sintali-web-logo-black-1sintali-web-logo-black-1sintali-web-logo-black-1sintali-web-logo-black-1
  • About Sintali
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Our Services
    • Our Partners
    • Sustainability
  • EDGE Certification
      • EDGE
      • About EDGE
      • Our Approach
      • Zero Carbon Portfolio
      • Pricing
      • Technical Queries
      • Expedited Reviews
      • Get a Quote
      • EDGE Training
      • EDGE Experts Training
      • Book Training
      • Request Training
      • Resources
      • Case Studies
      • FAQs
      • List of Banks
  • Green Finance
  • Training program
    • EDGE Experts Training
    • Book Training
    • Request Training
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • News
    • Webinars
CONTACT US

Partner Feature: 3DesignFX Studios

Published by Sintali on March 18, 2021
Categories
  • Blog
Tags

Every month we introduce you to one of our partners around the world. Ready to learn about all the incredible work happening in the green building space? Let’s dive in!

We sat down with Lolu Akinbobola, Principal Consultant at 3DesignFX Studio, to learn more about the green building market in Nigeria.

Why are green buildings important in Nigeria?

Nigeria is uniquely positioned to derive significant value from green building construction. Nigeria faces large scale challenges when it comes to water access, energy generation, material sourcing, urbanization and climate change. Traditional building methods place further strain on our infrastructure and environment; They are costly to maintain/operate, while only fulfilling the demand for further development and housing. Green buildings reduce strain on infrastructure, improve communities and may improve water and energy access for surrounding community.

Many regions struggle with limited access to water infrastructure, with buildings relying instead on borehole or purchasing water wholesale by the tanker or barrel. Green buildings maximize the use of every liter of water in a building, minimizing wastage. By bringing concepts previously limited to agriculture, such as rainwater harvesting, green building experts and enthusiasts are reducing the strain and dependency on water infrastructure in our developing cities.

Electric power is another major challenge that impacts the built environment. With traditional construction, we are dependent on intermittent supply from the grid and fuel powered generators. Green buildings can utilise renewable energy sources, reduce the dependency on intermittent power sources and help improve the air quality by reducing generator usage. The building also maximizes available energy through improved building efficiency.

The Nigerian construction materials market is currently heavily reliant on imported goods. As a result, the cost to build is high and variable due to the volatility of foreign exchange. Imported materials also negatively impact the environment through embodied energy. Green buildings help generate an awareness of embodied energy by encouraging experts to choose materials with high performance while maintaining a low environmental footprint. Local sourcing also helps local businesses and industries to grow as the green construction industry develops.

With urbanization and climate change, the importance of green building in Nigeria will only increase.

How would you describe the growth of the green building industry in Africa? What is your perspective for the future?

The green building industry in Africa is growing. Right now, we are in the awareness stage. As developers, buyers, and tenants become more aware of the advantages of building green, the demand will only increase. I am particularly interested to see the growth of adjacent industries such as local green building suppliers on the continent. All these partners are essential to creating a thriving green building ecosystem. While this industry is developing, we are confident we will have more implementation and completed use cases in a few years. We also have the unique opportunity to learn from the case studies, mistakes and experiences from other parts of the world. 

What is the biggest challenge in deploying green buildings at scale?

Awareness is our biggest challenge. Many people do not have a robust understanding of what it means to build green. The general populace need to know that green building is more than just solar panels. Our industry professionals play a vital role in educating the populace and there needs to be more professional training on what is needed to design and build a green building. I think regulatory bodies may also play a vital role in this awareness. The more standards we have about sustainable design and construction, the better.

Particularly in Nigeria, the cost benefit analysis weighs heavily in favour of green construction. Once we have more awareness, we will see a rapid increase in the number of green buildings.

How will EDGE make a difference in the deployment of green buildings in the region? What value does it bring to local players in the market?

EDGE will help communities efficiently utilise limited resources in terms of energy, water and materials. EDGE will also encourage builders in the region to explore new sources of energy and water. By reducing maintenance and operating cost of buildings, EDGE creates a more profitable real estate industry which will only spur more development.

Why did you get involved with the EDGE green building program?

I always had an interest in sustainability and green building design. I found different ways to add green design concepts to various projects but the first time I was able to fully implement was with the EDGE program. I was privileged to work as the Project Architect of Cornerstone Tower also known as Tek Experts building. It was one of the first commercial buildings in Nigeria to obtain the EDGE Certification and I was able to work with amazing teams at EDGE, SGS and Thinkstep (now Sintali).      

What impact has EDGE certification had on your clients?

I worked on Cornerstone Tower on Victoria Island, Lagos. I also have some ongoing projects, a Mixed-Use building in Ikoyi and three commercial buildings in Abuja in the pipeline. The EDGE process has delivered cost savings for clients who plan to operate green buildings. Clients who sold green buildings were able to attract international buyers, largely because of the value added from the EDGE certification. For the surrounding community, EDGE improves water management and power availability by reducing overall strain on public infrastructure.

What services do you offer clients?

We provide Green Building Certification Services for EDGE and LEED, sustainability design consultancy, and architectural and interior design services in Nigeria. We pride ourselves in our attention to detail, focus on international standards and designing a building that not only performs aesthetically but also in terms of sustainability and efficiency.

“In emerging markets, the EDGE and Sintali-SGS partnership is playing a critical role in the rapid urbanisation of cities and accelerating the adoption of green building designs.“

Lolu Akinbobola, Principal Consultant, 3DesignFX Studio

To learn about 3DesignFX Studio, visit the website here or follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

Share
0
Sintali
Sintali
Sintali is an environmental certification body, which was founded to verify the impact of the built environment around the world. Sintali acts as a global certification partner for IFC’s EDGE green building program, transforming the built environment and creating a pathway to ensure that every building on this planet is green.

Related posts

January 31, 2023

Green Building: A portfolio approach


Read more
December 15, 2022

Sintali brings you a Year in Review


Read more
November 4, 2022

How to make infrastructure projects bankable in Africa


Read more


Recent News

  • ProCredit bank Kosovo – the first institution in Kosovo to achieve EDGE Advanced Certification for its Head Office Building
  • Green Building: A portfolio approach
  • Sintali Co-Founder named one of 2023’s most inspiring female entrepreneurs
  • Sintali brings you a Year in Review
  • Sintali partners with consulting company Zero Energy Building to accelerate the uptake of EDGE in Greece

Blog Archive

  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020

Categories

  • Blog
  • Events
  • Knowledge Hub
  • News
  • Uncategorized
CONTACT US

Sintali Limited
Cardinal Point Park Road
Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire
WD3 1RE, United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)204 5342514

sales@sintali.com
STAY CONNECTED

Follow us on social media and get updates in real time


JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Stay up to date with the latest from Sintali

© 2022 Sintali Limited
Website design by Create + Deploy
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

CookieDurationDescription
_gat_gtag_UA_176578450_11 minuteNo description
asp_transient_idsessionNo description

SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo