© AKTC / NLE
Designed by NLE Architects in 2013 this small-scale floating project in Nigeria is an alternative building system that provides space for education and cultural programmes in Africa’s coastal regions.
Makoko Floating School technical information
- Architects : NLE Architects | Works of NLE Architects
- Location : Lagos, Nigeria
- Team: Kunlé Adeyemi, Farooq Adenugba, Lisa Anderson, Thijs Bouman, Leslie Ebony, Marije Nederveen, Segun Omodele, Adekunle Olusola, Chryso Onisiforou, Martin Oreoluwa, Berend Strijland & Monica Velasco
- Size: 220 m2
- Client: Makoko / Iwaya Waterfront Community
- Project Completed in : 2013
- Source : Aga Khan Award for Architecture
- Photographs : © AKTC / NLE / Dev Tv
As a pilot project, it has taken an innovative approach to address the community’s social and physical needs in view of the impact of climate change and a rapidly urbanizing African context.
Its main aim is to generate a sustainable, ecological, alternative building system and urban water culture for the teeming population of Africa’s coastal regions.
– NLE Architects
Project Photographs
© AKTC / NLE
© AKTC / NLE
© AKTC / Dev Tv
© AKTC / Dev Tv
© AKTC / Dev Tv
© AKTC / Dev Tv
Makoko Floating School Article by the Architects
Some 80,000 people reside in Makoko, in a stilt settlement south of Lagos, built over water, served by only one English-speaking primary school on reclaimed land susceptible to flooding.
The Floating School is a prototype structure whose main aim is to generate an alternative building system and urban culture for the populations of Africa’s coastal regions. The triangular A-frame or pyramid (10m high with a 10m x 10m base), built from locally sourced wood and bamboo and buoyed by recycled plastic barrels, is an ideal shape for tall floating objects on water.
The structure has three levels: an open play area and community space; an enclosed space for two classrooms for 60 pupils, connected by stairs to the play area; and a semi-enclosed workshop space on a third level. It is scalable and adaptable for other uses, such as housing, health clinic, market, an entertainment centre or an infrastructure hub.
The prototype’s versatile structure is a safe and economical floating triangular frame that allows flexibility for customisation and completion based on specific needs and capacities.
Makoko Floating School Plans
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