Just off the coast of the picturesque Mindelo bay in the island of São Vicente of Cape Verde, West Africa, construction has been progressing fast at the site of the Floating Music Hub, NLÉ's latest incarnation of the Amsterdam- and Lagos-based architecture studio's Makoko Floating System (MFS™). The project, which is set to complete this winter, is designed to host a variety of activities around music and performance, enhancing the region's cultural infrastructure and showcasing its rich creative output and heritage.
The elegant timber structure consists of three vessels of varying sizes, which will be anchored around a triangular floating public plaza, creating a little creative ‘village'. These distinct floating wings will host a multipurpose performance hall (in the MFS™ large), a professional recording studio (in MFS™ medium) and a service bar (in MFS™ small). They all feature the system's signature triangular shape and pitched roof.
The exciting scheme is championed by NLÉ principle and founder Kunlé Adeyemi and is a further development of his Makoko Floating System (MFS™), a prefabricated design engineered to higher performance specifications and quality for marine environments. The system was first launched to the public eye through the studio's prototype project, the Makoko Floating School in Nigeria in 2012, and is conceived ‘to generate sustainable, ecological, alternative building systems and urban water cultures for the teeming population of Africa’s coastal regions,' says the firm.
The concept has since been rigorously modified and perfected, with the Cape Verde's upcoming completion marking the system's first edition to be created in the Atlantic Ocean, a new territory for the team.
INFORMATION
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boatsPolish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
‘How we make our audience go wow’: Take That on tourBehind the scenes of the Take That tour set design. Wallpaper* speaks to the band and the architects about the flames, fountains, paper storms and twin ten-tonne kinetic staircases that we saw live at London's O2
-
Playfully transparent roof defines German Glass House escapeThe Glass House by Sigurd Larsen, set amid nature outside Berlin, is an unconventional country home with a distinctive transparent roof
-
The Learning Tree nursery nurtures through sustainable architectureThe Learning Tree, a Romford nursery by Delve Architects, uses natural materials and sustainable architecture principles to nurture young minds
-
Rawlins Design breathes new life into midcentury Fire Island HouseRawlins Design respectfully remodels a midcentury gem on New York’s Fire Island, a 1969 house originally designed by architect Harry Bates
-
Escape to the country with this contemporary Polish farmhouseBXB studio head Bogusław Barnaś and his team transform a Polish farmhouse into a 21st century rural home
-
Suburban house by SPPARC surprises and delights in LondonA suburban house in leafy south London takes domestic craft to another level, courtesy of London architecture studio SPPARC
-
Helsinki’s Pikku-Finlandia temporary event space is a student project come to lifePikku-Finlandia, a sustainable, temporary wood event space, has opened to the public in Helsinki – and it’s born of the ambitious thesis of two students, Jaakko Torvinen and Elli Wendelin, featured in Wallpaper’s 2022 Graduate Directory
-
Minimalist sauna design is idyllic Stockholm Archipelago lookout pointA minimalist Swedish sauna by Matteo Foresti offers perspiration with perspective
