An innovative architect Kunle Adeyemi is currently nearing the end of his floating school project in the African slum called Makoko in Lagos, Nigeria.
The infrastructure in the water-logged slum was intended to be demolished by authority figures. However, Kunle Adeyemi had a countering view. He wanted to keep building and expanding the slum's infrastructure. The architect calls his project a "seed to cultivate a new type of urbanism on water in African cities." The project dwells on a larger scale problem which is of the imbalance between African cities rapid urbanization and highly inert housing movement.
Once in use, the three story high floating school will be able to accommodate 100 students aged between four and twelve years old.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Floating Infrastructure
- Developing floating infrastructures in water-logged areas provides new opportunities for expanding urbanism in African cities.
- Educational Innovation
- The development of floating schools can expand access to education for children living in water-logged areas with limited access to traditional schools.
- Sustainable Innovations
- Building sustainable infrastructures on water can create opportunities for addressing the challenge of rapid urbanization in African cities.
Where This Applies
- Architectural Design
- Architects can explore innovative ways of designing sustainable and infrastructure to address health and social challenges of African societies.
- Education
- Education sector actors can explore and invest in innovative solutions like floating schools to address limited access to quality education in water-logged areas in African cities.
- Construction and Engineering
- The expansion of innovative solutions such as sustainable and floating infrastructures can create new business opportunities for firms operating in construction and engineering industries in African cities.
