Construction of the Ganvié Secondary School

The context

Ganvié Secondary School is an educational project built in the lake village of Ganvié (southern Benin), at the heart of Lake Nokoué. Constraints were significant: limited access, stilt foundations, permanently wet environment and strong heritage requirement to fit the village's traditional architecture. Inspired Design, the project lead, wanted exhaustive site monitoring without having to send ground inspection teams by boat repeatedly.

Our method

Drone flights planned from the shores and adapted to lake-wind constraints and human presence (active school nearby). Photogrammetric RGB capture and video reporting at each milestone. 3D modelling for architectural integration: the textured college model was overlaid on architectural mock-ups to validate visual conformity. Quality control via aerial imagery of critical phases, especially stilt placement and timber/concrete structural joint.

What we delivered

• Photo/video reporting at each contractual milestone
• 3D modelling for architectural integration
• Aerial QC of critical phases
• Photographic documentation of stilt foundations
• Aerial mapping of the lake environment
• Landscape integration videos shareable with the public
• Georeferenced archive for future maintenance

The outcome

Inspired Design steered the site remotely without multiplying boat missions, while having rich visual documentation to report to funders and local authorities. Architectural integration was validated early thanks to 3D modelling overlaid on mock-ups. The project demonstrates the relevance of drone monitoring in geographically challenging contexts where traditional methods are costly or risky.