Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi has been awarded the Silver Lion for bringing his floating school to the Venice Biennale, as part of his ongoing research into building for flood-prone regions (+ slideshow).
Adeyemi and his studio NLÉ developed an "improved, prefabricated and industrialised iteration" of the Makoko Floating School in Lagos, Nigeria, adapting its engineering to suit the Venetian climate conditions.
Photograph by Jessica Mairs/Dezeen
The Amsterdam- and Lagos-based studio originally created Makoko Floating School as a building prototype for coastal regions of Africa that have little permanent infrastructure because of unpredictable flooding.
Like the original, MFS II is a pointed three-storey floating structure. It spans 220 square metres, over three floors that decrease in scale towards the building's apex.
"Just as our first prototype sourced local intelligence from the Makoko waterfront community, MFS II is an improved iteration designed to suit Venetian conditions and a wider waterfront population," said the studio.
But only two months after the inauguration at the Venice Biennale, the school-based prototype was destroyed by bad weather.
The Makoko Floating School in the Yaba area of Lagos State, collapsed following a heavy rainstorm, PUNCH reports.
The three-storey building which was designed by Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi, in collaboration with the Makoko Waterfront Community and completed in March 2013, had received global recognition, including the Design Museum’s Design of the Year Award.
A statement from NLÉ, Adeyemi’s architecture, design, and urban practice firm read:
After 3 years of intensive use, and exceptional service to the community, the first prototype structure Makoko Floating School has come down on June 7th, 2016. Following its decommission since March, the structure has been out of use in anticipation of reconstruction. We confirm that there were no casualties and the students had been relocated to the main school building since its decommission and pending reconstruction.
NLÉ, Makoko waterfront community and potential stakeholders were already considering the upgrading of the structure with a copy of MFS II – a new, improved iteration, which was recently launched at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The project was awarded the Silver Lion prize for “a powerful demonstration, be it in Lagos or in Venice, that architecture, at once iconic and pragmatic, can amplify the importance of education.”
NLÉ principal Kunlé Adeyemi said: “NLÉ and Makoko community greatly appreciate the concern and support received from so many people following the news alarm about Makoko Floating School. We are glad there were no casualties in what seemed like an abrupt collapse. The prototype had served its purpose in time and we look forward to the reconstruction of the improved version amongst other greater developments of the community.
See photos below:
The school before the collapse:
Published by: Luigi de Marchi
Date: 29-04-2019