By Ayo Ajayi
Professional and budding Architects have been challenged to always pay attention to details in their design and carve out a niche for themselves in the multifaceted profession, in order to stand out in the crowd.
Architect Akinlolu Odeyemi (FNIA), threw the challenge at the participants during the second in the series of Town and Gown Interactive session organised by the Department of Architecture, Covenant University, on Monday, October 31, 2016, at the University campus.
Arc. Odeyemi, who was the Guest Speaker at the event spoke on, “Ideas to Product Development: An Architect’s Experience,” opined that the spate of building failures was as a result of lack of attention to details. “One of the most challenging thing which Architects must be careful about is that one can do a very fine design, the Structural Engineer could have worked but many times when there is a failure in buildings, it is because somewhere along the way the consultant didn’t go to check the details.
“There are some places where there may be tacks and these tacks are not good enough. They have to be fully welded and it is the responsibility of either the Architect or the Structural Engineer to check and make sure that they are fully welded,” he stated.
Arc. Odeyemi explained further that human beings have a special capacity to appreciate and develop details. This, he noted, is a very peculiar human endowment. “You can bring value to anything by virtue of making sure that the details are very well done. I hope today in the continuous development of Architectural curriculum, more emphasis must be put on details,” he advised.
The guest speaker, who carved a niche for himself in the area of architectural model making argued that if the nation was going to develop technologically, product design is a must and noted that Architects and other allied professionals that want to get into the act must go into its technology which must be domesticated. He expressed hope that Covenant University would take the lead in teaching Product Design as a course.
He showed the participants the pictures of the processes of building the sculpture of Magna Jurist and the front doors of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which were built in his workshop and stated that Architects are the only professionals thoroughly prepared for design development in Nigeria. “Virtually, everything that is produced e.g. spoons, knives, forks, cups, soap dishes, footwear, name it, must have been drawn thoroughly. If they are not properly drawn, it is not possible to produce them industrially.”
Arc. Odeyemi also enjoined the budding Architects to channel their energy towards building successful future in the profession. “Whatever happens, you need to be better than us because invariably you will come out and compete with us. That means if you are not better, you will have a much harder time. You must take the world by storm. You must recognise that you have something we don’t have, you have your youth with a lot of energy and the way you use it could either be wasted or become a foundation for a very successful business in future,” he cautioned.
The Head of Department, Architecture, Covenant University, Dr. Oluwole Alagbe, while setting the tone for the interaction, explained that the idea behind the Town and Gown interaction was to bridge the gap between academia and what the students would meet in the industry when they graduate. “Therefore, it is high time to start preparing for how the practice feels out there.” He enjoined them to prepare adequately because the way they prepare would determine the height they would attain in the profession.
Leave a Reply