via NAIJ.com

As reported by Nigerian news website NAIJ.com, the celebrated Makoko Floating School, designed by Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi of NLÉ, collapsed after heavy rain battered the city of Lagos last Thursday. Photographs show the roof of the school still largely in tact, but sitting directly on top of the building’s floating base of 256 plastic drums, as the lower levels and supporting structure appear to have failed completely.

Details of the event are still largely unclear. It’s unknown how exactly the rain caused the collapse, and also unclear whether any people were harmed by the collapse of the structure, which was designed to accommodate 100 pupils and their teachers in a poor neighborhood which is partly built on stilts above Lagos Lagoon.

In any case, the building’s collapse will deal a blow to NLÉ and the entire profession of architecture. Just over a week ago, NLÉ received the Silver Lion at the 2016 Venice Biennale for their exhibition based on the original Makoko Floating School structure. The jury called the design “a powerful demonstration, be it in Lagos or in Venice, that architecture, at once iconic and pragmatic, can amplify the importance of education.”

ArchDaily will update this story once more information becomes available.

News via NAIJ.com

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