New | In Nigeria’s slum on stilts, a floating school offers new hope

It's been dubbed the "Venice of Africa" but comparisons between the sprawling Lagos community of Makoko and the historic Italian city begin and end at the water's edge.

Makoko's makeshift huts rise from the murky waters of the lagoon around Nigeria's biggest city, a far cry from the ornate bridges and buildings that mark out Venice's cultural and commercial past.

The arts transformed Venice and sealed its reputation as one of the most important centres of the European Renaissance. Now it is hoped that education, with the help of innovative architecture, can help create a better future for the children of Makoko.

The prospect comes in the shape of a floating school, built entirely by locals and launched last year, whose triangular frame rises from the water like a half-built house submerged in a flood.

The project, backed by the UN Development Fund, the Nigerian government and the Heinrich Boell Foundation, is the brainchild of local architect Kunle Adeyemi.

His design was inspired by life in the so-called "slum on stilts" and he said that improving the neglected area required a new approach more in tune with local customs and the environment.