ACHIEVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGH DESIGN STRATEGIES

1.0              INTRODUCTION

Housing is universally accepted as the second most essential need of man, after food and clothing (Abdulkarim, 2005.)  A great deal of attention has been given to the issue of housing worldwide. Several research papers have been written by policy makers and stakeholders.  The United Nations Human Settlement Program. (UN-HABITAT) underscores the importance of housing by creating in May, 1979, the Housing Policy and Development Section (HPDS) .  (Abdulkarim, 2005.)

Despite being an essential need, affordable housing provision is a major problem confronting developing countries. Nigeria as a country is not excluded from this plight.  Several efforts have been made by the government to find lasting solutions to the problem of inadequate housing in the country.

Mass housing delivery commenced in Nigeria with the formation of the Nigeria Building Society in 1956 which later metamorphosed into a full fledge mortgage banking institution by Decree   No.  7 of 1977.  Thereafter, the National Housing Fund was established to provide a source of affordable long term mortgage funds to help facilitate home ownership.

All these efforts coupled with the provision of several mass housing in different parts of the country have done little to alleviate the problem.   This is buttressed by a United Nations (UN) Habitat Survey between 1991-2001, indicating the requirement of 392,000 housing units for the urban areas and 345,000 for the rural areas for this period and a total of 1,126,000 units deficit in the total housing stock.  The reports further indicates that there is an annual requirement of 70,000 unit for urban areas and it is evident from these statistics that there is a need for new strategies to be put in place to tackle the challenges posed by housing and shelter inadequacy. (Isimi, 2005).

In response to the massive shortfall in housing stock, the Federal Government set up a panel of experts headed by Dr. Peter Odili to evaluate the problem of mass housing delivery and proffer solution to the problems in the sector.  This led to the introduction of a new Housing and Urban Development policy in 2002 by the Federal Government as a stimulus for mass housing delivery in Nigeria.

Although, the current reform programmes in the nation has made some impact, the quest for an adequate and affordable housing delivery in Nigeria remains a mirage. Consequently, this paper is set out to identify why several housing policies and options adopted have not delivered as expected and roles architectural educators are expected to play in providing possible alternatives to the problem.

2.0       HOUSING SITUATION IN NIGERIA

Housing problems in Nigeria are enormous and complex exhibiting apparent and marked regional differences especially in terms of rural-urban variation. Rapid urban growth associated with accelerated tempo of social-economic development has seriously aggravated the shortage of dwelling units resulting in over-crowding, high rent, slum and squatter settlements which are visible features of the urban scene in Nigeria (Arigbigbola, 2000).

Housing problem is neither new nor peculiar to Nigeria: it is a universal problem. Housing as a problem of human welfare is as old as the human race. In Nigeria, housing development are embarked upon by both the formal and informal sectors, with the latter producing the large number of housing units.

Efforts by the Nigerian government to intervene in the housing delivery crisis resulted in the formulation of different housing policies, establishment of housing corporations and mortgage finance institutions. Attempts would be made in the next section to identify, summarize and appraise various government interventions in the quest for adequate and affordable housing in Nigeria

2.1       Housing Policy, Programmes, and Provisions-An Appraisal

Government intervention in housing became evident in 1971, when the National Council on Housing was established and it consists of all state commissioners responsible for housing. In 1972, a National Housing Programme was established. Under the programme, the Federal Government planned to construct 59, 000 dwelling units as follows: 15,000 units in Lagos and 4, 000 units in the other eleven state capitals. In the same year, the Staff Housing Board was established to replace and perform the functions of the African Staff Housing Scheme, and for the purpose of granting loans to civil servants to enable them build or purchase their own homes. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) was also created in 1973 to coordinate a nationwide programme (Onibokun, 1985). During this period, emphasis was placed on five yearly development plans as the vehicle for economic growth. However, the first and second National Development plans did not accord housing any priority. It was during the third National Development plan (1975-80) that the government decided to participate directly and actively in the provision of housing rather than leaving it principally to the private sector. Within the planned period, 202, 000 dwelling units were programmed for construction as follows: 50,000 units for Lagos and 8,000 units in each of the other 19, states. It is pertinent to note that by the end of the plan period, less than fifteen percent (15%) of the houses had been completed (Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, 1991).

In 1976, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (F.M.B.N) was created to replace the Nigerian Building Society and for the purpose of granting mortgage loans to the public. Between 1980 and 1985, about 1.9 billion naira was budgeted for housing in the fourth National Development Plan; an estimated sum of six hundred million naira (N 600m) was expended on its implementation. Despite this very high level of investment, the impact of the programme on the overall housing market was extremely negligible (FMW &H, 1991).

The National Housing Policy (and its financial component NHF) has been in operation for over eight years now. A review of its implementation and performance did not show any remarkable influence in housing delivery in the country. Between 1992 and

July 1999, only N80 million was approved and disbursed to 180 contributors out of N 3.735 billion collected from over 1,624,857 NHF contributors nationwide, through eight PMI's who are retail lenders (FMBN news, 1998, Guardian, September 6, 1990).

Since inception of the policy, only 180 contributors have been given loans. This yielded only additional 180 dwelling units to only 0.01 percent of contributors. In summary, less than 2 percent of contributors benefited. When this level of performance is matched with the role expected of the NHF and goal of the housing policy, one may conclude that the programme has not taken off or it is already a failure (Arigbibola, 2000).

3.0              DESIGN STRATEGIES  FOR ADEQUATE AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Several strategies have been postulated as a means of attaining adequate and affordable housing in developing countries. Of all these strategies, design criteria have not been given much consideration as a potent means of achieving adequate and affordable housing stock in Nigeria. This section discusses the viability of design approaches as a solution to effective housing delivery.

3.1       Optimization of Use of Local Building Materials

As at present, the use of local building materials is confined to the less-privileged. The use of local building materials has two major constraints:  (a) Socio-cultural and (b) Technological.  The socio-cultural dimension is inherent in people’s perception that those using local building materials are poor and belong to the low socio- stratum in the society.  The use of modern building materials has been conceived as the ultimate in the socio-economic environment of the country and so every body aspires to own a building made of   modern materials to indicate arrival to a higher class. 

Consequently,   a policy thrust that advocates the use of local building materials, no matter the myriad of housing problems, is seen as backwardness rather than progressiveness.

The technological dimension of the use of local building materials is based on the shortcomings of these materials.  For instance, earth has low tensile stress and so cannot   be used to span long spaces.    Vegetative materials such as timber, grass, etc. have low fire resistance and are vulnerable to insect attacks.

The constraints,  notwithstanding,  a good policy strategy is to promote and encourage  the use of local building materials through  a  bold and aggressive  campaign  and supported by extended building research programmes to  explore and document practical ways of improving labour productivity and  material  strength.

3.2        Application of Partially Industrialized Intermediate Technologies

There has been pessimistic view about the potentials of industrialized housing in developing countries. It is argued that such building systems are more capital and less- labour intensive (Gokhale, 1978, National Planning Office, 1980 and Terner and Turner, 1972). However, the adoption of partially industrialized, intermediate technologies can mitigate ad correct many of the deficiencies and failures observed in the full industrialization.

According to Terner and Turner (1972), full industrialization has four major components: systems design, labour specialization, concentration and mechanization. The first two aspects, when combined together are termed partial industrialization. They can be undertaken with very little cost or risk. . Basically, what is required is a commitment of design time to produce a modular building component sensitive and appropriate to the needs of a given area. (Gokhale, 1978).

Adewale (2004) argues that a design that uses a planning module of 300mm which is a multiple and sub-multiple of sizes of many building materials in the market; and modular space of a multiple of 1200mm (the size of the largest ceiling sheets in the market) will not only minimize waste but also increase speed of construction and may not require high-skilled labour and thus cost-effective. He stresses further that a systems design, by the virtue of proportional relationship of building elements, enhances architectural uniformity and harmony.

Attempts at rationalized design have led to evolution of many product strategies including various types of panels, framing and volumetric systems. The size and complexity of the components ranges from relatively small, simple and standardized brick, block and mat components, to rather large and complex room-sized and even house-sized modules. The packaging system that embraces componentization (intermediate technologies) rather than unitized system is considered the best option in less-developed countries.

Terner and Turner (1972) highlight its advantages as follows:

• Possibility of incremental housing development without large savings or access to credit as opposed to house-sized packages where the buyer needs a relatively large bundle of savings, or at least access to credit.
• Possibility of avoiding extra costs for special handling and transportation.
• Possible combination of a relatively smaller number of standardized building components by the individuals to suit a great diversity of individual needs and thus can be manipulated to conform to the user's living patterns.

 3.3      Appropriate Building Configuration

Choice of building form has been considerably influenced by many factors which ranges from technological to social-cultural. The concerns of most home owners are not just functional requirements - space, convenience, accommodation- but the level of esteem the housing represents for the occupants i.e. individual identity. The slogan is: the greater the individuality of the form and appearance of the dwellings the greater the dwellings acceptability. These forms, most of the time, have great cost implications. Kendall (1972) took a comparative analysis of the cost–effectiveness of round plan and non-round plan. Although circular plan has a lower floor-wall perimeter ratio than non-round plan, waste of materials and high level of craftsmanship needed for its construction make it less cost-effective. This shape also, does not conform to the shape of furniture, and picture available in the market. Corollary to this consideration is the fact that corners represent additional expense. Thus, a simple rectangular plan is cheaper than a cut-up plan of equivalent area.

3.4       Choice of Roof Types

It is often very difficult to separate roof design from building form considerations. The two are twin factors which together enhance the final outlook of a building. There has been a change of concept from simple roof design to complex roof system without taking cognizance of the cost implication. Basically there are two simple roof styles in vogue: the gable and the hipped roof. While consideration should be given to the cost and the task of repairing gable ends it is possible with a reasonably pitched gable roof to use the space under the roof slope for living and for storage. This is not so feasible, however, with a hipped roof which, incidentally, is slightly more expensive to construct because of complicated framing, additional labour of laying the sheets at the four intersections and additional length of gutters and waste of materials.

 By the same taken those roof types with a variety of slopes and changes in roof surface add to the cost of housing; dormers and projecting porches require additional cutting, framing and flashing. With complicated types of roof the maintenance cost becomes more burdensome.

3.5       Adopting Low Cost Construction Technologies

The adoption of mortaless block construction is perhaps the most germane towards adequate and affordable housing in Nigeria. The basic theory behind this is the elimination of mortar through an interlocking design system. It offers considerable advantages over the conventional masonry method: the shorter site time and ease in assemblage that permits the use of unskilled labour reduces cost of construction. (Terral, 1972 & Masonry construction, 1999).

3.6       Open Aesthetics

The continual progress of production technology in industrialized countries periodically has significant global effects on many aspects of the economy: productivity and the price of goods and services, the organization of labour, the unemployment rate, wage levels income and ultimately, the portion of a household budget available for housing. Economic changes can also be triggered by various other factors such as an increase in consumer demand, stock market speculation, national and foreign monetary policies preferential interest rates, free trade agreements, worldwide commercial liberalism etc.

These frequent, unavoidable and generally unpredictable changes create economic uncertainty that may affect the household financial situation in the current economy. Thus, the critical performance for any mass housing or low-income housing becomes the ability to easily accommodate and adjust to these changes. In most cases, it is clear that initial house which often barely fulfils the most urgent, immediate needs can hardly be counted upon to fulfill future needs as well.

One of the best ways of responding to this challenge is the concept of open aesthetics. By open aesthetics, it is meant an adaptation of dwelling unit to radical changes (Gyuse , 1981)

To facilitate this adaptability, Laberge (1999) suggests a variety of schemes, which is stated inter alia:

• Design the dwelling entrance, hall and internal traffic areas to accommodate separate access and independent ways of life. This will allow renting a part of the dwelling for supplementary income in the event of unexpected financial difficulties.
•  Focus on design strategies that minimize irritants, preserve an independent way of life and allow separate socio-affective relations for each occupant. This will allow for shared occupancy of the dwelling with an additional tenant (who may be unrelated) contributing to household expenses and at the same time solving housing need.
•  Design the dwelling entrance, hall and internal traffic areas to allow customers and visitors to be accommodated while preserving the household's privacy. This will allow using a part of the dwelling for working at home to earn supplementary income in the event of unexpected financial difficulties.

3.7       Application of Passive Control Techniques

The potentials of local environmental techniques in Nigerian traditional houses to provide comfortable environments are now being discovered. Features such as wind catchers, evaporative coolers and the use of thermal mass effect in external walls can all be developed in contemporary shelter to create comfortable environments. Such technologies will no doubt, not only reduce the capital cost but also the cost of maintaining and servicing the dwelling units, and thus, make housing affordable to the prospective home owners.

4.0       CONCLUSION

The major impediments to achieving the desired improvement in housing delivery include finances, land acquisition, stakeholders’ participation and research and development.

All interventions in the above mentioned areas have not proved potent enough to solve the problem at hand. Consequently there is a need to look at the potentials of design strategies, which can be employed to reduce the cost of housing stock in Nigeria. For these strategies to become potent, architectural educators have significant roles to perform, which include the following:

• AARCHES, through the Nigeria Institute of Architects, should make a proposal to both National University Commission, and National Board for Technical Education to redesign architectural education curriculum to propagate these design strategies     
• Shift their orientation of architectural students from western design ideologies right from their first years in school, to more adaptable design approaches and technologies.
• The potential of sustainability imbedded in African traditional buildings should be emphasized in all schools of architecture.
• Research should henceforth, focus on traditional building material and technologies that are cheap and readily available for the construction of houses.
• The monitoring bodies such as ARCON, NIA, NBTE, NUC e.t.c Should sensitize the government on the need to encourage the patronage of Nigeria traditional architecture by ensuring that, most public buildings are designed and constructed employing these technologies.
• Museums and Documentation centres in Nigeria should make it a point of duty to preserve and propagate African indigenous architecture so as to ensure it vitality and continuity.                     

It is believed that if the general cost of owning a house is reduced, several Nigerians will have shelter over their heads. Consequently, assisted self-help housing policy will be strengthened by an effective design strategy with the aim of cost reduction as a major consideration.

REFERENCES

1.                  Abdulkarim, Masud (2005): "Policy Issues on Mass Housing Delivery and Aspects of Assisted Self-Help schemes", Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Vol. 4 No 4, September, 2005.

2.                  Adewale (2004): "The Design of Ipapo-Iseyin Farm Settlement". An M. Arch Design Dissertation, Department of Architecture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

3.                  Aribigbola (2000): "Conceptual Issues in Housing and Housing Provision in Nigeria" in Akinbamijo, et al (eds), Effective Housing in the 21^st Century. The Environmental Forum, Akure.

4.                  Central Mortgage Housing Corporation 91970): Choosing a House Design, Central Mortgage & Housing Corporation.

5.                  Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (1991): "New Housing Policy for Nigeria   cited in, Abdulkarim, Masud, Policy Issues on Mass Housing Delivery and Prospects of Assisted self-Help Schemes, Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Vol. 4 No 4, September, 2005.

6.                  Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (1998): FMBN News Cited in Akinbamijo, et al (2001), Effective Housing in the 21st Century, The Environmental Forum, Akure.

7.                  Gokhale, R. G. (1978): "Appropriate Technology for Urban Housing in India in India" in: Housing Problems in Developing Countries: Proceedings of IAHS International Conference, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.

8.                  Gyuse (1981): "Functional Adaptability in Tiv Traditional Architecture", Journal of Tropical Architecture, October/November 1981.

9.                  Isimi, Baba (2005): "The Role of the Private Sector in Housing Delivery in Nigeria", Journal of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, Vol. 4 No 4, September, 2005.

10.              Kendall (1972): "The Question and Answer" in: Housing Problems in Developing Countries; Proceedings of IAHS International Conference, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.

11.              Onibokun, Poju (1983): "Issues in Nigerian Housing: A Bibliographic Review", NISER, Ibadan.

12.              Terner, I.D and Turner J.F.C (1972): "Industrialized Housing" Ideas and methods Exchange No 66.  The U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington D.C.

ARCHITECTURE AS DISTANCE LEARNING IN NIGERIA: POSSIBILITIES, OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES.

INTRODUCTION:  

The World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) of 1990 states among other things that “Every person – child, youth and adult – shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs..... (Article 1)” This declaration is far from being achieved in Nigeria as the current explosion in the students’ intake in most of the country’s higher institutions has become a point of concern to all lovers of educational advancement and mass literacy. Thousands of qualified candidates are struggling to enter colleges that have very little spaces for them. This invariably results into all forms of complex and dubious admission processes and those admitted are congested in large classrooms benefiting little or nothing from their lectures. As a result, most universities are now over tasked to perform duties that are unachievable with the meagre resources at their disposal. Schools of Architectural also suffered serious overpopulation as many classes are congested without adequate facilities and tutors.

OVERPOPULATION PROBLEM IN SCHOOLS: HOW SEVERE? 

This problem of overpopulation in most Nigerian higher institutions has become eye sores, especially in the Southern part.  It is now common seeing students sitting on floors, windows, and many others standing, peeping behind them to see and hear the lecturers with no success.  In most cases, there are no large halls to conveniently accommodate such a number, and where they exist, they are long, narrow, dark, and low in height that students from the middle of the class to the rear hardly see the lecturer. This at times is compounded by electricity failure causing black-out. In most cases the students are unruly, disorderly and uncooperative because of the class size. Examinations are no longer what they used to be as malpractices are now on rampage, formalised and students no longer fear being caught and when caught, resolve into violence, or threaten their lecturers.

The problem has not only resulted in low academic performance in the students, it has turned the lecturers into over-night handout sales-men and has bred most of the numerous social ills bedevilling most of our campuses and cities today.

Below in Table 1 is the latest available Universities, JAMB Applications and Admissions data. Figure 1 shows that from 1997 to 2001 the divergence between the Application and the Admission has been getting wider and wider yearly showing a rapid increase in applications but a gradual decrease in percentage admitted.  

TABLE 1: JAMB APPLICATION / ADMISSION STATISTICS, 1996-2001

SESSION	TOTAL APPLICATN	TOTAL NO ADMITTED	% TOTAL ADMITTED	Engr  and Envr  Applications	% of Engr/ Envr. On Total Appli	No of Engr/Envr Admitted	% of Engr/Envr. Admtd on Engr/Envr Appl.
1996/97	376,000	56055	14.91	57,748	15.35	8233	14.25
1998/99	417,773	78550	18.8	70,940	16.97	11786	16.60
1999/00	461,548	78550	17	82,221	17.81	11786	14.30
2000/01	775,900	50277	6.47	129,857	16.73	9090	7.00

Figure 2 below also shows that though the numbers of JAMB applications increases yearly, an average of 17% of the total JAMB Applications for UME always choose Engineering / Environmental Technology courses, and at the same time, the percentage of intake for such courses  drops sharply from 16.6% to 7.0% between 1997 to 2001.

WORLD EDUCATIONAL TREND

While these problems linger on in Nigeria, the age old traditional methods of teaching and learning are fast becoming archaic and outmoded the world over. Educational needs and events are moving faster than what such traditional methods can cope with.

The world is looking for ways of educating more people efficiently and effectively at a shorter period than before. In many parts of the world, Open (distance) education system has become “e-education” and technologically advanced that students can be taught from remote places efficiently as if the teacher and students are together. Apart from this, the technique is becoming worldwide that in a short time, any part of the world that does not adopt this system will be left behind. This will soon become the requirement for further training in many countries.

PECULIAR NATURE OF ARCHITECTURAL TRAINING.

Architecture, more than Medicine and Engineering, is peculiarly practically oriented.

It is unique in the sense that its training calls for precision, calls for patience and calls for caution to get the best out of the students. It is definitely different from other courses of training in that you need to be both artistic as well as scientific to develop architectural skill. Architecture calls for patience since the artistic aspect has to be patiently developed in each student at his/her own pace. It calls for precision in that, tiny and painstaking detailing is involved in architectural works. It calls for caution in that a half baked architect is more dangerous than a quack medical doctor since a doctor can kill only one patient at a time but an architect can kill thousands at a time like a time bomb.

Time is needed for both the teacher and the students to transfer and absorb knowledge. Since architecture involves life, care must be taken to ensure that students are properly trained under close supervision and tutelage. Architecture has never been adaptable as a correspondence course because of the above peculiar nature and the necessary supervision needed to avoid eventual danger to human life. All these have confined architectural training to the traditional realm which has become the major impediment to the adoption of distance learning in architecture.

Among all aspects to architectural training, the art is the most difficult to acquire as it needs to be developed gradually in students. There must be interaction between the students and their lecturers on one hand, and between the students themselves on the other for a collaborative learning. It is suffice to mention it here that while it is possible for candidates in Management and Literary courses to have opportunities of Open learning or get admission into University Outreach Centres and informal schools or enrol for external professional examinations, candidates in Architecture and Engineering related courses can not do so. It is not particularly possible for Architecture to be studied externally because of its peculiar nature.  If Architecture is therefore to be taught through distance learning, the above impediments of interaction, collaboration and tutelage have to be adequately addressed. This has never been easy to handle, however, with the modern applications of computing and the new horizon of multimedia projection, teleconferencing and videoconferencing through Internet in real time; the end to this problem seems appearing. When some or all of the above facilities are combined using computers, the necessary interactions and collaborations which are not possible with correspondence courses will be achievable and courses like architecture will be able to join others as distance learning.

OPPORTUNITIES IN MODERN DISTANT EDUCATION (E-LEARNING)

There are various opportunities open to modern distance education over the traditional classroom learning. As an example, E-learning can give students much greater control over their own learning experience while giving e-teachers opportunities to further meet the needs of individual students in a digital age- Wallhaus, (2000). A comparison of some aspects of conventional learning and e-learning are shown in Table 2 below:

Table 2:  A COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL LEARNING AND E-LEARNING

Conventional learning	E-learning
Students attend schools in their local areas  only  or attend a boarding school.	Students participate from various locations and may attend many schools at same times.
Classes are scheduled according to school hours	Students schedule their own times of accessing classes
Students are directed as to who are to work with.	Students can choose who to work with
Classes are synchronous, teachers and students interact in real time.	Classes may be synchronous or asynchronous
Learning objectives are set by the teacher and institution	Students may set their own objectives and explore their own learning needs and agendas.
Students follow a linear pattern influenced by the needs of other class members.	Students can follow a non-linear path at a pace that meets their individual needs.
Teachers work in one school	E-teachers can work in more than one schools.

Source: Adapted from Campbell(2001)

According to SAIDE (2004), Distance education can: Reach a wider student audience; for example, learners in remote locations who are unable or unwilling to physically attend a campus; provide continuing professional development for graduates, meet the demand for lifelong learning among the general adult population; involve outside experts who would otherwise be unavailable and improve access to education for women.

CHALLENGES FACING E- LEANING

While e-learning has a lot of opportunities and advantages over traditional methods of teaching and even the conventional distance learning methods, certain impediments can hamper the successful delivery of e-learning if not adequately planned for. These include:

1.       Lack of e-teachers: To teach through e-learning is basically different from any form of traditional method. E-teaching demands for e-teachers. To have been trained to teach does not imply that you can teach in e-learning. Just because teachers have teachers’ educational qualifications, does not necessarily prepare them to be e-teachers..... Campbell, (1997). The summary of it is that effective application of e-education can only take place in schools with: teachers who understand what it is to learn in an e-environment, teachers who are confident working in synchronous and asynchronous environments interacting with communities of students and peers they may never see; teachers who are able to locate and publish in a web-based environment- Healy (1999).

 2.   Lack of e-facilities: These comprises of computers, (soft and hardware), Internet, Broadband, Satellites links, Cabling, digital phones and any other information technology facilities for an intelligent community.  According to  Higgins (2002) “Underpinning the e-education strategies is the assumption that the infrastructural backbone of communications technologies such as cabling, satellite links and bandwidth is available to users”.  E-education strategic planners need to take into account these structural issues when designing flexibly delivered teaching packages. Since these facilities are very expensive, the major part of the foundation for e-learning should be laid by the governments.

3.   Lack of political will:  Since the government will be the last hope in the provision of e-learning facilities, making of friendly policies on e-learning, will be an essential factor on the success of e-learning. The lack of political-will to do the above is a sign that e-learning will result in failure. Whether e-learning will succeed in a city or country or not depends on the political-will of those in authority. In line with this is the digital level of those in authority. If the people in authority are still non-digital in their thinking or can not appreciate the goodies in such a venture, they may not have the political will to embark on such a gigantic, expensive project.

4.   Getting candidates ready as e-students:  Even when facilities are available but the students are not prepared for e-learning, the result will also be a failure. The computer awareness and the technical operability of the students in information technology is a crucial determinant of the success of e-learning. Computer application must definitely be a requirement for entering into e-learning and the students must have been prepared before the commencement of the course. As at now, this has not been so as a high percentage of the youths are not computer literate, hence, non-e-learning compliant.

5.   Digital Divides:  E-learning is an expensive education system. Without a conducive environment to reduce the cost of acquiring computer and other modern educational facilities, many would-be students will be left out. The economically disadvantaged, including those with unstable or inadequate incomes, or who rely on fixed incomes may not be able to afford e-learning if nothing is done to assist in this. E-education in the personalized western form requires ownership of expensive computing hardware and access to telecommunication systems.

6.   Energy problem:  Computers and information technology equipment run on energy. Without electricity, they will not work. This invariably means that the success of such a programme will be hampered with epileptic power supply as is the case in Nigeria. Poor energy supply will definitely frustrate both the e-teachers and e-students. Efforts should be made on making power supply more adequate and special emphasis should be directed at making this available to the rural areas as well. One way out of this is through renewable energy e.g. solar, wind, biogas etc.

POSSIBILITIES OF ARCHITECTURE AS DISTANCE LEARNING

Though the peculiarity of non-adaptability of Architecture and some other technical courses for distance learning remains a big problem, developments in Mass Communication, mainly the radio and television, have however had much impact on education, making distance learning possible; Telecommunication has produced the remote telephone and satellite systems which have turned the world into an open learning classroom. A combination of all these technologies has resulted in limitless opportunities for the educational system – Okebukola & Shabani(2004a). The hope is therefore rising on trying even Architecture as a distance learning. The most relevant techniques that are more appropriate for practical courses like Architecture include Teleconferencing, Video-conferencing and ITV all transmitted through telecommunications and enhanced by Multimedia system. With the above techniques in place, complex exercises can be simulated for easy practice and understanding. Simulation is a useful teaching strategy for illustrating a complex and changing situation -Okebukola & Shabani(2004b.

In practical works, the use of materials, equipment, and specimens are simulated and demonstrated through multimedia while assignments can be based on learners’ place of work to allow their applications.  For instance, while undergoing such a distance course, students of architecture can be attached to architectural firms where they are supervised, critiqued and guided by qualified Architects and on special occasions attend outreach centres of the school of Architecture to meet other e-students and outreach e-tutors. Apart from this, post-graduate courses in architecture as well as courses in the Architectural professional qualifications e.g. NIA PPE, can be conducted after a course of training as e-learning by the Nigerian Institute of Architects.

TOOLS FOR ACHIEVING ARCHITECTURE AS DISTANCE LEARNING

A.  COMPUTER AND DISTANCE EDUCATION:

Used in combination with any of the other technologies, computers provide limitless possibilities in information processing and information generation. When new information technologies are discussed, much attention is always focused on the computer because of its versatility. It is envisaged that most work in the very near future will be done through computers. This has made the computer technology an important subject for the educational system. Since most architectural practices can now be digitised, carrying out architectural assignments and projects will no more be a problem in distance education.

B.  THE INDISPENSABILITY OF THE INTERNET IN DISTANCE LEARNING.

Internet is a Computer-based global information system. The Internet has made it possible for people all over the world to effectively and inexpensively communicate with one another. Unlike traditional broadcasting media e.g. radio and television, Internet does not have a centralised distribution system. Instead, individuals who have Internet access can communicate directly with others on the Internet, make information available to others and find information from others with a minimum overhead cost. 

In a plain man’s language, the internet can be likened to be the virtual world brain or the world storehouse of knowledge. It is a, virtual library, virtual conference room, virtual market and virtual classroom.  Since internet can be assessed by anyone from anywhere so far the facility exists, it makes distance learning, even in architecture (which is not possible as correspondence course) possible.

In Olabisi Onabanjo University, Department of Architecture, information, instructions, lecture notes, assignments and projects are at times given as attachments to the students’ e-mail messages. A centrally maintained web page is also being opened which the students can log on to. And within the web page will be “E- Portfolio”, lectures, forum discussions that would include some of the following features. A gallery of good architectural portfolios. an on-line lectures, tests and self-assessments on how to carry out works,  interactions as well as on-line projects, supervision, critiquing and presentation.

            C.    MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM

Multimedia is the presentation of information using the combination of text, sound, pictures, animation, and video with the aid of a computer. Thoughtfully presented multimedia can enhance the scope of presentation in ways that are similar to the roving associations made by the human mind. Connectivity provided by hyperlinks transforms multimedia from static presentations with pictures and sound into an endlessly varying and informative interactive experience. Multimedia has had an enormous impact on education. Because of the visual appeal, students are motivated to learn more and therefore assimilate better.  Through multimedia presentations and programming, lectures can be made more interesting.  Architecture as a course has a lot of subjects that can be made appealing through such presentations.  For example, in Olabisi Onabanjo University we have experimented comparing using multimedia-simulated demonstrations or lectures and the traditional methods of teaching. We discovered that students are more motivated, learn, contribute and interact better using the multimedia system. Even seminars presented using multimedia  attract more attention and interests through numerous questions asked.

D.    TELECONFERENCING

Teleconferencing is a discussion through telephone and computer between two or more people in different locations who can hear or read texts but can not see one another. For example, a lecturer can teleconference his/her students who are in their hostels or homes on “Rendering techniques” to share with them the common mistakes s(he) found the students making during the usual lectures. GSM phone can be used for teleconferencing. However, this can be done with only three people, i.e. between the teacher and two students”.  Better teleconferencing through internet can connect more people than GSMs.

E.   VIDEOCONFERENCING

According to Michael (2002). Videoconferencing can be adopted as a computer based teaching technology in which moving (video) or television pictures can be transmitted synchronously in two directions through high speed digital lines so that the students from one side can see and hear their lecturer in another place and vise versa. Videoconferencing is the most real modern teaching technology that can be adopted for teaching architecture. With videoconference, perfect interaction in oral, visual, graphics and letters are possible as if you are physically present in class in ‘Real Time’. This makes it interesting, motivational and enjoyable for the students. Various learning styles can be adopted e.g. the use of video clips, animation, audio, and graphics. This is very good for architectural training because of its visual appeal.

F.    INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION (ITV)

Instructional television (ITV) is an effective distance education delivery system through television or video sets. ITV may be either passive or interactive. Passive ITV typically involves pre-produced programs which are distributed by video cassette or by video-based technologies such as broadcast, cable, or satellite. In contrast, interactive ITV provides opportunities for viewers’ interaction, either with a live instructor or a participating student site. For example, two-way television with two-way audio allows all students to view and interact with the teacher (Lochte, 1993). At the same time, cameras at remote sites allow the teacher to view all participating students. It is also possible to configure the system so that all students’ sites may view one another.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

This paper has looked into how the age old traditional methods of teaching and learning are fast becoming archaic and outmoded and how this has particularly affected the training of architects.  Conditions in our higher institutions are now becoming pathetic as more and more prospective students are turned back yearly and those admitted are congested in large classrooms benefiting little or nothing from their lectures. Data from the JAMB office shows that Nigerian higher institutions may no more cope with the number of intakes into them. And since the trend in the world education is to educate more persons within a short time so that nobody is denied qualitative education, e-education is the only answer left. But while it is possible for candidates in Management and Literary courses to have admission opportunities into Open learning, Universities’ Outreach Centres or enroll for external professional examinations, candidates in Architecture can not do so. The computer based educational technologies is seen to offer solutions to several of these perennial problems. In the above view, some of these computer/internet based technologies, the multimedia projection, teleconferencing, the videoconferencing, and the Instructional Television have been briefly discussed in this paper and recommended. However, in order to fully achieve success in teaching architecture as distance learning, the following recommendations at a three hierarchical levels are inevitable.

Departmental level: Departments should assist in producing e-teaching resources to the lecturers. Lecturers should be trained to improve their skill in computing and other new educational technologies. Computer application should be made a prerequisite for all the departmental courses. Special computer training in specific software areas should be organized for lecturers.

Institutional Level: All higher institutions should invest in IT, Internet, broadband, cabling and fiber optic facilities. Higher institutions can have outreach centres as cyber cafés where online students receive lectures. Computer literacy should be a condition for employing staff into higher institutions. Computerize every office, departments and every activity in the school. Make computer facilities available to all lecturers. Nigerian Institute of Architects should take a lead by re-training their members through e-learning. Advanced post graduate course can be introduced by the institute through e-learning.

National Level:   The government should provide all the impetus to make online studies easy for interested candidates. Government should fund and provide computer facilities in all secondary schools so that those in the remote parts of the country who are mostly affected can also enjoy such preparation from their school certificate level. Government should encourage proliferation of computer assembly in the country to make it cheap. Tariffs on educational facilities should be removed to make them affordable. Government should assist Universities to develop to their full capacity and potentials especially on e-learning. And finally, since energy is of paramount importance to run computers, remote schools that are outside the national power grids should be assisted with appropriate renewable energy e.g. solar, wind, tidal, biogas etc.

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