Abstract:
Human safety entails relative freedom from danger, the threat of harm or injury caused deliberately or by
accident. Consideration for safety encompasses every aspect of well-being from the beginning of an activity to
its end. The aspect of human safety in buildings covers consideration for planning, design and construction
from the preconstruction stages to the actual construction and throughout the life span of the building. This
study examines passive design variables that are necessary to ensure effective human safety in commercial
centres using Abuja as a case study. The research method used for this study is a descriptive survey method that elicits both qualitative and quantitative data. Eight shopping centres were randomly selected study area based on the nature of the design as majority of the shopping centre were of similar concept. The employed the use of observation checklist to evaluate the building in shopping centres. The study showed that all of the
commercial centres used stairwell as a means of vertical circulation but did not go beyond textbook standard
for safety regarding the height of the railings, and that 37% of the commercials went below the required
standard of 900mm. This stems from the fact that considerations for passive safety were not properly
implemented at the design stage of the commercial centres. In cases where these considerations were
available, poor maintenance and upgrade practises had made the buildings unsafe. Enacting laws to ensure the compliance to necessary safety guidelines in buildings and periodical checks of the building by relevant bodies to ascertain the building safety level is recommended to enhance effective human safety in commercial
centres
