Mansa Floating Hub whose construction begun last year in Porto Grande Bay (also known as Mindelo Bay), north coast of the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde, has finally opened its door for people to attend musical festivities, book for private events, or just go to experience its scenery, views, and hospitality offering.
Designed by Amsterdam-Lagos firm NLÉ with Kunlé Adeyemi-(the mind behind the Makoko Floating School in Lagos, Nigeria) as the lead architect, the project has been one of the West African region’s most highly anticipated cultural projects.
Noteworthy, it scooped the top spot in the Best Music Venue category in the 2021 Wallpaper Design Awards.
An overview of the Mansa Floating Hub
The Mansa Floating Hub measures 779 square meters (roughly 8,400 square feet). It consists of a total of three anchored A-frame buildings that bob gently in the waves. The buildings are joined to a triangular plaza that’s used as an outdoor space for events. Access to the hub comes from a wooden gangway connected to the shore.
Also Read: Construction of a floating music hub gets underway in Cape Verde
The buildings host a multipurpose performance hall that can serve as a music and dance venue, art exhibition space, audiovisual screening room and more, a professional recording studio, and a bar serving food and beverages.
Mansa Floating Hub has the capacity to hold about 300 people
The making of the hub
Developed by Africa Development Solutions (ADS) Group, with the help of Aecom, Aister, and others, the project is mostly made from wood with colorful glazing that helps to enliven the buildings.
Structurally, it is based on a prefabricated system developed by NLÉ. The system employs local materials like timber and inexpensive plastic drums to use as floats. So far, it has been used to create several floating schools and other prototype structures.
