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At a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop in Lagos, the Managing Director of Lafarge Aggregates and Concrete, Mr. Loren Zanin, said the LafargeHolcim Awards, in its 5th edition, was the most significant global competition in sustainable design.

Acording to him, it is seeking leading projects of professionals as well as bold ideas from the next generation that combine sustainable construction solutions with architectural excellence.

He said stakeholders, through the competition, had the opportunity to focus global attention on buildings being constructed in Nigeria that stretched conventional notions about sustainable construction and balance environmental, social and economic performance, while also amplifying architectural excellence and a high degree of transferability.

The competition, according to the Head, Sustainability and Corporate Brand, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mrs. Temitope Oguntokun, seeks projects that go beyond balancing environmental performance, social responsibility and economic growth.

She added that the focus of the award would be on issues for sustainable construction such as progress, people, planet, prosperity and place.

“These elements showcase the innovation, which are at the cutting edge of sustainable construction, provide an advanced response in terms of environmental and ethical performance, social responsibility, a preservation of natural resources, economic growth, and with lasting aesthetic impact on the surrounding environment,” she said.

The competition targets architects, planners, engineers, project owners, builders, non-governmental organisations and construction firms, with entry running from July 4 to March 21, 2017.

A total of $2m in prize money is to be awarded to the winners in two categories, including the main category and next generation’s category.

The main category is open to projects at an advanced stage of design with high probability of execution, while students and young professionals between 18 and 30 years of age are eligible to share their bold ideas in the next generations’ category.

PUNCH.

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According to the Director Ready Mix Operations, Lafarge Africa Plc, Mr. Fred Amobi, most of  the cases of building collapse  occur as a result of poor mixture of concrete. He said until people are ready to mix concrete in proper proportion, it might be difficult to curtail the menace. He said with the Lafarge Build Safe, Live Safe campaign, stakeholders are expected to come together to rub minds on how to stop unwholesome practices in the sector.

Amobi, therefore, urged professionals to opt for ready mix concrete which is both affordable and durable in construction, rather than allowing building contractors to put them into trouble while trying to be economical with building materials. This method, he explained, can save millions of home owners from calamity, and also make construction works more profitable for building professionals.

“Ready-mix concrete is concrete that is manufactured in a factory or batching plant, according to a set recipe, and then delivered to a work site, by truck mounted in–transit mixers. This results in a precise mixture, allowing specialty concrete mixtures to be developed and implemented on construction sites. Ready Mix concrete construction is the future of the construction industry,” he insisted.

Amobi said Lafarge interacts with all actors in the construction chain and makes a net positive contribution to society through sustainable developments which is part of the company’s DNA.

A property consultant with TELL Communications Ltd, Mr. Boye Ajayi, urged Nigerians to be weary of whom they consult for construction works. He also used the occasion to challenge Lafarge on the sustainability of the campaign by continuously sensitising the public.

“As for Lafarge, I will urge them to sustain this campaign and platform. We should structure this forum and partner with various institutions and schools to deepen the Build Safe, Live Safe campaign,” he said.

Amobi assured that Lafarge Africa will strive to create more value for customers and end-users by providing them with the highest quality products and solutions.

Indeed, the rate of buildings collapse in Nigeria has become alarming, with its attendant loss of lives and destroying properties. Concerned by the number of lives and properties lost to collapsed buildings, many civil, structural engineers as well as other practitioners many property owners have been left homeless to the scourge.
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Roux stated this in an interview with journalists during the Nigerian Institute of Architects /Lafarge Africa Plc 1st Distinguished Lecture Series 2015 delivered by a former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, in Abuja on Thursday.

He said that one of the company’s objectives was to help build better cities in Nigeria and that the country had tremendous potential and a large housing deficit of about 18 million units.

He said, “We are currently working hand-in-hand with the government, professionals and businesses to deliver more housing. For example, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has allocated land in Abuja to Lafarge to develop mass affordable housing.

“We have solutions for affordable housing through a partnership with LAPO Microfinance Bank and have impacted close to 2,000 people. We are currently working with architects to build iconic and architectural masterpieces with our range of cement and concrete products

“We are also working on a construction development lab, which we will use to develop more innovative products to meet local needs.”

Roux said Lafarge was also partnering with government at all levels to speed up the construction of infrastructure and houses.

He added, “Very recently, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and they have allocated to us land in Abuja to showcase with 500 units and how we can help accelerate and build better housing solutions.

“We have also worked with the Ministry of Works and they have allocated to us some contractors relations in order to show what we can do regarding old buildings. We have solutions that can speed up construction and which will cost less.

“The government is looking at working more with less funds and that is why we think we can work together and help them.”

He said that in addition, Lafarge was in partnership with the Works ministry and other institutions to build concrete roads

Roux added, “We are partnering with the Nigerian Institute of Architects because they contribute more to the building of a more beautiful Nigeria.

“For the past two years, we have worked very hard to develop solutions for more durable concrete that will last longer. We have developed very light concrete that can be as solid as steel that can even last up to 100 years instead of having to be changed every five years.

“In order to implement those solutions either for houses or bridges, we need architects and it is very important for us to develop those relationships so that we can showcase to them the very solutions, essentially concrete solutions that can be beautiful.

“In the past in Nigeria, we contributed to the construction of the Cocoa House, the National Assembly complex and a lot of iconic buildings and structures, and we now have to partner with experts.

“As you are all probably aware, Nigeria estimates a housing deficit of 18 million and at Lafarge; we believe we can contribute to reducing this number”

On the possibility of reducing the cost of cement, Roux said what was important was the cost of construction.

He said, “What we want to do is to improve the cost of construction so that it will cost less to finish a building. This is why we are finding more and more solutions so that the cost of construction is improved. We want to achieve stability in the prices of building materials.”

Ekuweme advised the incoming administration of President-elect, Maj.-Gen. MuhammaduBuhari, not to approach infrastructure development haphazardly.

He urged Buhari and his team to develop a comprehensive master plan and follow it meticulously in line with the urgent infrastructure needs of the country

Ekuweme warned against trying to embark on development of all spheres of national infrastructure at the same time without definite plans, saying this had largely been responsible for the failure of successive governments to achieve concrete infrastructure development in the country

He said, “My advice is that the incoming government should develop a comprehensive master plan on infrastructure development. It could be five years or 10 years development master plan based on budget constraints.

“There is also the need to have a yearly plan on implementation. But when you try to build roads, railways, waterways and so on at the same time without a definite plan, then you have issues of abandoned projects and failure to achieve desired development needs of the people.”

The former vice president blamed the problem of frequent building collapse in the country on the engagement of quacks and non-professionals by contractors.

PUNCH.

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