KARACHI, Sept 30: Institute of Architects in Pakistan (IAP) President Syed Akeel Bilgrami has said that a great number of newly constructed government buildings, particularly schools and hospitals do not meet the required minimal standards of quality and design.

“Unless the rules of selection and commissioning of an architect is revised and the architect is treated as a professional and selected for his competence rather than the fee, the government will continue to bear the PWD (Pakistan Works Department) stamp,” Mr Bilgrami remarked sarcastically.

“The money that is poorly spent, squandered away or wasted on these government buildings has been contributed by us all -— the taxpayers,” the IAP leader informed the audience.

The occasion was the inauguration of a three-day IAP Exhibition 2005 (IAPEX 2005) by Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqi on Friday at the Expo Centre.

The home minister on the occasion promised further improvement in the law and order situation in the coming days to create a congenial environment for business.

Mr Siddiqi said that his government was alive to the situation and understood the public sentiment and had worked overtime to establish peace and order in the city and was still striving in the same direction.

Akeel Bilgrami in his welcome remarks outlined the objectives of the architects’ body that were to organize the profession of architecture, enforce a code of ethics and discipline among practicing architects and establish contacts with national and international professional bodies.

He disclosed that the Sindh government had commissioned the IAP to organize a design competition for the new Sindh Secretariat Complex.

The theme of the IAPEX 2005 is “Regional Identities in a Global Environment”. More than 100 stalls have been set up at the fair and there are 13 international delegates attending the conference from Turkey, Jordan, the United States, Thailand and other countries.

A distinct feature of IAPEX 2005 is the participation of eight distinguished architects as “featured speakers” and eight others selected internationally from several architects.

The IAP awards for excellence will be given at the farewell banquet on Sunday evening.

Main speakers on Friday included internationally renowned architect Dr Rasem Baden who is the recipient of the Aga Khan Award for architecture of Great Mosque in Riyadh and redevelopment of the old city centre. Kevin Mitchell, an American architect, and two well known Pakistani architects, Yawar Jilani and Mahboob Khan, also spoke on Friday.

On Saturday, Cathleen Bachman from New York will present her paper, while Derek Bradford is the featured speaker in the morning session. In the post-lunch session, Suha Ozkan and Han Tumertekin are featured speakers, while Juan Antonio Zapatel will present his paper.