Building design for buildability: an investigation of the current practice in Nigeria

The paper is an interim report of an ongoing research project into the “Improvement of the Building Design and Production Practices in Nigeria”. It examines the extent to which issues relating to easy and efficient construction are being considered and incorporated into building designs in the country. A total sample of 60 professionals: 15 each of Architects, Builders, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors; having not less than 5 years of professional experience were interviewed. The designs of 20 randomly selected public buildings completed as from the year 2000, were also assessed for their content of buildability features of: standardization, simplicity, and single integrated elements. All the professionals wanted construction methods and site operations, thoroughly considered in building designs, but they expressed varied opinions on how this should be achieved. Their responses (average of 3.39 and 3.35 respectively on a scale of 0-4) were also indicative of a high awareness, and application of the standardization and simplicity principles. This is, however, lower for the single integrated element which has an average score of 2.40. The assessed building designs showed that standardization and simplicity were at least fairly reflected in at least 65% of the cases, and that single integrated elements were fairly reflected in only 20%.