A STUDY ON SMART BUILDING PRACTICE ADOPTION BY ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, AND CONSTRUCTION EXPERTS IN ABUJA

Abstract

This paper evaluated Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) professionals’ adoption of Smart Building practices (SBP) in Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nigeria. Three research questions and descriptive survey design were used for the study. The population of 628 Construction professionals consisted of 98 Architects, 117 Civil Engineers and 103 Electrical Engineers duly registered with the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). Purposive sampling technique was used to select 154 Construction professionals consisted of 49 Architects, 54 Civil Engineers and 51 Electrical Engineers. The sample size selection was made using the Yamane formula for calculating sample size. A 30-item questionnaire based on a 5-point rating scale for data collection. Face validation of the instrument was carried out by three professionals who were not part of the study, while the reliability of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha statistics which yielded overall reliability index of .80 comprising of .81, .83 and 77 for Section B, C and D respectively indicating that the instrument was reliable. The research questions were analyzed using Mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study indicated that AEC professionals lowly adopt Smart Building Practices in the study area. The study findings also showed that high cost of smart building materials, inadequate power supply, poor knowledge of smart building technology and inadequate finance schemes are the barriers to the adoption of smart building practices in Abuja, Nigeria. Based on the research findings, it is recommended that AEC regulatory bodies and stakeholders in Nigerian construction industry should establish specialized and certification programmes, provide adequate electricity and high-speed internet service and foster collaborations between government agencies to enhance the adoption of Smart Building Practices in the study area.