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DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF OFFICE COMPLEX FOR SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN TECHNOLOGYDESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF OFFICE COMPLEX FOR SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Although the practice of architecture is rooted in classical antiquity, the name ‘Architect’ first came to be known in Italy during the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries (Chauhan, 1994). Chauhan further noted that architectural practice evolved together with the society it served, first being defined as art, then science, and recently being defined as the business of designing buildings. The business aspect was buttressed by Symes, Eley, and Siedel (1996) who stated that architects define themselves as professionals, claiming financial rewards for knowledge and skill in the design of built environments. Like most other professional organizations, architectural practices have metamorphosed through various stages in history. Chauhan noted that in the early history of man, architecture was purely for functional purposes, and the user was his own architect and builder. As man became more civilized, his shelter became more sophisticated, it also became more of an object of beauty than of function. Architects were generally described as master masons, as they were concerned with the entire field of the built-environment rather than mere shelter. They considered their creations as works of art, working primarily as individuals and receiving their patronage first from the priests and in the renaissance period from the nobles. Chauhan, further noted that the architect of the twentieth century was a professional man set aside from the building trade by education and specialized training. Symes et al., (1996) noted that at this period, architects increasingly took up salaried employment, with a growing proportion joining government service to assist in implementation of programmes and controlling standards. Chauhan, however observed that the late twentieth century witnessed the emergence of the architect entrepreneur, taking up the role of an artist, a business expert, bureaucrat, social reformer, user advocate, a scientist and technician. The emergence of the architect entrepreneur marked the period after the Second World War (Symes et al., 1996), with the design team seeing itself as a business organization providing services in the marketplace. The business aspect of the architectural firm makes it an organization accompanied by some bureaucratic features. Bunham, (1988) however noted that design has always been a small part of the practice of architecture, with other tasks like technical development, management, business and supervision taking more of the architect’s time. Increasing exposure of architectural practice to market forces has, according to Symes et al., (1996), led to a shift away from the architect as a team leader, the growth of varied specializations and increased importance of management techniques to help the firms adapt to changing circumstances. They suggested that this increased exposure to market forces led architectural firms to pay more attention to business to survive. Arayela, (2001) however noted that the setting changed when Ahmadu Bello University graduated the first set of B. Arch. graduates in 1963 and these graduates began to set up architectural practice in 1965 with the others to form practices such as Folabi Kuku and Associates, Danladi Shemu and Associates, Modulor Group and Allied Architects. The register of the Nigerian Institute of Architects has shown an increase in the number of architecture firms from 38 in 1973, 116 in 1978, 286 in 1998, to 444 in 2004. There however appears to be a reduction in the number of architectural firms in 2006, which listed 341 firms. This may however be due to the fact that the names of firms that defaulted in the payment of their dues were not listed in any section, when compared to the previous registers. Apart from the above information, there is not much more documented on the characteristics of architectural practices in Nigeria known to the researcher.