
‘’They are concerned about climate change, technology, energy, sustainability as a well as equitable communities. I am impressed to hear that the same issues resonate around the world. So we are here to see how we can work together to tackle these problems together,’’ he said.
On how they can work together he said that ‘’collaboration has to result in shared information about researches experiences and solutions. There are different challenges in Nigeria, and the architectural profession is still growing in a way. The issues of solidifying the organisation structures and the governance between the organisations and relations with the regulatory organisations can be improved upon.’’
Speaking also to AfricaHousingNews, Sam Oboh who was the 2015 and 76th President of The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) said the visit to Nigeria is one of their initiatives to promote collaboration with a few entities in Nigeria and Africa.
‘’It has been a very exciting experience and seeing all the activities all-round the country especially the beautiful capital city, which wouldn’t have been without the work of architects and other practitioners in the built environment.
‘’The potentials that we can see here are actually quite enormous. The creativity is worth noting and I think that with collaboration – making sure that there are exchanges of ideas and information – a lot more can be done in the country. I encourage the sector to do more.’’
For Nigeria to actualise its potentials in the built environment, Oboh believes there should be a strategy to convert those potentials into reality.
On their part, he said they would be offering opportunities for continuous professional development programs for Nigerian architects as well as conferences and events to learn new skills and technology.
In the course of their visit, they have met with other stakeholders, former ministers, senior members of NIA and many others.
According to their host, Abuja Chapter Chairman of Nigerian Institute of Architects, Ninah Briggs, the visit from the two institutes is a testament to what the chapter has been doing to improve the value of what they do.
‘’Ever since I became chairman, we have been pushing quite a number of frontiers to improve the value of what we do as a chapter. This event is one of such. This is the first visit of the President of AIA to sub-Saharan Africa, and we think it is a very good opportunity.
‘’We have had a series of meetings with them since their arrival and we have discussed professional issues ranging from capacity building to collaboration, to the perception of the practise of architecture in Nigeria, to Nigeria as an investment destination.
‘’Their visit exposes the local chapter to a series of things that are well beyond our purview and allows them too to know what goes on here,’’ he said.
On ways of improving their work and tackling issues like building collapse and urban decay, he encouraged the general public to only engage true professionals like them whom he believes are best suited for such purposes.
