By Emelia B. Addae
Koforidua, Oct. 8, GNA – The Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) and the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) have organised a town hall meeting to raise public awareness about the important role of architects in the building industry.
The event, on the theme: “Architects and the Community,” attracted diverse audiences, including work engineers, physical planners, municipal and district assemblies, civil society organisations, media and traditional leaders, who engaged in elaborate discussions on the crucial role of architects in shaping and serving local communities.
The meeting was part of the 60th anniversary celebration of the Institute with the purpose of raising public awareness about the important role architects play in Ghana’s building industry.
Mr Seth Kwame Acheampong, the Eastern Regional Minister, said there was a huge infrastructural deficit in Ghana’s development landscape, which called for the active participation of architects in the built environment.
He said due to the geographical setting of the Eastern Region, most urban assemblies were rapidly growing with various structures and parks, which, when well-planned with input from all relevant stakeholders, including architects, could make the area an attractive site to behold through the lens of geospatial cameras.
Mr Acheampong applauded the GIA for organising the town hall meeting as part of their anniversary celebrations and for taking steps to ensure the country’s infrastructure development did not lose its value and beauty.
Mr Foster Osae-Akonnor, the President of GIA, described architecture as the modulation of space for human habitation, and that an architect’s duty in the built environment was to design or modulate space for human habitation, “whether it is to live, work, or recreate.”
He said the institute was in contact with the local government ministry to guarantee that at least one competent architect recognised by the GIA was engaged at every district assembly throughout the nation.
Currently, in Ghana, both the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi and the Central University in Accra offer architecture programmes.
The Ghana Institute of Architects is a legal entity established under the Professional Bodies Registration Act of 1973 (NRCD 143).
The practice of architecture in Ghana is governed by the Architects Act of 1969 (NLCD 357), with the Architects Registration Council of Ghana (ARC), an entity of the Ministry of Works and Housing, serving as the regulator.
GNA