Located in the southern part of Benin-Republic, near the port city of Cotonou, is Ganvie; the largest floating village in Africa. It is situated in the middle of Lake Nokoué and is characterized by colorful wooden stilt houses arranged around artificial islands dating back to the 17th century.
This unique architecture was born from the history of the Tofinu tribe, who built it as a refuge from the slave trade. It has been sustained over time by their communal socio-ecological aquacultural systems and has now become a global tourist attraction for the country. The village was recognized as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 1996, attracting up to 10,000 visitors annually. However, this influx of tourists has impacted the locals and their socio-ecological practices that sustain this water environment. Aquaculture has become increasingly challenging to maintain as the village struggles to retain its economic foundation. Additionally, traditional building practices have given way to modern ones, and the village faces ongoing environmental challenges. Nevertheless, the unique lifestyle of the locals around the water still offers many lessons for the design of prospective floating cities.
Ganvie was founded by the Tofinu tribe, a population of West Africans skilled in fishing, who was known as "watermen" and lived on the coast of Benin before the 17th century. They moved their community into Lake Nokoué to protect themselves from the Fon tribe, who sold members of other tribes to Portuguese slave traders.
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Floating Cities of the Past and FutureAccording to their history, the decision to build the village on the lake was not only to act as a physical barrier but was also rooted in religious beliefs. These beliefs prohibited the Fon tribe from attacking people on water due to its sacred nature and built a religious foundation for how the Tofinu tribe related to the lake. They created an urban system that was sensitive to the aquatic ecosystem, built structures using ephemeral materials, employed aquaculture as a means of urban planning, and named the village Ganvie, which means "we survived."
The floating village is home to about 45,000 people, living in over 3,000 stilt buildings of various types, including houses, banks, restaurants, markets, hotels, schools, and religious spaces. Residential houses mostly employ traditional methods of wooden stilts, while public buildings such as schools and religious spaces are built with modern methods of concrete stilts and sandcrete blocks. The stilts of traditional houses are crafted with red ebony wood, which is resistant to weathering, while the walls are made with bamboo and palm fronds. The roofs are thatched or, more recently, replaced with corrugated metal sheets. These structures are built and maintained for a lifespan of 15-20 years, making them ephemeral in nature. Locals opt for materials that decompose in the water ecosystem over time and do not have a negative impact on it.
Moreover, the stilt structures were designed to complement an urban plan consisting of small artificial islands as urban courtyards linking two or more houses, as well as large water streets to allow easy movement by canoe across all parts of the village. As Lake Nokoué is only 1-2 meters deep, the community's residents moved soil from the mainland to construct these islands. Initially, they were intended as spaces to teach young children to walk and as places for domesticating animals, but they have since become social spaces that connect families and urban features that give the floating village a unique character.
As skilled fishermen, the Tofinu tribe retained their sensitive relationship with water by employing aquaculture as an urban system. The area of floating stilts structures is enclosed with designed fish paddocks and artificial reefs that help aquatic life sustain a healthy relationship with the growing city. The fish paddocks and reefs represent an innovative aquaculture system where mangroves are used to attract fish for rearing. Local mangrove species, such as palm fronds, are anchored into the lake bed and are further surrounded by bamboo sticks to form cages. The mangroves decompose, creating plankton, while the wood acts as a catalyst for algae growth, attracting fish to feed and live within the environment. This system is called Acadja by the locals, and it is reconstructed every two weeks as the fish are harvested, new mangroves are built, and the aquatic biodiversity of the city increases.
In addition, the enclosure of these paddocks is designed to break the currents from the Atlantic Ocean. This allows the stilt buildings within the village to be spaced apart and provides for wide water streets, which are an important social element in the village. These streets are wide enough to contain multiple boats, allowing for transportation and the trading of goods across moving canoes.
The stilt houses are also designed with terraces facing the street, which allow for social connection and transparency across the village. These innovative socio-ecological designs have been passed down through generations and use symbiotic species’ relationships with the lake to create sustainable urban environments.
If one finds themselves within the stilt structures in Ganvie, they will notice that the water beneath is clear and it is easy to observe different fish species moving through the village. The village feels open and there is a strong sense of community.
This floating village has thrived for over four centuries through its locally crafted urban systems, earning it the romanticized name of the Venice of Africa. However, the residents still face many challenges, primarily the lack of proper sewage and waste management systems. Traditional sewage systems directly move waste into the lake, which has become ineffective and polluting for aquatic life due to the increasing population of the village. Additionally, poverty is on the rise as the local fishing economy competes with an inflated economy generated externally from tourism revenue. These challenges are causing the floating village to gradually become unable to support the lifestyle of its local residents.
The story of Ganvie is one in which architecture is a product of a culture that is mindful of its surroundings, particularly Lake Nokoué. The village's residents held a deep respect and care for the lake, which influenced the design of their architecture and urban systems. The floating village's urban environment was sustained using innovative systems that were rooted in the residents' local occupation. This fostered a direct relationship between the people, their work, their lifestyle, and the village's sustainability. Ganvie's floating village serves as a model not only for designing potential floating cities but also for approaching sustainability in architecture.
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