A prototype floating school in Lagos has been nominated for the Designs of the Year prize 2014.
The Floating School in Makoko, a poverty-stricken coastal community in Lagos, Nigeria, is the pilot project
in a planned water-top development that could transform the deprived area.
Completed in about five months, the solar-powered building has three storeys – a recreation area, an enclosed classroom and a top-floor open-air classroom – and can hold about 100 students.
Made from locally reclaimed wood, it is supported by 256 re-used empty plastic drums that allow it to withstand storms and adapt to rising sea levels. Designed by NLÉ architects, a young Nigerian/Dutch practice founded by Kunlé Adeyemi (who previously worked at OMA) and sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and think tank the Heinrich Böll Foundation, a floating community of housing and civic buildings is due to complete by the end of this year.
The 76 nominated projects for the 2014 Designs of the Year will be exhibited at The Design Museum from 26 March – 25 August.
