How Lagos building code will support green homes

In a bid to supply the missing link in the existing regulatory framework in Lagos, the state government has announced that the new building code it is developing, will support green homes.

The code, which is expected to be launched in the next six months, will focus on improving the environment through green homes. A green building is designed to be environmentally sustainable.

Green homes focus on the efficient use of “energy, water, and building materials”. It makes use of building materials that are sustainably sourced, and environmentally friendly.

Abiola Kosegbe, permanent secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, at a media parley on the Lagos Building Code on Wednesday, at the Legend hotel, international airport, said the government is working on building an energy efficiency code.

“We are working on this with the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) to put in the building code.

“We have workshops, training, and awareness programmes,” Kosegbe claimed. “Parts of what we intend to do is incorporate the building energy efficiency code into the Lagos building code,” she said.

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Kosegbe said that when the code is developed, a missing feature of the national building code which is a code for energy efficiency will be incorporated into the Lagos building code.

Idris Okanla Salako, the commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, said the administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is embracing technology to aid the effective and timely monitoring of the built environment through the use of change detection technology.

“The Lagos building code, which will be the logical consequence of the domestication of the National Codes, is intended to supply the missing link in the existing regulatory framework by providing the much-needed focus on performance standards for building in the State as opposed to design standards.

“As a performance-based building code, the Lagos Building Code covers aspects such as structural stability, durability, protection from fire, access, moisture control, energy control, and services and facilities,” he reiterated.

Also, the commissioner claimed that the building code when operational will afford Lagos the opportunity to address the peculiarities of the State and its different localities with building performance standards while minimising costs of untold disasters from flooding, collapse, and fire outbreaks for instance.

Lagos state officials said its building code is a process that requires a series of consultations with professionals, developers, and other stakeholders.

They said that this is the first phase of the process and claimed that all activities will be fully automated.