Cities of Change Addis Ababa: Transformation Strategies for Urban Territories in the 21st Century by Birkhäuser

MARC ANGÉLIL DIRK HEBEL

TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES FOR URBAN TERRITORIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The research investigates the performance of cities in view of resource fluxes – the interplay and transformation of stocks and flows of resources according to changing parameters in time. Specifically, seven trajectories are identified, acknowledging both physiological and morphological transformations of urban systems: stocks and flows of people, water, space, material, capital, information, and energy.

SECOND AND REVISED EDITION

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SECOND AND REVISED EDITION

MARC ANGÉLIL DIRK HEBEL

www.birkhauser.com

CITIES OF CHANGE ADDIS ABABA

MARC ANGÉLIL DIRK HEBEL SELAMAWIT BERHE ZEGEYE CHERENET SASCHA DELZ FABIO FERRARESI FASIL GIORGHIS SARAH GRAHAM MARTIN GRUNDER RAINER HEHL FELIX HEISEL JØRG HIMMELREICH MARK JARZOMBEK JESSE LECAVALIER ELIANA PEROTTI CARY SIRESS KATRINA STOLL MARTA H. WISNIEWSKA

CITIES OF CHANGE ADDIS ABABA

DIRK HEBEL is Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture of ETH Zurich. He was the founding Scientific Director of the Ethiopian Institute of Architec ture, Building Construction and City Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His research at ETH Zurich and the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore concentrates on a metabolic understanding of resources and investigates alternative building materials and construction techniques and their applica tions in developed as well as developing territories. He published the result ing work in numerous books, including SUDU – The Sustainable Urban Dwelling Unit, a research report and manual on earthen architecture, Building from Waste: Recovered Materials in Architecture and Construction with Marta H. Wisniewska and Felix Heisel, and Deviations with Marc Angélil, an experiment in architectural design education. With his firm DRKH, Dirk Hebel practices architecture by activating unusual building materials such as air, water, bamboo, and waste.

The “Urban Laboratory – Addis Ababa” is a research initiative originally launched by ETH Zurich in collaboration with Addis Ababa University (AAU) and the Ethiopian Engineering Capacity Building Program (ECBP). In recent years and with the founding of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), the research developed along diverse trajectories, which lead to the second and revised edition of the publication at hand. Aiming to identify sustain able strategies for the built environment rather than upholding an a priori vision of an ideal city, the publication Cities of Change: Addis Ababa acknowledges the heterogeneous and at times messy conditions of urban territories, and makes a case for their transformation over time. One of the key aspects of the work encompasses scenario planning: designing processes for potential “futures” according to varying constraints. Urban design as a discipline is reframed in view of an understanding of the city as a dynamic system, one delineated by stocks and flows of resources – with specific attention given to fluxes of people, energy, water, material, capital, space, and information. Emphasizing the specific case of Addis Ababa, the research brings to the forefront general questions of method and proce dure that can be transferred to other “cities of change,” whether in the developing or the developed world. The research was undertaken at EiABC, the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, and the ETH Zurich Department of Architecture in the context of Master of Advanced Studies Programs in Urban Design and Master Programs in Architec tural Design, led by Marc Angélil and Dirk Hebel. Both have taught architectural and urban design at universities in Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States. Their research focuses on contemporary developments of large metropolitan regions and the resources required to maintain them. Over the last ten years, their interest has centered on Ethiopia, one of the fastest growing nations in the world. The publication Cities of Change: Addis Ababa, now available in a second and revised edition, documents the research and exposes its findings to critical observations by invited authors.

TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES FOR URBAN TERRITORIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

MARC ANGÉLIL is Professor at the Department of Architecture of ETH Zurich. His research at the Network City and Landscape (NSL) and the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) in Singapore focuses on social and spatial developments of large metropoli tan regions worldwide. He is the author of several books, including Cidade de Deus! City of God! on informal mass housing in Rio de Janeiro and Indizien on the political economy of contemporary urban territories. He taught at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University and at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He practices architecture with his partners Sarah Graham and Manuel Scholl at agps, an architectural firm with ateliers in Los Angeles and Zurich. Recent projects include the headquarters extension of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Gland-Geneva, the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles (CMLA), the Portland Aerial Tram Incorporated (PATI) infrastructure project in Portland, Oregon, and the Zurich International School (ZIS). Marc Angélil is a member of the Board of the LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction.

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CONTENTS 9

MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL URBAN PRODUCTION AT ECONOMIC CROSSROADS // MARC ANGÉLIL AND CARY SIRESS

URBAN LABORATORY – ADDIS ABABA DESIGN RESEARCH ON TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION // MARC ANGÉLIL AND DIRK HEBEL

MIRRORING RESEARCH // MARC ANGÉLIL AND JESSE LECAVALIER

STOCKS AND FLOWS OF PEOPLE

THE PORTRAIT OF AN ISOLATED NATION ABYSSINIA/ETHIOPIA // ZEGEYE CHERENET

INTEGRATING URBANITY // XENIA KOKOULA AND CHRISTIAN SCHÄRMER

DISPLACEMENT ON THE HORN OF AFRICA // SANDER LAUREYS AND LINCOLN LANDON LEWIS

CAPITALS ON THE MOVE AN URBAN HISTORY OF ETHIOPIA // FASIL GIORGHIS

PROXEMICS ENCLAVE URBANISM // RAEGAN ALBRIGHT AND JASMINE KASTANI

AN IMPERIAL COLONIAL CITY IN AFRICA ITALIAN CITY PLANNING FOR ADDIS ABABA (1936–40) // ELIANA PEROTTI

EDUCITY // LAURA MACCIONI AND DARIK ZEBENIGUS

STOCKS AND FLOWS OF WATER

A CONNECTION TO INDIA? LALIBELA AND LIBONOS, THE KING AND THE HYDRO-ENGINEER OF 13TH CENTURY ETHIOPIA // MARK JARZOMBEK

PARALLEL URBANISM // SEBASTIAN ALFARO FUSCALDO, NOBORU KAWAGISHI, AND MATTHEW GERALD SKJONSBERG

REFORESTING ETHIOPIA // DIMITRIS ANAGNOSTOPOULOS, HUI-JU LEE, AND DARIK ZEBENIGUS

FORESTICITY // DIMITRIS ANAGNOSTOPOULOS AND HUI-JU LEE

KEN CITY // FUJAN FAHMI AND TOMAS POLACH

103

WATER HARVESTING // KATRINA STOLL

105

STOCKS AND FLOWS OF SPACE

106

SPATIAL EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUAL HOME-OWNERSHIP ETHIOPIA’S MASS HOUSING PROGRAM BETWEEN UNIVERSAL ASPIRATIONS AND LOCAL REALITIES // SASCHA DELZ

112

LEARNING FROM BOLE // XENIA KOKOULA AND CHRISTIAN SCHÄRMER

116

ADDIS 5000 A VERSATILE APPROACH TO SOCIAL HOUSING // MARTA H. WISNIEWSKA

121

MERCATO DENSIFICATION WITHOUT SEGREGATION // SIMON KRAMER VRSCAJ AND LINCOLN LANDON LEWIS

127

INFORMAL CITIES // RAINER HEHL

128

SUBURBING ADDIS MARKETING AN AFRICAN SUBURBIA // JØRG HIMMELREICH

134

IN-URBIA FUSING TOGETHER SUBURBIA AND URBAN INFORMAL HOUSING // NICOLÒ FENU AND RONALD EMERSON YEARWOOD

138

DESIGNING THE NEGATIVE // DIMITRIS ANAGNOSTOPOULOS AND HUI-JU LEE

143

TRANSFORMALISM // LAURA MACCIONI

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145

STOCKS AND FLOWS OF MATERIAL

146

DUBAI FEVER THE DREAM OF AN URBAN MODEL IN ETHIOPIA // KATRINA STOLL

152

LOW-RISE, HIGH-INTENSITY URBANISM IN ADDIS ABABA // DIRK HEBEL AND FELIX HEISEL

156

SUDU THE SUSTAINABLE URBAN DWELLING UNIT // DIRK HEBEL

158

INFRASTRUCTURAL TALES // JASMINE KASTANI, TOMAS POLACH, HELAWI SEWNET, AND ANDRÉ VAN DER WESTHUIZEN

160

ADDISBUILT Build Up / M&SEs / Pre-Fab / Self-Built / Off-Grid // SARAH GRAHAM

169

CEMENT DREAMS // KATRINA STOLL

171

STOCKS AND FLOWS OF CAPITAL

172

BEANS OR BUTTERFLIES ETHIOPIA’S COFFEE TRADEMARKS // JESSE LECAVALIER

178

SYNERGIC URBANISM // RAEGAN ALBRIGHT AND JASMINE KASTANI

183

POVERTY IN THE CITY // FASIL GIORGHIS

184

UNITE! LDP AND SLUM UPGRADING // CHARIS CHRISTODOULOU AND HYERI CHANG PARK

187

THE LPD EFFECT // CHARIS CHRISTODOULOU

192

ADDIS 2020 SPORT AS TROJAN HORSE // VALENTINA GENINI AND ANNE-CHARLOTTE MALTERRE BARTHES

198

WHO BUILT THIS? CHINA, CHINA, CHINA! EXPANDING THE CHINESE ECONOMY THROUGH MUTUAL BENEFIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION // SASCHA DELZ

207

STOCKS AND FLOWS OF INFORMATION

208

GENESIS OF THE ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND CITY DEVELOPMENT EIABC // DIRK HEBEL

210

MIXCITY // DUAN FEI, KATHRIN GIMMEL, IMKE MUMM, AND STEFANIE SCHERER

215

ETHNIC CITY: ETHNICITY IN THE CITY // TIBEBU DANIEL DESTA

216

DYNAMIC PLAN // LAURA MACCIONI AND DARIK ZEBENIGUS

221

EDUCATION IN ETHIOPIA // MARTIN GRUNDER

222

LINKED ETHIOPIA TOWARDS A SYNCHRONIZED URBANITY // ANDRÉ VAN DER WESTHUIZEN AND ANDREAS WESTNER

229

STOCKS AND FLOWS OF ENERGY

230

EMPOWERING A NATION HYDROPOWER TODAY AND TOMORROW // SELAMAWIT BERHE AND FABIO FERRARESI

236

SOL·URBIA // NICOLÒ FENU AND RONALD EMERSON YEARWOOD

243

BOTTOM-UP SOLAR ENERGY // NICOLÒ FENU, XENIA KOKOULA, LAURA MACCIONI, AND RONALD EMERSON YEARWOOD

244

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

247

ACTOR-NETWORK ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

252

CONTRIBUTOR

254

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

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MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE WALL

URBAN PRODUCTION AT ECONOMIC CROSSROADS // MARC ANGÉLIL AND CARY SIRESS Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all? Grimm Brothers 1 What could be read as a fairytale was in fact nothing less than a plan motivated by self-interests. In the early 1930s, the French Natural History Museum and the Institute of Ethnology at the University of Paris organized a research expedition to Africa: The Ethnographic and Linguistic Mission Dakar-Djibouti 1931–1933. A group set off with a youthful, gung-ho spirit of conquest. The young writer Michel Leiris was commissioned as both secretary and archivist, being given the mandate to meticulously document findings based on systematic criteria. While political, economic, and territorial motives were at the heart of the journey, it was nevertheless declared a matter of cultural and scientific investigation. The purported goal was to gain firsthand insight into the societal structures, local traditions, rituals, languages, artifacts, and building practices of ethnic groups in those African provinces under French rule. Instead of adopting the scientific method of objective and distanced analysis, Leiris took the liberty to frame his observations with more subjective and intimate modes of engagement. His notes were recorded in the form of a travel log, and subsequently published under the title L’Afrique fantôme in 1934.2 The book reads like a personal diary that mirrors the reality of sampled material, conflating self-reflexive bias with fact. What was plausibly undertaken in good faith and with a certain degree of naïveté abroad, erupted in scandal, outraging those in expert circles back home. For Leiris flaunted academic conventions of the time, changing, as it were, the “rules of the game” – a phrase he later used to title his autobiography.3 His report laid bare a number of things that many had thought but never dared to talk about: the unrivaled arrogance of the West vis-à-vis indigenous cultures, the reserved point of view of the scientist vis-à-vis the object of study, and the exploitative ethos of the colonial political economy vis-àvis annexed nations.

a //

1 // Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, “Little

Snow-White,”

Grimm’s

Complete Fairy Tales, trans. Margaret Hunt (San Diego: Canterbury Classics/Baker & Taylor Publishing Group, 2011), 187; translation based on the definitive edition of the Grimm Brother’s Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Berlin 1857). 2 // Michel Leiris, L’Afrique fantôme (Paris: Gallimard, 1934). 3 // Michel Leiris, The Rules of the Game, trans. Lydia Davis (New York: Paragon House, 1991). 4 // Michel Leiris, Miroir de l’Afrique, ed. Jean Jamin (Paris: Gallimard, 1996). 5 // Michel Leiris, Afrique noire: La création plastique (Paris: Gallimard, 1967). b //

According to Leiris, Africa could not be observed from a removed vantage point. On the contrary, one could only encounter another culture and do it justice when one is willing to research his own position and question his own assumptions. In other words, what is investigated must be understood simultaneously as a surface for both reflection and projection – a process of identity formation that mutually defines both the one who sees and what is seen. This marked a veritable “mirror-stage” for Leiris and the field of ethnography. Africa performs as a mirror, so to say, as referred to by the title of the posthumously published collection of Leiris’s work: Miroir de l’Afrique. 4 When viewed with Western eyes, “Black Africa,” as he called it, revealed uncanny and phantom-like traits that threatened to shatter the already fragile relationship between ethnologist and object of study.5 Yet things were more complicated, in that Africa no longer represented a virgin, archaic condition as conventionally assumed – the land of socalled primitive tribes – but rather a place that had by then been inundated by Western norms; a place torn by the conflict between traditional customs and modern values.

a // Alice through the African mirror b // Photographs taken by Michel Leiris during the expedition to Africa (1931– 33)

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6 // UN-Habitat, Situation Analysis of Informal Settlements in Addis Ababa (Nairobi: United Nations Human Settlement Programme, 2007), 22, 26. Although called “informal settlements,” these areas are actually the result of a much more formalized system of urban governance.

c // Aerial view of Mercato district d // Mercato main street e // Side alley in Mercato district

c //

But what is the current condition of Africa? Today, the continent seems hardly capable of freeing itself from its past insofar the wounds run deep. After the colonial powers, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, had plundered all that was to take, they abandoned ship, however reluctantly, leaving behind what is often referred to as “the lost continent.” One reads daily in the press that conditions are bleak, perhaps hopeless, and the statistical portraits of Africa are by now too well known: poverty and famine are widespread; civil wars are giving rise to ever growing surges of refugees; governments are poisoned by tainted elections, pervasive corruption, and interminable one-man regimes; medical services are in short supply to reduce infant mortality rates and combat health crises arising from either insufficient sanitation or the spread of epidemics; already overcrowded cities are pressured by the effects of rural to urban migration, leaving both the hinterland and metropolitan regions in disarray. Add to this dystopian list one failed state after another, as tracked by official index upon index, and who could deny that Africa now manifests a catastrophic ecology. These circumstances leave perceptible marks on built environment, whether urban or rural, with the impact being even more severe in those territories labeled as slums. Known as the “Roof of Africa,” Ethiopia is no exception. Although this country was nearly able to maintain its autonomy during the age of colonization, it has more than its own share of difficulties. One encounters a situation offering few prospects that would serve to dignify the human condition. Misery prevails. A UN-Habitat study reports that close to 45 percent of the population subsists below the poverty line and nearly 80 percent of urban inhabitants live in impoverished settlements.6 In study after study, the narrative of underdevelopment repeatedly foregrounds Ethiopia’s status as one of the world’s poorest nations, thus justifying its recurrent low ranking on the list of the United Nations Human Development Index, a global monitor of country performance measured by standardized criteria. Nonetheless, there is another side to Ethiopia that seldom draws attention. Current developments on the fringes of this culture could be seen as a prospective model for success throughout Africa. While they are tenuous, measures undertaken to promote communal solidarity and self-empowerment could be considered an alternative to dominant socio-economic orders that sustain the status quo of despair. Of significance in this context are efforts made to formalize the informal sector, for informality – as history has shown throughout the world – often provides the grounds for exploitation. As the term informal implies, one operates outside the formal system of civic norms, and is left without the attendant network of social security. The nascent attempts in Ethiopia to enable other means of community-driven governance capable of resisting the predatory dynamic of global capital take root in the priority given to local forms of organization. Rather than alienating local culture by advancing top-down modes of market economy from the outside, the initial steps taken pursue the integration of shared resources from within communities, a move that encourages bottom-up participation. But this operation is far from smooth. Although constantly thwarted, such attempts have much to do with the vision of the collective appropriation of territory serving to link identity with one’s physical environment. Should the vision succeed, Ethiopia would become a testing ground d //

e //

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URBAN LABORATORY – ADDIS ABABA DESIGN RESEARCH ON TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION // MARC ANGÉLIL AND DIRK HEBEL Mirrors should think longer before they reflect. Jean Cocteau An installation in the Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2008 under the title “Explorations in Architecture: Teaching, Design, Research” depicted the conceptual diagram of an academic collaboration involving the Addis Ababa University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. Prominently displayed in the middle of the exhibition space was a large, semi-translucent screen, on which images were projected from two opposing sides. Standing on one side of the screen, viewers saw both projections simultaneously, one as if through a mirror. The form and content of the exhibition aligned. The double projection expressed two sides of one and the same research undertaking, which addressed the potential development of contemporary urban territories: on one side of the screen, a series of rapidly transforming sites in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia were depicted, and on the other side, an equally fast-changing agglomeration in Switzerland, known as the Schwyz Valley. Notwithstanding the differences of the two case studies, similarities were identified and transfers of strategies from one location to the other investigated. What can each culture learn from the other? On each side of the screen physical models were placed, three-dimensional representations of the territories in question, on which design scenarios and their attendant processes were digitally projected and superimposed; a kind of temporal, four-dimensional display for the simulation of urban patterns. Hypothetical – but nonetheless real – design propositions for developing territories were shown, emphasizing the gradual transformation of current urban and suburban conditions. The projects mapped out a prospective future, yet, to borrow an aphorism by Paul Valéry, acknowledge “the future is not what it used to be.” On the far-end wall of the exhibition hall a large panorama offered views of the two territories. Upon closer examination a peculiar scene unfolded, as the sites were shown not separate, but gradually merge into one comprehensive image. As imaginary as such a proposition might be, it nonetheless suggested that the differences between ostensibly antithetical conditions – as upheld by the juxtaposition of opposites, such as north vs. south, rich vs. poor, developed vs. developing – rely more often than not on tacit clichés that often maintain an unambiguous hierarchy between terms. Whereas differences undoubtedly exist, what is of interest here, independent of how dissimilar territories might appear, are the mechanisms at work in the production of space: their characteristics, causes, effects, hidden agendas, biases, contradictions, conflicts, and failures.

a //

a // Exhibition installation based on comparative case studies of rapidly changing territories in Ethiopia and Switzerland, 11th International Venice Architecture Biennale, Swiss Pavilion, Venice 2008 b // Panorama montage merging the territories of Addis Ababa and the Schwyz Valley, Venice Biennale 2008

URBAN LABORATORY The installation presented at the Venice Biennale shows but one facet of an research project done within the context of the Urban Laboratory Addis Ababa, comprising faculty from both Ethiopia and Switzerland, along with architecture, landscape design, and urban planning students from all over the world. The laboratory was conceived as an interdisciplinary think tank, dedicated to sustainable development and the advancement of knowledge in the key disciplines relevant to the formation of the urban environment. By combining different formats, such as colloquia, conferences, design studios, exhibitions, lectures, project reviews, and publications, the laboratory aims to establish a link between research, teaching, and practice. b //

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c // Workshop space for the Urban Laboratory â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Addis Ababa, temporarily transformed into a film studio

Using Addis Ababa and other cities as case studies, the motivation of the laboratory is to combine expertise from a broad range of fields via interdisciplinary collaborations and integrated design processes, in order to promote strategies for achieving sustainable settlements. Reaching beyond the realm of academia, the research is inspired by a mandate for innovation within practice and offers solutions for implementation; it is an inquiry directed toward practical performance. As cities are in a constant state of flux, the design of anticipated developments offers a viable means of identifying, and possibly directing, forthcoming urban transformations. Rather than upholding an a priori vision of an ideal city â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one that would suggest prevalent tabula rasa practices â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the continuing change of existing urban structures is given priority. Recognizing that Rome was not built in a day, the inquiry emphasizes the role of temporal techniques and processoriented approaches. While research can use diagnostic techniques of analysis to trace the past evolution of urban systems in order to understand the status quo, it must also anticipate future developments. Accordingly, one of the key aspects of the work encompasses scenario planning: designing potential future conditions according to varying constraints. The long-term effect of changing parameters is tested and analyzed. Examples include scenarios of shrinkage and growth, the rate of development, questions of density, migration from rural to urban areas, changes in

c //

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Aerial photo area

4 km 4 km

500 m

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PARALLEL URBANISM

// SEBASTIAN ALFARO FUSCALDO, NOBORU KAWAGISHI, AND MATTHEW GERALD SKJONSBERG When considering possible rationales for selecting locations, for example, for decentralized livestock markets, it was determined that, because of the informal operation of suppliers (many are nomads or rural pastoralists), water, mobility, and the proximity to housing were of primary relevance. The green corridors of the city, which are generally neglected, are intrinsically important to such issues as housing, water supply, and mobility, and were thus identified as key parameters for the project. Entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Parallel Urbanism,â&#x20AC;? this project focuses upon physical, programmatic, and socio-economic factors in the area currently occupied by the market. //

a // Green corridors

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TOPOGRAPHIC PARALLEL

CONTOURS

RIVERS

METHODOLOGICAL PARALLEL CORRIDORS (GREEN BELT)

ACTIVE

PASSIVE

Meganagna Sub-Center

CORRIDORS (ROADWAYS)

STRATEGIC PARALLEL

INDIVIDUAL

COMMUNITY

NEW

UPGRADE

INSTITUTE, EDUCATION 29.7%

INDUSTRY 18.4%

COMMERCE 4.4% HOUSING 11.0% OPENSPACE 23.2%

GREEN CORRIDOR 8.9% CHURCH 4.5%

TOTAL 1,039,834 m2

EXISTING PROGRAM The site has two primary characteristics: parallel east–west highways at the top and bottom, and five north–south environmental corridors, each roughly one-half kilometer apart. The site is currently divided into sections by these two parallel systems, which, at a large scale, can be understood as integrating the overall region. Yet, at a smaller scale, these systems actually work to isolate the site.

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AYAT Housing Construction Site

Meri Luke Sub-Center Selam Village (NGO)

Electric Power Authority

Civil Service College

Kidus Michael Church

St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Church

C.M.C. Apartment

b // Existing qualities in Kotebe 200m

400m

INSTITUTE, EDUCATION 17.3% HOUSING 15.4% INSTITUTE, EDUCATION 2.4% INDUSTRY 18.4% GREEN CORRIDOR 1.2% COMMERCE 4.4% HOUSING 11.0% OPENSPACE 16.5%

GREEN CORRIDOR 4.6% GREEN CORRIDOR 4.3% CHURCH 4.5%

TOTAL 1,039,834 m2

NEW ELICITED PROGRAM By further articulating the subdivisions existing at the large scale, beneficial qualities of the site can be retained while also helping to increase density and facilitate the implementation of those objectives put forth by the Structure Plan. The new program works here to augment existing attributes and bring them into a mutually reinforcing relationship, which in turn introduces differentiation to local identities and enables a higher density of living accommodations for the district.

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a //

b //

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WHO BUILT THIS? CHINA, CHINA, CHINA!

EXPANDING THE CHINESE ECONOMY THROUGH MUTUAL BENEFIT AND INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION // SASCHA DELZ The massive growth of China’s economy during the past three decades has not only transformed domestic territories, but has increasingly begun to shape physical landscapes around the globe as well. Within these overseas activities, the African continent has become a main focus area of China’s economic cooperation efforts and has thus experienced a massive influx of Chinese capital and companies since the 1990s. In the case of Chinese activities abroad, talking about shaping landscapes is not only an abstract metaphor, but becomes a literal depiction of China’s modus operandi. Financial and technical support from China has been predominantly tied to physical construction – mainly transportation, power, and mining infrastructure. In fact, providing both capital and construction capacity, the realization of infrastructure projects can be seen as the main entry point through which China’s subsequent economic influence on the African continent could be established. Ethiopia and its capital Addis Ababa have been no exception to this trend, and when asking who has built the particular road, bridge, or interchange in sight, a simple answer has become a common standard: China, China, and China.

a // The new Addis Ababa Ring Road built by the Chinese contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) b // Ring Road under construction

BUILDING ON AFRICA AND MUTUAL BENEFIT While China’s recent interest in Africa can be mostly attributed to the country’s economic success of the last decades, initial ties between China and African countries have been mainly the result of political maneuvers during the post-war phase. As part of the aftermath of both World War II and the Chinese Civil War, the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC) sought to replace the Republic of China (ROC) as the official Chinese representative within the newly founded United Nations. Whereas Western powers backed the exiled, non-communist ROC government in Taiwan, the PRC claimed to be the sole legitimate representative of China and therefore started establishing new political alliances that could support the communist government. In retrospect, Africa proved to be a crucial partner for this undertaking: with the influence of African nations, the PRC was able to take the official Chinese seat within the United Nations in 1972. 1 During the same period, the PRC also started to establish its position as an alternative political and economic cooperation partner for the so-called developing countries. As a result of the ongoing global division into “first,” “second,” and “third” worlds, the PRC’s Africa strategy evolved both from a deliberate differentiation towards the Soviet Union, and a general reaction against Western development attitudes. The PRC sought after an “attempt to prevent the development of Superpower hegemonism on the continent, (...) to incite Africa against both American ‘imperialism’ and Soviet ‘revisionism’ and ‘social imperialism’.” 2 Compared to common North-South relations for instance, the PRC’s contemporary role in Africa – and in Ethiopia for that matter – has since been argued along this ”anti-hegemonist” strategy by highlighting differing historical conditions and attitudes. On the one hand, there is the simple but crucial fact that China has never spatially occupied – or colonized – African territory. On the other hand, declaring China itself as part of the developing world after World War II resulted in a fairly different perception of China’s role when engaging with the developing world. Thus, even if this status has gradually changed during the last two decades – and placing China in the group of emerging economies, the so-called BRIC states – the PRC has deliberately positioned itself as a partner at eye level for other developing nations. 3 As one of the main guidelines evolving from these circumstances, the PRC has established its basic cooperation principle of “mutual benefit.” Introduced through China’s official foreign policy, which was formulated along the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” in the mid-1950s, mutual benefit has since been comprehensively applied for China’s political and economic exchange

1 // Cf. for example: Ian Taylor, China and Africa – Engagement and Compromise (London: Routledge, 2006), 40. Alaba Ogunsanwo, China’s Policy in Africa 1958–71 (London: Cambridge University Press, 1974), 274. 2 // Taylor, China and Africa – Engagement and Compromise, 35. 3 // For the initial definition of the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) cf. Jim O’Neill, “Building Better Global Economic BRICs,” Goldman Sachs Economic Research Group: Global Economics Paper no. 66 (2001), http://www.gold mansachs.com/our-thinking/archive/ building-better.html (accessed March 22, 2016).

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CONTRIBUTORS // Marc Angélil is Professor at the Department of Architecture of ETH Zurich.

// Sarah Graham is a principal of agps architecture, a multi-disciplinary team in

His research at the Network City and Landscape (NSL) and the Future Cities

Los Angeles and Zurich bridging the realms of infrastructure, architecture,

Laboratory (FCL) in Singapore focuses on social and spatial developments of

and landscape. She holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a Masters of

large metropolitan regions worldwide. He is also principal of agps architec-

Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has been an

ture, with ateliers in Zurich and Los Angeles.

Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California and a Visiting Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Harvard GSD, and

// Selamawit Berhe graduated in 2006 with a degree in construction man-

the University of California, Berkeley.

agement from Addis Ababa University. She has worked as a reporter and researcher for Construction Ahead magazine, a professional bi-monthly

// Martin Grunder is the director of Menschen für Menschen Switzerland,

publication dedicated to the construction industry and planners in Ethiopia.

a foundation operating in Ethiopia, started by Karl-Heinz Böhm in 1981. He is also the on-site project manager in Addis Ababa and has decades of ex-

// Zegeye Cherenet is an Ethiopian architect and PhD holder of the Hafen City

perience in development cooperation and links with international and local

University in Hamburg, Germany. As an Assistant Professor, he is a faculty

organisations. In his work, he is following the principle of “helping people

member of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and

help themselves,” partnering and supporting the population with integrated

City Development EiABC in Addis Ababa. He is the principal of Zegeye Cher-

projects in the fields of education, healthcare, water, agriculture, advance-

enet & Associates, office for architecture, design and urban studies. He was

ment of women, and social affairs.

the former general secretary of the Association of Ethiopian Architects (AEA), chairman of the department curriculum committee at Addis Ababa University,

// Dirk Hebel is Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture of ETH

and an academic guest at the ETH Zurich in 2007.

Zurich. He was the founding Scientific Director of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development in Addis Ababa,

// Sascha Delz is an architect and holds a PhD from ETH Zurich, investigat-

Ethiopia. His research at ETH Zurich and the Future Cities Laboratory in Sin-

ing urban transformations under the premise of international development

gapore concentrates on a metabolic understanding of resources and inves-

cooperation in Ethiopia. After practicing as an architect in New York and Swit-

tigates alternative building materials and construction techniques and their

zerland, he worked as design instructor and researcher at the Department of

applications in developed as well as developing territories.

Architecture of ETH Zurich, and the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore. He currently collaborates on a research project, which explores cooperative

// Rainer Hehl is an architect and urban planner and was Guest Professor at

housing for low-income contexts.

the TU Berlin between 2013 and 2015. He holds a PhD from the ETH Zurich, investigating urbanization strategies for informal settlements. In 2009, he cu-

// Fabio Ferraresi is a civil engineer educated at the Italian Institute Galileo

rated the exhibition SQUAT at the 4th International Architecture Biennial in

Galilei in Addis Ababa. He has has worked on several hydropower projects

Rotterdam, through which he initiated test-site projects in Paraisópolis, one of

in Ethiopia and abroad as part of design teams and as a construction su-

Sao Paulo’s largest favelas. Hehl co-founded the non-profit organization and

pervisor. He has been the founder, editor-in-chief. and managing director of

online network urbaninform.net. He ist he editor of numerous publications

Construction Ahead magazine, a professional bi-monthly publication dedi-

such as Building Brazil! (Ruby Press, 2011), Cidade de Deus – City of Gods

cated to the construction industry and planners in Ethiopia. He is also the

(Ruby Press, 2012), and Minha Casa – Nossa Cidade (Ruby Press, 2013).

general manager of Digital Impressions, a branding design company operating in Addis Ababa.

// Felix Heisel is the head researcher at the Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel at the ETH Zurich, and the Future Cities Laboratory

// Fasil Giorghis is an Ethiopian architect and an Assistant Professor at the

Singapore. Preceding this position, he was the coordinator for the 3rd year

Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Develop-

architecture program at the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Con-

ment EiABC in Addis Ababa. He has devoted his professional life to the study

struction and City Development (EiABC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His interest

of his country’s architectural heritage, from traditional housing to historical

in Ethiopia’s urban growth resulted in the making of the movie series _Spac-

buildings. He has participated in numerous international conferences and

es, a collection of six documentaries on space appropriation in Addis Ababa

contributed articles about Ethiopian architecture and the preservation of

with Bisrat Kifle with the resulting book publication Lessons of Informality

Ethiopian cultural heritage. He has a private architectural practice where he

(Birkhäuser, 2016).

designs and has realized projects ranging from private houses to regional hotels and cultural centers.

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15.04.16 19:04

// Jørg Himmelreich is editor in chief of the Swiss architectural magazine

// Katrina Stoll is an architect, urban designer, and educator. She has taught

archithese. He is an architect, historian as well as a scholar in art and design.

architecture and theory at Syracuse University, ETH Zurich, and North Caro-

He taught and conducted research on architectural theory at ETH Zurich and

lina State University and worked with Studio SCAPE, Studio Gang and Atelier

is the author of several books and articles on architecture history and theory.

Bow-Wow. Katrina co-designed IP2100 (Island Proposition 2100), which was

He was editor in chief of Architektur+Technik and also contributed to the

featured in the Australian Pavilion of the 2010 Venice Biennale. She edited

ETH Zurich student journal trans.

together with Scott Lloyd Infrastructure as Architecture: Designing Composite Networks (Jovis, 2011). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropol-

// Mark Jarzombek is Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at the

ogy from Cornell University and a Master of Architecture from Columbia Uni-

Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, where he was also

versity.

the Associate and Interim Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning. He is the co-founder with Vikramaditya Prakash of Global Architecture His-

// Marta H. Wisniewska is a researcher and teaching assistant at the Assistant

tory Teaching Collaborative, funded by a million dollar grant from the Andrew

Professorship of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel at the ETH Zu-

Mellon Foundation in 2014. He has worked on a range of historical topics from

rich, and the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore. Prior to her engagement

the Renaissance to the modern age and published numerous books and ar-

at ETH Zurich, she was the 1st year architectural program coordinator at the

ticles on the theme, lately Architecture of First Societies: A Global Perspective

Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Develop-

(Wiley Press, 2013).

ment in Addis Ababa. In 2014, Marta H. Wisniewska together with Felix Heisel and Dirk E. Hebel has published Building from waste: Recovered Materials in

// Jesse LeCavalier is an architect and an Assistant Professor with strong

Architecture and Construction (Birkhäuser, 2014).

interests in logistics and urbanism in the College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He holds a PhD from the ETH Zurich, a Master of Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley,

// STUDENT PROJECT CONTRIBUTIORS

and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University. He is a co-author, with John

Raegan Albright, Dimitris Anagnostopoulos, Anne-Charlotte Malterre Barthes,

Harwood and Guillaume Mojon, of the publication This Will _ This (Stand-

Helawi Sewnet Beshah, Charis Christodoulou, Daniel Tibebu Desta, Fujan

punkte, 2009) and his essays have appeared in journals like Public Culture,

Fahmi, Duan Fei, Nicolò Fenu, Sebastian Alfaro Fuscalo, Valentina Genini,

JAE, A+D, and Cabinet. He has also contributed to the collections Infrastruc-

Kathrin Gimmel, Jasmine Kastani, Noboru Kawagishi, Xenia Kokoula, Sander

ture as Architecture (Jovis Verlag, 2010).

Laureys, Lincoln Landon Lewis, Hui-Ju Lee, Laura Maccioni, Imke Mumm, Hyeri Chang Park, Tomas Polach, Christian Josef Sergio Schärmer, Stefanie

// Eliana Perotti has a PhD in art history. She has been a research assistant

Scherer, Matthew Gerald Skjonsberg, Thomas Pieter Chris Vermeulen, André

at the Institut gta of the ETH Zurich since 2000. Her focus is on research and

Lourens van der Westhuizen, Simon Kramer Vrscaj, Andreas Westner, Darik

publications about the history and theory of architecture and urban develop-

Zebenigus Wuhib, Ronald Emerson Yearwood

ment from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, lately in Theoretikerinnen des Städtebaus. Texte und Projekte für die Stadt (Reimer Verlag, 2015) with Katia Frey. She has been engaged in several research projects in the field such as “Italian Architecture Overseas. An Iconographic Atlas,” a research project by the Università di Bologna in 2008/09.

// Cary Siress is an architect and urban theorist who holds a PhD from ETH Zurich. He has taught at ETH Zurich, University of Edinburgh, University of Nanjing, and the TU Munich. He was senior researcher in Territorial Organization at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore (FCL). His current research pertains to global urbanization processes and how human and material realms become entangled under various political-economic agendas.

// 253 ETH_ADDISAbaba_2ndEdition_RZ_15042016.indd 253

15.04.16 19:04

MARC ANGÉLIL DIRK HEBEL

TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES FOR URBAN TERRITORIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

SECOND AND REVISED EDITION

ETH_ADDISAbaba_2ndEdition_COVER_RZneu_27042016.indd 1

SECOND AND REVISED EDITION

MARC ANGÉLIL DIRK HEBEL

www.birkhauser.com

CITIES OF CHANGE ADDIS ABABA

TRANSFORMATION STRATEGIES FOR URBAN TERRITORIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

27.04.16 16:38