Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Al Jazirah Al Hamra Heritage Village
Complejo Cultural Fábrica Imbabura
Guptill's Arena
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Stock up on picnic supplies with a side of history.
Horton Bay General Store
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Nigeria Lagos Makoko Floating School
Makoko Floating School is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Makoko Floating School

The innovative Nigerian floating school that may just be a glimpse into the future of design in a world of troubling climate changes.

Lagos, Nigeria

Added By
Rachel James
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The floating school under construction.   www.nleworks.com
Makoko Floating School   www.nleworks.com
The base of the floating school consists of recycled barrels.   www.nleworks.com
The school from above   www.nleworks.com
The school from above   www.nleworks.com
Under construction   www.nleworks.com
A computer rendering   www.nleworks.com
A computer rendering   www.nleworks.com
Framework shows the water-friendly, low center of gravity design.   www.nleworks.com
A rendering of the final product.   www.nleworks.com
The school from above   www.nleworks.com
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Every school day, close to 100 Nigerian children from the coastal city of Lagos head off in boats to a most unusual schoolhouse on the water.

The 3-storey, A-frame structure bobs on the waves of the lagoon that lines the waterfront slum of Makoko. A severely overcrowded water community that already hosts a stilted fishing village with a population in the tens of thousands, Makoko was an ideal location to test out this eco-friendly architectural model.

Designed by NLE Architects, the  Makoko Floating School is part of a "pilot project" that will unfold in a total of three phases, the school's completion in 2014 marking the completion of phase one. The project is an attempt to tackle both Makoko's specific needs and the urgency to provide sustainable living solutions as climate change continues to directly affect coastal communities at large. The goal? To create alternative, green building systems that can support rapid urbanization and adapt to climate-induced issues that could affect infrastructure. 

Already nominated for the Designs of the Year 2014 by the Design Museum in London, Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi's floating school seems like a very promising option. The A-frame structure sits atop 256 recycled plastic barrels, and is made mostly of wood and local materials. Its triangular shape allows for several levels, its low center of gravity providing stability even in high winds.

The classroom is located on the 2nd tier, the roof providing an open air environment, and uses PV cells on the roof and a rainwater system to boost sustainability. The lower level is used as a playground while school is in session, and when school gets out for the day, it becomes a community space for village residents to fish and relax in the cool shade the naturally ventilated structure provides.Ideally, if "phase one' shows itself to be a viable living option, communities like those in Lagos that are plagued by increasingly devastating floods and increased rainfall shouldl be able to retreat to the waters. The final stages of the project involve creating other community serving buildings and lashing them together-one beautiful, eco-friendly floating city on the ever-expanding waters of the Makoko lagoon.

 Update: The Makoko Floating School collapsed in 2016.

Related Tags

Architectural Oddities Water Lost Wonders Architecture

Community Contributors

Added By

Rachel

Edited By

lampbane

  • lampbane

Published

May 12, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.nleworks.com/case/makoko-floating-school/
  • http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140210-the-floating-school-of-makoko
Makoko Floating School
Ibrahim Babangida Bridge
Lagos
Nigeria
6.471836, 3.317239
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Makoko

Lagos, Nigeria

miles away

Nike Centre for Art and Culture

Lekki, Nigeria

miles away

Lekki Conservation Center

Lekki, Nigeria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lagos

Lagos

Nigeria

Places 2
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Makoko

Lagos, Nigeria

miles away

Nike Centre for Art and Culture

Lekki, Nigeria

miles away

Lekki Conservation Center

Lekki, Nigeria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lagos

Lagos

Nigeria

Places 2
Stories 3

Related Stories and Lists

This Floating Schoolhouse Just Collapsed After a Heavy Storm

schools

By Eric Grundhauser

Related Places

  • Stilt House No. 6 is known for its large American flag mural.

    New Port Richey, Florida

    Pasco County Stilt Houses

    These simple structures are living monuments to the fishermen who built this community over a century ago.

  • Anclote Key, Florida

    Anclote Key Lighthouse

    Though it may look like it’s missing its outer shell, this skeletal cast-iron tower was built to withstand wind and waves.

  • Cycling Through Water.

    Genk, Belgium

    Cycling Through Water

    This bike path was sunk below water level for maximum wonder.

  • Liebian International Building.

    Guiyang, China

    Liebian International Building

    On special occasions, one of the world's tallest artificial waterfalls gushes down the side of this Chinese skyscraper.

  • The pools at Leça da Palmeira.

    Leça da Palmeira, Portugal

    Tidal Pools of Leça da Palmeira

    An early work of the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, these swimming pools blend into the beach.

  • Bridge to Nowhere.

    Dunbar, Scotland

    Belhaven Bridge

    At high tide this strange footbridge appears to have no purpose whatsoever.

  • The columns looking out over the Venetian Lagoon.

    Venice, Italy

    St. Mark's Lost Third Column

    Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.

  • Felsenkirche, the “crag church.”

    Idar-Oberstein, Germany

    Felsenkirche (Crag Church)

    A tiny chapel clings to a precipice above Germany’s gemstone capital.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.