ASSESSMENT OF BUILDING FAILURES IN NIGERIA: LAGOS AND IBADAN CASE STUDY

The research focused on the causes and possible solutions to common buildings failures in Nigeria. Two major cities, Ibadan and Lagos were taken as case study. Questionnaires were administered to few selected architects, town planners, civil engineers and clients in the case study areas and also field trips were made to selected areas to ascertain common failures of buildings. Secondary data were obtained from the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB) and few media houses. The research outcome revealed that all parties in the building industry: Clients, Architects, Design Engineers, Local Authority (Town planners) and Contractors are contributing immensely to building failures in various dimensions. Also, the nation is loosing both human and material resources each time a building fails. Common failures seen on buildings were wall cracking, wall spalling, foundation settlement, column buckling, etc. Proper assurance of competent professionals and strict enforcement of ethical standards by the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Nigerian Institute of Building, and the Nigerian Institute of Architects would reduce the problems identified to the minimum. African Journal of Science and Technology Vol.5(1) 2004: 73-7

Ecological mitigation of hillslope instability: ten key issues facing researchers and practitioners

Background Plants alter their environment in a number of ways. With correct management, plant communities can positively impact soil degradation processes such as surface erosion and shallow landslides. However, there are major gaps in our understanding of physical and ecological processes on hillslopes, and the application of research to restoration and engineering projects. Scope To identify the key issues of concern to researchers and practitioners involved in designing and implementing projects to mitigate hillslope instability, we organized a discussion during the Third International Conference on Soil Bio- and Eco-Engineering: The Use of Vegetation to Improve Slope Stability, Vancouver, Canada, July 2012. The facilitators asked delegates to answer three questions: (i) what do practitioners need from science? (ii) what are some of the key knowledge gaps? (iii) what ideas do you have for future collaborative research projects between practitioners and researchers? From this discussion, ten key issues were identified, considered as the kernel of future studies concerning the impact of vegetation on slope stability and erosion processes. Each issue is described and a discussion at the end of this paper addresses how we can augment the use of ecological engineering techniques for mitigating slope instability. Conclusions We show that through fundamental and applied research in related fields (e.g., soil formation and biogeochemistry, hydrology and microbial ecology), reliable data can be obtained for use by practitioners seeking adapted solutions for a given site. Through fieldwork, accessible databases, modelling and collaborative projects, awareness and acceptance of the use of plant material in slope restoration projects should increase significantly, particularly in the civil and geotechnical communities. (Résumé d'auteur