NZLZ. Informal Architecture on Water

Development of NZLZ, a collaborative research and archival project focusing on the water-based settlement of Nzulezo (Ghana). The project engaged with local construction practices, spatial knowledge, and everyday relationships between architecture and water, documenting ways of living shaped through long-term interaction with the lagoon environment.

Supported by the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie, the work involved developing the project framework, securing funding, and contributing to the creation of an open digital archive. Fieldwork in Nzulezo included workshops with community members, conversations, and the documentation of building methods, material practices, and local forms of knowledge connected to life on water.

The archive was approached as a living structure, connecting situated knowledge with contemporary spatial questions, and bringing together architectural documentation, oral histories, and collective memory. The work further contributed to the development of an online platform intended as an accessible interface for sharing and navigating the material.

The project was developed in collaboration with Carlien Donkor, Phoebus Panigyrakis, TU Delft, and with the UNESCO Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-NET), forming part of a wider exchange on water-based environments and cultural practices.