Lideta Mercato Market / Vilalta Architects

The Lideta Mercato was supposed to be a shopping mall like many in the city of Addis Ababa. After analyzing the existing ones we realized that they have 3 weak points: they are empty because the shops are too big, their glass facades create heating and bring too much light in the inside and their image does not reflect Africa, neither Ethiopia’s character. On the other hand, the Old Mercato of ...

Building for the Gap – Experimental Housing Units for Sub Saharan Africa

There is an expected boom in the construction sector in Sub Saharan Africa as factor of the projected urban population estimated to grow by almost 70% by 2025. This heavy urbanization consequently will choke the already insufficient planning methods in building techniques, soft and hard infrastructures and economic cycles. The current solutions in the said region are not commensurable with the ...

Embassy of the Netherlands / Dick Van Gameren and Bjarne Mastenbroek

The new Embassy of the Netherlands is a building that thrives within its environment, seeking new ways to deal with both the thermal nemesis and the contextual significance of a growing architectural language in Ethiopia's stone architecture. It is a vision that is intended to set an example for a sensitive and sustainable approach towards existing natural and landscape values in Ethiopia

Warka Water/ Architecture and Vision - Arturo Vittori

“WarkaWater is designed to provide clean water as well as ensure long-term environmental, financial and social sustainability,” Says the Architect. “Once locals have the necessary know how, they will be able to teach other villages and communities to build the WarkaWater towers.” Each tower costs approximately $550 and can be built in under a week with a four person team and locally available m...

NIB Mixed Use / Xavier Vilalta Architects

The NIB mixed-use program is enclosed by a concrete façade with different type of openings for each program under common proportions and parameters. Depending on the interior use it increases or decreases its thickness with terraces, similar in geometry and properties to the historical buildings of Dire Dawa but in a contemporary way. It’s not a copy paste approach but rather an interpretation ...

AACCSA Headquarters / BC Architects

Urbanism, in common perception, comes before architecture: urbanism creates potential by generating conditions to orchestrate the city’s latter architectural objects. Urbanism is a very generous way of thinking, since a lot is left open, whereas architecture is a more selfish discipline, which uses up the potential generated by others. In some rapidly changing cities of the global south though,...

South African Embassy, Addis Ababa/ MMA Design Studio

This complex serves one of South Africa’s most important missions abroad being the seat of the African Union and provides for both bilateral and multi-lateral functions. This is one building that presents an image of Africa in the modern times. It is not romantic about the past or futile in depicting modern design.

Lalibela /BC Architects

The Ben Abeba 'rock hewn hotel rooms' project was aimed at creating a contemporary and ecologically sensitive architecture inspired by the power of expression of the historical rock hewn churches in the town of Lalibela. It’s a project that was intended to sprout out of the rocks as an extension rather than an addition.

Woldaya Maternity Centre /Xavier Vilalta Architects (XVA)

Located in Woldya, a town in the Amhara region in northeast Ethiopia, the new maternity care center is placed at the entrance of the Woldya hospital becoming a new gathering area for future mothers, It’s a public space serving the social role of bringing together the mothers but most important provides the ever important functions of a maternity. It is divided in two areas that share an entranc...

British Council Building /Emma Vergette

As opposed to most Embassy and Embassy related compounds the British Council Building in Addis Ababa replaces the usually high solid walls with a rather porous design with open railings that maximise visibility of the building, a clear indication of the approachability and openness of the Council.