BUILDING ETHIOPIA

SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION IN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

ZEGEYE CHERENET
HELAWI SEWNET
 Copyright © 2012 by EiABC

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage, and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the
publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in review.

First Edition

Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development , EiABC

Zegeye Cherenet, Helawi Sewnet (editors)

Building Ethiopia : Sustainability and Innovation in Architecture and Design, Vol. I, 2012

ISBN 978-99944-993-7-3

Digital Impressions, Printed in Ethiopia, 2012

 CONTENT
7 INTRODUCTION
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | HELAWI SEWNET
URBANITY
15 NEST
NEW EMERGING SUSTAINABLE TOWNS >> FRANZ OSWALD
27 THE BURA NESTOWN
AN INTERVIEW >> FASIL GHIORGIS
33 ADDIS ABABA
EXTRACTING CHARACTER FROM VOIDS >> DIRK HEBEL | ELIAS YITBAREK
39 FOLLOWING THE DONKEY PATH
TAILORING AS OPPOSED TO WIPING OUT THE TRACE >> EZANA YOSEPH
43 URBAN PRIMING
PROGRAMMED BY THE ENVIRONMENT >> HELAWI SEWNET
49 BASHA WOLDE CHILOT
AN URBAN DESIGN >> EZANA YOSEPH | FASIL GHIORGIS | ELIAS YITBAREK
55 FIGURE-GROUND PLAN
MAPPING ADDIS ABABA >> FELIX HEISEL
56 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 1
RE-THINK THE CITY MASTER PLAN >> BENIAM ALI
CONNECTIVITY
63 WITHIN THE EDGE
URBAN SPATIAL INTERFACES FORMING & IN-FORMING THE STREETS OF ADDIS ABABA >> ADDISALEM FELEKE
69 WATER URBANISM
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | BERHANU GEBREWOLD | WOSSEN GEBREYOHANNES | SELAM LEMMA | MICHAEL HAILE-
GABRIEL | FEVEN MERETE
77 INTERACITY LIGHTRAIL TRANSIT SYSTEMS
ADDIS ABABA >> YUSUF ZOHEB
81 IGNORING THE SIGNS
THE UNOBSERVED THREAT POSED BY BILLBOARD CLUTTER IN ADDIS ABABA >> SELAMAWIT WONDIMU
87 WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME
>> YOSEF TEFERI
90 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 2
ELECTRIC VEHICLE NETWORK >> AMANUEL MENGISTU
TEMPORALITY
99 SANDBAG SHELTER-ADDIS ABEBA
SHELTERS FOR REFUGEE CAMPS IN ETHIOPIA (OGADEN) >> DIRK DONATH
109 REFUGEE SHELTERS FOR ETHIOPIA
>> MARTA WISNIEWSKA | BISRAT KIFLE | ADDISALEM FELEKE
117 NOMAD PUBLIC SPACES
BYPRODUCTS OF CONSTRUCTION SITES >> HELAWI SEWNET
123 SPACES OF TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSITORY SPACES
RURAL-URBAN INTERFACE
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | BERHANU GEBREWOLD | ADIL MOHAMMED | ELIAS JEMAL | KALKIDAN WONDAFEREW |
TSION ADUGNA
139 PLACES OF TRANSIT
ENTRIES TO ADDIS ABABA >> ANTENEH TESFAYE
144 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 3
A DOWNTOWN CULTURE DISTRICT >> AMANUEL MENGISTU
MATERIALITY
151 BAMBOO EXPLORED
A POTENTIAL FOR URBAN ETHIOPIA
>> KARSTEN SCHLESIER | MICHAEL TESFAYE
157 DESIGN WITH MATERIALS
>> JOACHIM DIETER | DIRK HEBEL | INGO BECKER | KALKIDAN DEBELA | NEGUSSIE HAILESELASSIE | MULUKEN HAJU
169 MULU PROMISE PLAZA & VILLAGE
SUSTAINABLE, MODULAR, URBAN CONTAINER UNITS >> FELIX HEISEL | MARTA WISNIEWSKA
178 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 4
BUSINESS CUSTOMER SERVICE >> AMANUEL MENGISTU
ECONOMY
185 BUILDING THE FUTURE
THE APPLICATION OF LOCAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AND MATERIALS IN ETHIOPIA >> DIRK HEBEL
195 SCALING DOWN
>> DIRK DONATH
205 AFFORDABLE HOUSING
>> BISRAT KIFLE | BROOK TEKLEHAIMANOT | HELAWI SEWNET
212 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 5
CHARTER SCHOOLS >> BENJAMIN PIPER
TECHNOLOGY
219 EARTHEN MASONRY VAULTING: TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
TECHNICAL ASPECTS >> LARA DAVIS | PHILLIPE BLOCK
233 BUILDING WITH EARTH APPROPRIATELY
>> MELAKESELAM MOGES
239 MODEL MAKING AS A TOOL
THE AACM PROJECT >> BROOK TEKLEHAIMANOT
245 ORIGAMI
FOLDING STRUCTURES >> MELAT ASSEFA
249 STAIRS
AN ARCHITECTURE IN TRANSITION >> ZELEKE BELAY
252 HYPER-DICE
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | BERHANU GEBREWOLD | RAMIAH LEMMA | LULIT SOLOMON | TIBEBU DANIEL | DEJENE LIRAMO
256 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 6
THE ESSENTIAL MOBILE TOOLKIT >> ADAM ABATE | ERIC CHIJOKE
SOCIOLOGY
263 HOUSING TYPOLOGIES
A CASE STUDY IN ADDIS ABABA >> FELIX HEISEL
271 APPROPRIATING SPATIAL ACCOMODATIONS
>> BERHANU GEBREWOLD
279 MESKEL SQUARE
AN URBAN THEATER >> BROOK TEKLEHAIMANOT
284 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 7
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTIONS >> DAVID ROGERS
288 UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS
>>EiABC
290 ACKGNOWLEDGEMENTS
291 CONTRIBUTORS
294 COLOPHON
 Rawalpinci. Pakistan
Kabul. Afghanistan
Jalpur. India
Faisalabad. Pakistan
Gujranwala. Pakistan Ghaziabad. India

Patna. India
Las Vegas. USA
Surat. India
Bamako. Mali
Nashik. India
Nairobi. Kenya Beihai. China
Conakry. Guinea Kampala. Uganda Rajkol. India
Toluca. Mexico
Sana’s. Yemen Chttagong. Bangladesh
Addis Ababa
Dhaka. Bangladesh
Mogadishu.
Lagos. Nigeria Somalia Delhi. India

Santa Cruz. Bolivia

Indore. India
Kinshasa. Congo
Antananarivo.
Madagascar Pune. India

Luanda. Angola Faridabad. India

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania

Brazzaville. Congo

Maputo, Mozambique
Lubumbashi, Congo

The world’s 35 fastest growing cities and urban areas from 2006 to 2020 (by cityMayors.com)

184 >> economy

BUILDING THE FUTURE
THE APPLICATION OF LOCAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLO-
GIES AND MATERIALS IN ETHIOPIA
>> DIRK HEBEL

African cities have growth rates of up to 5% per year; which makes them the fastest growing
cities in the world today. Extrapolations show that the urban population in Africa currently
doubles every 10 to 15 years. The reason for this urban population growth is high migration
rates into African cities. This migration occurs on a broad scale because of two main factors.
Aggravated conditions for agricultural production in the global market combined with local mis-
management result in food shortages and difficult conditions for even subsistence farming.
Repeated local and regional conflicts deprive an ever-growing part of the rural population of
their means of existence and jeopardize their security. In the hope of better living conditions,
many people move into urban environments.
Ethiopia will be confronted with a population increase of 45 million people over the next
15 years, along with increased demand for basics like food, water, safety, and shelter which are
not yet existent, or already over stressed urban settlements. The decades to come will certainly
be formative in the further long-term development of the country. Given this challenge, Ethio-
pia has to invent its own modes of 21st century urbanization, rather than relying on outdated
models from the so-called ‘developed world’. It must re-invent its indigenous building methods,
construction technologies, and material use. Ethiopia must also reduce its dependency on im-
ported materials, if there is any hope of an escape from its satellite status as a part of the global
economy.
The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, represents an ideal situation where the urban phe-
nomena of growth, expansion, and densification can be experienced and investigated. This can
be accomplished firsthand through its geographic location, demographic development, and
most importantly, its unbelievable potential in people, ideas, and interactions.
With a population of approximately 2.8 million people,1 composed of 78 ethnic groups, Ad- 1 >> Official census of 2008
dis Ababa is the undisputed metropolis of the country, and is also the location of the headquar- Cover image:
ters of the African Union (AU). Experts predict the population will reach 6 to 8 million people The world’s 35 fastest growing cit-
by 2025. Addis Ababa has the potential to function as an experimental urban laboratory for the ies and urban areas from 2006 to
country as a whole, through its position as the political and social centre of Ethiopia. Questions 2020 by City Mayors.com
of density, health care, safety, social coherence, psychology, economy, and above all, ecology
must be answered. The questions of which building materials and techniques are appropriate
for the urban development of a country need to be considered, and Addis Ababa is an ideal
location for this. Newer developments in Addis Ababa show the contrary: it has been infected
with the so-called ‘Dubai Fever’ – the desire to copy or import an image of economic growth
and associate it with political power. Glass and steel towers are misunderstood as manifesta-
tions of a positive economic development and as the singular aesthetic outcomes of a modern
looking city.
The ‘Dubai Fever’, manifested and virally transmitted in seductive flashy high-gloss maga-
zines, has reached all African cities, among which Addis Ababa is one. In reality, though, the city
is anything but prepared for such a speculative boomtown urbanism, considering that more
than 60% of Addis Ababa’s population live below the poverty line. The copy/paste of architec-
tural strategies brings a myriad of serious problems. Instead of using locally available materials,
more than 80% of the construction materials in Ethiopia, including steel and glass, are imported,
mostly from Eastern Asia. Investment capital, both foreign and domestic, know-how, entrepre-

economy >> 185

 neurship, and the possibility of sustainable growth of local markets, all leave the country with-
out becoming links in a value chain process. In addition, big construction sites are usually led
by foreign know-how and leadership. Ethiopians are mostly seen in lower day-labourer ranks.
The glass towers symptomatic of ‘Dubai Fever’ have a big impact on the energy consumption
of the city and resultantly on the ecological footprint of the whole country. Instead of taking
advantage of, and designing for the ideal climatic conditions of Ethiopia, which fall between 10°
Celsius minimum and 30° Celsius maximum, the glass facades force the necessity of technical
cooling systems, depleting one of the goods that Ethiopia does not have: energy. Hence inter-
ruptions in the electricity supply are the norm, rather than the exception in Addis Ababa.

b >>

c >>

a >>

THE GRAND HOUSING PROJECT

a >> Glass and steel constructions To generate conditions, geared toward sustainable urban development, Ethiopia needs to de-
are currently the predominant velop regulations for, and visions of, how to use its rich culture and its reliable resources. These
models in Addis Ababa, driving the are, first and foremost, locally available construction materials and know-how, such as natural
economy more and more in a back- stone, loam brick technology and rammed earth construction techniques. The population in-
log situation, since more than 80% crease of 20% in the last decade in Addis Ababa has dramatically illustrated the limitations of
of the construction materials have the thinking and urban planning thus far. It has neither been possible to develop infrastructures
to be imported. Energy consump- and homes for a fast growing population, nor to establish a sustainable means of existence for
tion in Ethiopia is on the rise, be- the newcomers to the city. As a ‘solution’ for this desperate situation, the Low Cost Housing
cause those structures have to be Technology (LCH) was developed with German support. Since its introduction into the local
cooled by technical means. construction sector in 2002, it has led to visible results. Over 40,000 accommodation units for
b >> Most construction sites use approximately 200,000 persons have been built. At the same time, almost 40,000 jobs were cre-
100% cement products, most of ated in the local construction sector, arranged mostly in the form of small business enterprises.
the raw material is imported from Based on the LCH-principle, the government is trying to promote this kind of development with
India and China. the recently launched “Addis Ababa Grand Housing Program” – an ambitious project aimed
c >> Concrete constructions need at the construction of further 50,000 accommodation units per year until 2014. However, the
formwork, in Ethiopia mostly Eu- construction technologies used for the program are based on a concrete pillar and slab system.
calyptus wood, which boosts the This construction relies upon principles developed in the re-construction period of post-war
deforestation of the country. Germany. Enormous amounts of cement and gravel are used on the construction sites and hol-
low concrete blocks are applied to fill the structures.

186 >> economy

Measures like the Grand Housing Project must be looked at with a critical eye. This widely
praised strategy of generating housing, infrastructures and jobs for the poorest, all within a
single program and construction methodology proves to be an economic pseudo-cycle. When
any local economy becomes almost completely dependent on a superheated construction sec-
tor, a question can be asked: who can afford to build these structures in the future, moving
from a government owned program to a private one? It would be considerably more prom-
ising and sustainable to develop diverse economic and construction models, which would
allow poverty and infrastructure problems to be dealt with individually and specifically. It is
also preferable to apply techniques and knowledge, originating from local habits, materials,
and cultures, instead of those from the global market. The use of prefabricated and imported d >>
cement materials has been widely implemented in the production of housing in the Grand
Housing Project, in order to facilitate building and shorten the construction time. However,
the construction period of projects has usually been longer than it should have for multiple
reasons. Shortages of materials, improper use of both material and technology, and un-
skilled manpower are among the primary setbacks to the timely completion of the projects.
The use of eucalyptus trees, applied as a scaffolding material and as a support during the
production of the precast concrete beams, needs to be minimized and alternatives must be
developed. An average of 800 eucalyptus tree logs were consumed while building each block
of the Grand Housing Project. It can easily be argued that this facilitates the deforestation of e >>
the country as a whole. For the 60,000 housing units completed, with an average of 30 units
per block structure, 1.6 million eucalyptus trees have been consumed so far. For a country
like Ethiopia, struggling against poverty and unpredictable climate changes, it would be a
tragedy to lose the already endangered and undersized forests. Here, alternative techniques
and methods have to be applied in order to achieve a more sustainable kind of construction.
Sustainability requires the integrative thinking of various disciplines in design, the build-
ing sector and the urban infrastructure. Ethiopia should reconsider its tendency to copy
misleading architectural images from the United States and cities like Dubai, which make
it dependent upon imported materials and know-how. There is a need to enhance ver- f >>
nacular construction and material knowledge, both of which could be used to cope with d >> Wood is used for formwork
the dramatic need for new urban dwellings. This knowledge must be based on integrative and scaffolding construction
modes of thinking, combining design, construction, building physics, sociology, energy, ecol- e >> Concrete became the absolute
ogy and economy. If new methods for low-cost, sustainably operating double-story build- dominant construction material
ing techniques can be found and introduced in African cities, the density of the current ur- in Ethiopia, despite the fact, that
ban settlements could be almost doubled without wasting land valuable for agricultural use. neither material nor know how is
present in the moment
f >> The grand Housing Project
introduced a so called “low cost”
construction method, based on
models from post-war Germany
g >> More tan 50.000 units shall
be finished each year till 2014.

g >>

economy >> 187

 SUSTAINABLE URBAN dWELLING UNIT (SUdU)
In the summer months of 2010, the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Technology
and City Development (EiABC), together with the Federal Institute of Technology in Switzerland
(ETH) started to build on its campus a double-story Sustainable Urban Dwelling Unit (SUDU).
The dwelling was designed based on the current urban conditions and needs in Ethiopia. It is a
showcase for integrative disciplinary thinking and an experimental laboratory for evidence to
convince decision makers, economists, environmentalists, urban planners and architects to re-
think traditional building methods and social space requirements, in order to find new ways to
build a city. As the example of Tokyo shows, a megacity can be based on double-story buildings.
The EiABC constructed the SUDU project as a collaborative process between researchers
and students from the ETH in Zürich and from the institute itself. Students from different
backgrounds, cultures and disciplines, worked closely together to plan, design and build the
project in full scale. They also experienced first-hand, the network of participants needed in
order to complete such a project. This all helped to enable trans-disciplinary thinking and
a >> action. The project was also instrumental as a test run between the organizational structures
of ETH, in the field of sustainability. As a result, two departments, ETH Sustainability and
the ETH North-South Centre have developed long-term structures for how to handle such
projects in the future. The ETH plans to use the connections to EiABC and Ethiopia for further
research activities.
The need to reduce global emissions, energy consumption, and material waste requires
the systematic development of sustainable buildings at both large and small scales. Material-
ity, social space, water management, waste management, energy production and consump-
tion, operation, and maintenance have to be designed in such a way as to be the most ef-
fective and efficient. With the SUDU project, performance standards have been established,
emphasizing innovation and integrated design.
a >> Lara Davis on top of a small Ethiopia, once called the granary of Africa, has a rich soil, which contains high levels of
test vault. Here, already one layer clay particles. Almost all excavated material in the city of Addis Ababa is a possible source
is enough to support the human for the material needed to build new structures. The SUDU project used “rammed earth”
weight load technology to construct the first level of the building, with a 60cm wide wall structure. Us-
b >> The vault for the first ceiling ing formwork, designed for multiple uses over consecutive layers, loam soil is loaded into
is constructed in space, following a the form and densified with small metal ramrods. Each layer is 120 cm high and when the
string guiding system first layer of the formwork is filled, the form is lifted up, thus filling and ramming on the next
layer can start again. Openings for doors and windows are simply cut out. Using a specialized
technique, a small ring beam was constructed on top of the last layer, to ensure the structural
strength needed to support the ceiling.

b >>

188 >> economy

The first ceiling of the SUDU project was done using a tiled vaulting technique, designed and 2 >> Lara Davis, Philippe Block:
introduced for the first time in Ethiopia by Prof. Dr. Philippe Block from the ETH Zürich. Dr. Earthen masonry vaulting: Tech-
Block had previously gathered practical experience in similar techniques during the 2008/09 nologies and technology tansfer;
project for the Mapungubwe Museum in South Africa, together with architects Peter Rich and [SUDU][HEBEL], see page 219-231
Henry Fagan, along with John Ochsendorf and Michael Ramage as structural engineers. The
technique, also known as ‘Guastavino’ or Catalan vaulting, was already introduced at the end
of the 19th century in many public buildings in New York, such as the Grand Central Station
or City Hall Subway Station. The system was patented as “Tile Arch System” in 1885 by the
architect Rafael Guastavino and supports robust, self-supporting arches and vaults using inter-
locking tiles and layers of mortar to form a thin skin. The tiles are usually set in a herringbone
pattern layout with a sandwich of thin layers of Portland cement. Unlike much heavier stone
construction, these tile domes, or barrel constructions, can be constructed in place without
additional support. Each tile cantilevers out over empty space during construction, relying only
on quick drying cement, known as “Plaster of Paris”, (produced for centuries in Ethiopia), to
secure it in place. With this technique, no scaffold is needed to construct the ceiling or dome,
and only a string guide system is used to make sure the form is kept in an ideal structural line.

c >> d >> e >>

The second floor of the SUDU project was constructed with loam stone produced in a hydra- c >> From two ends, the barrel

form press, which has an output of nearly 900 stones per day, operated with a local know- vault is constructed.

how and workforce. The first layer of stone is put in a loam mortar bed enriched by 5% of d >> The herringbone layer system

cement, and all other layers are simply placed on top. This technique also allows for additional e >> The workers were able after

structural support, if needed, by hollowing out an internal formwork for small columns, which 1 week of training to do the work.

secures the building against lateral forces, since the area around Addis Ababa is seismically ac- f >> Loam stones produced in inter-

tive. Again, no additional formwork is needed and a combined technique of loam stones and locking Hydro-Form technique

the option for a columnar structural support allows for a heterogeneous construction method, g >> Filling the Hydaform press

customizable according to local and regional requirements regarding seismic activity. with local loam
h >> Taking a pressed block out of
the form
i >> Drying of the stones

f >>

g >> h >> i >>

economy >> 189

 The roof construction followed a “Mexican Vaulting” technique, similar to the ceiling, but this
time produced out of hand pressed small loam bricks. The roof structure is a double curved ele-
ment; built only in one 10 cm thick layer. As the demands of a roof as an exterior element are
different from those of a ceiling, it was covered with a special waterproof mortar, produced out
of prickly pear cactus juice, salt, lime and loam soil. Since 2008, this method has been again im-
j >>
plemented by an Ethiopian artist, Meskerem Assegued, on a project in the village of Harla, near
the city of Dire Dawa, in Easternmost Ethiopia. She investigated the technique in Mexico and
brought it back to Ethiopia, where she found historical evidence that it was used for centuries
before falling into disuse and then forgotten. Because of this loss of knowledge and technique,
the inhabitants of the village could not repair their roofs anymore. Over the last decades, the
roofs were constructed with corrugated metal sheets, producing nearly unbearable interior
conditions due to the almost direct heat transference from the exterior by the sun-attracting
k >> surface of the roof. Through her project, more and more of the villagers are replacing their roofs
again, returning to the old techniques and traditions.
Micro enterprise and know-how developed fast in Harla and the technique was brought
from Harla to the SUDU project. The technique uses prickly pear cactus, cut in small pieces,
and left to soak for 5 days with water in a barrel. After this period, the slimy juice is filtered
and mixed with salt, loam and lime, and is then ready for use. The Harla villagers already use
the juice to paint all of the exteriors of their homes, sealing them against rain. Also, loam stone
l >>
production was started in the area, with astonishing results in strength and durability. Some

m >> n >> o >> p >> q >>

j >> Meskerem Assegued with Jörg plastering on the walls and the roof of the SUDU project was done with the cactus juice mortar,
Baumeister, faculty member of which proved easy to handle and produce, without the use of any imported materials.
EiABC, dicussing possible collabo- The SUDU project uses only a minimum of the cement that would have been needed for a
rations. hollow concrete block construction, the most common construction method, currently in use in
k >> The overview over the village, Addis Ababa. Local materials such as loam or natural stone, local workers and local know-how
cactus plants in front. led to the first case study building in the SUDU project. This can now be used to gather more
l >> In the front corrugated metal information, and will hopefully lead soon to an implementation phase, at a larger scale, of the
roofs, in the back traditional roof- principles and techniques used in the project, and the knowledge gained through their imple-
ing with cactus juice mortar. mentation. The project will hopefully push the local industries and small-scale enterprises to
m-q >> The indigenous materials: think more and more about construction materials and methods, alternative to concrete. Less
cactus and loam soil, After 5 days than 100 years ago, Ethiopia had a tradition of constructing seven story loam buildings, and
of fermenting, a slime juice results, it was almost forgotten. New technical infrastructures, in connection with those rediscovered
which has to be filtered for use, The traditional methods, will help to develop sustainable constructions for future generations, in ur-
juice is simply mixed with loam, ban as well as rural conditions. EiABC, together with the North-South Center at ETH Zürich and
lime and a bit of salt, The roofs are the Waser Foundation already started another research project called Sustainable Rural Dwell-
almost flat, the cactus juice mortar ing Unit (SRDU) to investigate the possibilities to build a rural counterpart, commenced in 2011.
is 100% waterproof. The cactus juice The SUDU project could be seen as a first step to re-search and re-apply, re-invented ver-
is also used as a protection layer for nacular technologies in Ethiopia. Similar to Le Corbusier’s idea of a “mason-domino”, an easy to
the natural stones. apply and almost everywhere applicable construction system for Europe after World War I, the

190 >> economy

SUDU project unfolds the possibility to be seen as a so-called “proto-typology”3 for Ethiopia, rather 3 >> Just as the prototype antici-
than a modernist approach of a “proto-type”. The modernist “proto-type” followed the idea of one pates a product yet to be devel-
“ideal” model configuration, applied in a serial way, while the “proto-typology” defines a flexible oped, the proto-typology repre-
and heterogeneous form of organization, which can be changed and readjusted instantly and serve sents a typological configuration
different cultural as well as contextual conditions. It is a process rather than a product. Ethiopia has in permanent state of evolution.
the possibility to use such thinking, given the rich and different local material supply throughout Whereas a conventional typology
the country. The Tigray area in the north traditionally uses natural stones and loam mortar, while defines a generic model of organi-
the Southern Regions apply bamboo constructions in large scale. All those materials could be part sation, which becomes specific
of the SUDU “proto-typology” and help to answer one of the most critical questions that Ethiopia through its application, the proto-
has to face in the decades to come: how to house 45 million additional people in a sustainable and typology is specific from the begin-
economical as well ecologically feasible way, without falling in dependency on a global market. >> ning. On the other hand, it never
really becomes generic as it con-
tinues to transform itself through
the information it receives. As a
pliable, learning matter it adapts
to changing needs of programs and
users. Hence a prototypology is
not a model, but a transient phase
of an evolutionary process, and
therefore always ahead of its type.“
See: Ilka and Andreas Ruby, The
Metapolis Dictionary of Advanced
Architecture. City, Technology and
Society in the Information Age, Su-
sanna Cros (ed.), Barcelona 2003.
CREDITS
EiABC: Dr. Elias Yitbarek, Tibebu
Daniel, Herbert Schmitz, Josef
Hennes, Melakeselam Moges, Zeg-
eye Cherenet, Fasil Giorghis, Mes-
karem Zewdie, Ingo Oexmann
AAiT: Getachew Bekele
AAU: Elias Berhanu
SNV: Willem Boers
Department of Architecture ETH
Zürich: Dr. Philippe Block, Dr. Marc
Angélil, Lara Davis
ETH Sustainability: Dr. Christine
Bratrich, Cathrine Lippuner
North-South Centre ETH Zürich: Dr.
Barbara Becker, Astrid Smitham,
Emma Lindberg Eawag ETH Zürich:
Chris Zurbrügg
Institute for Environmental Deci-
sions ETH Zürich: Dr. Philippe Aerni
Institute for Developing Economics
ETH Zürich: Dr. Isabel Günther
and all participating students from
ETH and EiABC

economy >> 191

 192 >> economy
the SUDU housing prototype at the compound of EiABC
economy >> 193