By Kingsley Adegboye

In order to forestall the rampant occurrence of buildings collapse in the country and ensure quality housing delivery that is sustainable, built environment stakeholders last week, declared that materials testing is a must before commencement of any housing project. Similarly, quality control of the materials should given priority attention during construction.

Speaking at Materials Day oduring the just concluded 11th Lagos Housing Fair, construction industry professionals unanimously agreed that testing of materials to ensure their fitness at sites is the only way to eradicate structural failures in buildings. They argued that once the right materials are used, quality housing delivery that is sustainable will be guaranteed.

Speaking on ‘Material Testing as the only Option for Facilitating Quality Housing Production’, Engr. Akindele Apata of Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory said materials testing is a must. “All materials needed for construction of a housing project such as cement, sand, laterite, granite, iron rods and the soil of the site must be subjected to laboratory test to ascertain their fitness before commencement of the project. It is also advisable to take into consideration quality control of each of the materials at the beginning of any building project. Right proportions, measurements and ratios of materials are equally important during construction to ensure quality housing delivery. Once all these are taken into account whenever we embark on housing projects, there will be no cases of rampant building collapse in the country any more,” Engr. Apata explained.

Dr. Chris Ezeifedi of Living Forest who spoke on how sustainable housing can be achieved in Nigeria using the right local building materials said rational use of materials is very important in architecture. According to him, good housing should start from the design. Using his father’s mud house in his village as a case study, Ezeifedi stated that sustainable housing can be achieved in Nigeria using locally sourced materials.

According to him, it is a wasted investment to build a mansion when one does not really need it. He said if a one-bedroom or two-bedroom will serve your housing need, that is what should be your priority. Sustainable housing using locally tested materials is achievable in the country, he said. The chairman of the session and Dean, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Prof. Niyi Okedele lamented that Nigeria has become a dumping ground for all sorts of items because there is no standard for materials used in construction of buildings and other structures in the country. He called on the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and relevant agencies to live up to their responsibilities of ensuring standards for materials used in the building and construction industry in Nigeria.

Aligning with the speakers on the use of locally tested materials, Prof. Okedele said his father built his house in the village with mud and made provision for extending it to a storey building in the future. He stated that the strength in mud makes it a reliable material for sustainable housing.