Managing for Excellence in the Architectural Profession in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges

This paper provides an insight into the issues and challenges pertaining to the pursuit of excellence in the architectural profession taking cognizance of the millennium perspectives and trends. These issues are managing for excellence and its associated factors; while the challenges include the arenas of managing for excellence, the ethical dimensions of excellence and projections for the survival of the architectural profession. It commences with managing for excellence in the architectural profession in terms of the public perception and change, in respect of the role of the architect. In this regard, it elaborates on the key players or stakeholders and their role in the pursuit of architectural excellence; in this connection, the emphasis is on the enhancement of productive capacity through the application of best practices as part of the architect’s professional portfolio. The paper then progresses to the arenas for managing for excellence in architecture, namely, in the public service and the private sector of architectural practice. It further elucidates the role of the architect as the head of the building team. This paper proceeds to an examination of the ethical dimensions of excellence and the associated issues of due process of architectural practice in a democratic dispensation. This paper then reaches the conclusion of the need for projections for the survival of the career of the architect, in Nigeria, beyond the threshold of the new millennium. From this perspective, it proposes the need for constant evaluation of the current curriculum of the architect’s training and future capacity building approaches for architects.