We recognize and harness the value of arts and culture as a resource in our approaches to design, urban transformation and social development.
MFS IIR – Water Cities Rotterdam (Waterstad Rotterdam) is an installation of floating pavilions in the ponds of the Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, The Netherlands – based on NLÉ / Water Cities floating building system called MFS. Makoko Floating System (MFS™) is a simple way to build on water by hand. It is a prefabricated, timber… Continue reading MFS IIR – Water Cities Rotterdam
Platform is a dynamic structure that can be transformed from a closed blackout box into an open event space through simple reconfiguration of its moveable walls, entirely by hand. Platform offers a wide degree of flexibility for a variety of formats of events – accommodating a small, intimate group of people with a single performer… Continue reading Platform – Roskilde Festival
The Mansa Floating Hub launched on August 14th 2021, by Africa Development Solutions (ADS), through its creative platform Social Nation. The inauguration has been an iconic few days climaxing with the Baía das Gatas Music Festival, Cape Verde’s biggest and oldest music and cultural festival. The Hub comprising of three floating vessels – a multipurpose… Continue reading Mansa Floating Hub Opening Event
Cosmopolis #1.5: Enlarged Intelligence, opening November 2 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in south-west China, presents artworks and programs by almost 60 artists and groups, exploring ecology, technology and the commons, and envisioning how we today may draw on intelligent technologies, as well as on ecological intelligence, to advance social values—rather than leaving capital to largely define the… Continue reading Cosmopolis #1.5
Fashion Cities Africa unfolds the dazzling diversity of the fashion scene in four major African cities: Casablanca (Morocco), Johannesburg (South Africa), Nairobi (Kenya) and Lagos (Nigeria). The concept aims to create an immersive backdrop composed of city- and fashion fabrics made with perforated timber panels and city blocks. A critical, contemporary and dynamic fusion of… Continue reading Fashion Cities Africa II
Situated on Miami Beach, the House of Worship is a syncretic place of worship for diverse cultures, spirituality and histories, to heighten consciousness and coexistence between humanity and our changing environment. The House of Worship is a concept proposal for a temporary pavilion for Art Basel 2019.
IPADÉ is a gathering for cultural innovation and sustainability with focus on Africa and the diaspora. In advance of the 2019 opening of The Shed, New York’s first multi-arts center for artistic invention, NLÉ hosted IPADÉ – a one day social gathering at the NLÉ designed temporary performance space, A Prelude to The Shed. IPADÉ… Continue reading IPADÉ
Fashion Cities Africa unfolds the dazzling diversity of the fashion scene in four major African cities: Casablanca (Morocco), Johannesburg (South Africa), Nairobi (Kenya) and Lagos (Nigeria). The concept inverts the traditional relationship of observer and the observed in a typical exhibition. The main visitor circulation on the raised catwalk gives visitors a unique perspective, while… Continue reading Fashion Cities Africa
CHICAGO, October 1, 2015 – The Chicago Architecture Biennial will officially open to the public this weekend on Saturday, October 3, 2015. The largest international survey of contemporary architecture in North America will run until January 3, 2016. The Chicago Architecture Biennial was envisioned by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and is an outgrowth of the comprehensive… Continue reading Chicago Architecture Biennial
‘ROCK & The Bean’ is work in progress – a moment in the state of the art of architecture – in the green heart of Chicago’s famous Millennium Park. The exhibition consists of salvaged historic raw limestone rocks that once protected the city’s shoreline, stacked in a ‘depository’ in the south side, now midway on… Continue reading ROCK & The Bean
This summer’s major exhibition at Louisiana focuses on architecture, art and culture on the African continent. By pinpointing a number of judiciously selected examples from a cultural here and now, the exhibition sheds light on the diversity and complexity of the part of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Through a number of projects spread… Continue reading Africa Exhibition
From March 2015, a major exhibition by the Vitra Design Museum sheds new light on contemporary African design. Showcasing the work of over 120 artists and designers, »Making Africa – A Continent of Contemporary Design« illustrates how design accompanies and fuels economic and political changes on the continent. Africa is presented as a hub of… Continue reading Vitra: Making Africa
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, is inhabited by over 170 million people. Lagos, its commercial capital, is home to about 20 million people, many of whom live in unplanned settlements with little formal infrastructure. Lagos is a paradigmatic mix of traditions, a place where history, culture, and popular wisdom interweave local knowledge… Continue reading MoMA: Uneven Growth
“Now in its seventh year, Designs of the Year gathers together a year of cutting-edge innovation and original talent; showcasing the very best in global Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphic, Product and Transport design. Featuring Kate Moss’s favourite app, a floating school in a Nigerian lagoon, friendly lamp posts, a mobile phone you can build… Continue reading Designs of the Year 2014
“Design Indaba Expo heralds the South African creative industry, presenting visitors with the best in homegrown design. The Expo is also a dynamic platform for designers and creative businesses to showcase their wares and market themselves to the general public and industry buyers. Since 2004 Design Indaba Expo has been held annually at the Cape… Continue reading Design Indaba Expo
On October 15th 2013, X Bienal de Arquitetura de São Paulo opened at SESC Pompéia featuring NLÉ’s African Water Cities Project.
Nearing the completion of Makoko Floating School, NLÉ and Makoko community marked this moment with a public preview and cultural celebration on March 2nd, 2013. The event was attended by Mrs. Ade Mamonyane Lekoetje, the Country Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), as well as representatives of Lagos State Government, UNHabitat, SCCU, LMDGP,… Continue reading Makoko Floating School: Completion Preview
Lagos Photo Festival is a contemporary photo exhibition in public spaces in Lagos, organized by the African Artists Foundation. In its the maiden edition in 2010, NLÉ as Creative Director and co-curator of the exhibition; developed the ‘Bamboo Photo Frame’ as a product concept for outdoor image exhibitions. The Bamboo Photo Frame merges high tech… Continue reading Lagos Photo