Architects to Tag Projects with Registration Numbers

Bennett Oghifo

The Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has set up the ARCON Projects Registration Number (APRN) system which is a mandatory registration number to be issued to all Architects practicing in Nigeria, for each of their projects.

A statement issued yesterday by ARCON’s President, Dipo Ajayi said the special tags were “to certify that these projects are designed, handled and executed by Nigerian citizens fully registered to practice in Nigeria,” adding that it was designed to check incidences of building collapse. ARCON, a federal government agency established by The Architects (Registration, Etc.) Act, Chapter A19 The Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, (formerly known as Decree No 10 of 1969 as amended), observed that the current incidences of building collapse in Abuja and others in the past, “clearly shows that developers and various institutions, hire unregistered persons posing as architects/consultants (quacks) and foreigners to carry out projects in Nigeria, thereby subjecting the unsuspecting public to great risk, that ultimately results in loss of life and property.”

He said, “while the APRN is intended to combat the scourge of building failure and collapse through the elimination of quackery, it is also to ensure that only fully registered and financially current architects/architectural firms prepare, produce and submit designs for planning/implementation approval and receive such approvals when they are given.
“Architects and architectural firms who are registered with the Council are to submit architectural building plans for approval/implementation and are responsible for the supervision of their designs.

This measure is to complement the old practice of submitting building with a copy of the architect’s current practice licence, the affixing of ARCON stamps, signed by the architect and sealed (with the architect’s ARCON seal) on each sheet of the drawings submitted for approval, a letter from the client stating that the architect shall be responsible for the supervision of their architectural design during the construction period, the placement of the ARCON Project Registration number (APRN) on each sheet of the drawings submitted for approval and the placement of the APRN number, together with the architect’s (or architectural firm’s) name/registration-number, on the project sign board upon commencement of construction.”

The Council, he said is also planning to have an enforcement and compliance unit which is to ensure that only registered architects handle architectural projects in the country in consonance with the extant laws.