Evaluating Building Sustainability Literacy Level in Nigerian Architectural Education

Abstract

Sustainability has become a qualifying factor of every human endeavour and architectural educators could simply not care less in ensuring a holistic education cleverly hinged on the tenets of both conscientious and discretionary use of the ever-depleting natural resources much of which is morally right to be left for yet many future generations.

Also, since a good proportion of architecture graduates from Nigerian tertiary institutions end up as teachers in architecture departments, it becomes important to understand the level of their knowledge of the concept of building sustainability while in school as understanding how much they know could be helpful in properly positioning them to be better architectural educators.

This research hence focuses on six selected departments of architecture and architectural technologies in southwest Nigeria and the aim is to establish whether the concept of sustainability is well taught and understood both by architectural educators and students. Open and close-ended questionnaires were distributed to students (young architecture graduates) and the results are analyzed using statistical tools. Consequently, findings derived from this survey are hoped to help inform a set of recommendations aimed at enhancing improved knowledge acquisition by these teaming future professionals thus ensuring a holistic and balanced training and education necessary for proper entrenchment of the much needed sustainability consciousness and awareness in Nigeria.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.21.4.18620