LASBCA warns architects against building code breaches
The General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Bldr. Florence Gbaye, has urged architects to help reduce disaster risks by strictly complying with building laws, codes and approved specifications.
Gbaye made the call while delivering a lecture titled, “The Role of Architects in Disaster Risk Reduction,” at the monthly General Business Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Lagos State Chapter, Ikeja Branch, held at LASBCA headquarters, Ikeja GRA.
She said building laws and regulations were essential to disaster prevention because they determine where buildings are constructed, how they are designed and the standards they must meet.
The LASBCA boss urged architects to demonstrate professionalism, competence and integrity, and to take responsibility for the designs they endorse.
She warned architects against affixing their professional seals and stamps to drawings for projects in which they were not directly involved, stressing that accountability was essential to building safety.
Gbaye also cautioned against unauthorised alterations to approved building plans, stressing that compliance must begin at the design stage.
She outlined LASBCA’s regulatory functions, including building plan screening, construction-stage inspections, quality control, monitoring construction activities, identifying distressed buildings and issuing Certificates of Completion and Fitness for Habitation, where applicable.
Gbaye urged architects to consider flooding, fire safety, structural integrity and extreme weather conditions in their designs, encouraging greater use of the Electronic Physical Planning Permit System (EPPPS).
