Nigerian-born Kunlé Adeyemi, leader of Dutch practice NLÉ and member of the LafargeHolcim Awards jury has won the Silver Lion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition. He was presented with the prize for promising young architects for his Makoko Floating School, which sets out to solve the issues of flooding and overcrowding in Nigeria’s waterside slums. Although there are no roads or infrastructure, the Makoko slum is home to almost 100,000 people who are completely adapted to an unconventional life on the water.

Chicoco Radio is a floating media platform that will be built with and for the residents of the waterfront slum communities of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. The structure is conceived as a linear public space connecting land and water. The design is part of the African Water Cities project, which investigates the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of rapid urbanization and climate change in African coastal cities.

A participatory venture using locally produced materials, Chicoco Radio will be the community’s voice and will include recording studios, a computer center, meeting rooms, cinema, and an amphitheater.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)

Architect Kunlé Adeyemi of NLÉ Works sets out to solve the issues of flooding and overcrowding in Nigeria's waterside slums. The video Rebel Architecture: Working on Water introduces his pioneering work in Nigeria with floating structures to address issues of flooding and land occupation. The documentary examines the situation of residents in the Makoko slum in the capital Lagos, and a floating radio station for a community NGO in the Chicoco slum in Port Harcourt.

Main author of the “Chicoco Radio: Community building designed for urban flooding” project in Port Harcourt, Nigeria will present his recent work including the Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize-winning project at the Vitra Design Museum, Germany on April 2, 2015. The presentation is part of a series of talks with African artists, designers, and film makers as part of the “Making Africa – A Continent of Contemporary Design” exhibition. 

Kunlé Adeyemi of NLÉ Works sees “Chicoco Radio: Community building designed for urban flooding” as empowering the community to have a voice, and solving the issues of today without compromising the challenges of tomorrow. The project won a Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize for strengthening local communities for the residents of the waterfront slums of Port Harcourt in Nigeria.

Watch video

The twelve winning projects of the Holcim Awards 2014 Africa Middle East focus mainly on enhancing social and environmental resilience, as well as the economy of construction. The winning submissions show how multi-disciplinary responses to the challenges facing design and building are being developed. A green building in Turkey, an urban forest rehabilitation in Lebanon, and a low-cost housing plan in Ethiopia received the top prizes.