NIA discloses on-going affordable housing project

The Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) has disclosed that it is working on a Nigerian Affordable Housing project for the common man.

Speaking in an interview with LEADERSHIP recently, the president of NIA, Arch Adibe Njoku, who said the project will be piloted by universities, disclosed that the building project will be launched next year.

According to him, the project will make use of local materials in order to make it affordable for the people.

He said: ‘‘we want to build a sample in Abuja. The walls might be made of muds and not blocks but when it plastered and painted, nobody will know the difference. We want people to know that they can build a house with local materials without spending too much.

‘‘The materials will stand the test of time. We’ll solve the problem of high cost of building for the poor man. It is the best approach to solving housing deficit in Nigeria.’’

He also said the permanent solution to building collapse in Nigeria is for people to make sure they engage the right consultants for their building projects. The NIA President also explained that the crisis between the association and the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has been fully resolved.

‘‘ARCON is our regulatory body and there is nothing we can do without them. NIA is an association that looks into the welfare of architects, there is no way NIA can be fighting ARCON. Somehow, during the tenure of the last executives, there was a misunderstanding stemming from the issue of examination that NIA conducts which ARCON said it won’t recognise. We are working together now.’’

SOURCE: nigeriarealestatehub.com