History of Ethiopian Architecture, Addis Ababa and its Architectural background
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this presentation gives an insight on the Architectural history of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
![ADDIS ABABA STYLE – BACK GROUND
The 19th Century, or rather the one hundred years 1775-
1875],is a comparatively empty period as far as
Architectural development is concerned.
It was even so that some of the skills acquired during the
Gondar period died out again. The traditional building
methods for homes and churches continued as before.
22-Oct-19
2
HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
Fig:- A sketch by British
diplomatic mission member to
the ruler of Shewa, that is king
Sahle Sellassie’s court at
Ankober](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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History of Ethiopian Architecture, Addis Ababa and its Architectural background
- 1. ADDIS ABABA AND ITS ARCHITECTURE Arch 3281 By TOFFIK A. January 2018 22-Oct-19 1 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 2. ADDIS ABABA STYLE – BACK GROUND The 19th Century, or rather the one hundred years 1775- 1875],is a comparatively empty period as far as Architectural development is concerned. It was even so that some of the skills acquired during the Gondar period died out again. The traditional building methods for homes and churches continued as before. 22-Oct-19 2 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture Fig:- A sketch by British diplomatic mission member to the ruler of Shewa, that is king Sahle Sellassie’s court at Ankober
- 3. Emperor tewodros also kept his court as mobile as the kings of the 15th and 16th century and he did not construct a palace. except for his unsuccessful ambition,sevastiopol,th e big formidable looking mortar built by foreign missionaries. Which said to be burst on the first shot. 22-Oct-19 3 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 4. Development through the services of employed foreigners is mostly something of the reign of Emperor Menilek-II, & mostly after 1900. The first building of (imported) burnt bricks was constructed in Addis Ababa in 1898. A few exceptions belong to the 19th century .The Greek craftsman Demetrius built for King Sahle Selassie, around 1840, a 2-storey palace at Angolala & also a mill near Ankober –Which the Priests condemned as being “The devil’s work”. 22-Oct-19 4 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 5. ADDIS ABABA - BACKGROUND 22-Oct-19 5 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 9. MINILIK’S INVITATION TO REGIONAL RULERS TO SETTLE AROUND HIM 22-Oct-19 9 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 11. THE ADDIS ABABA STYLE 22-Oct-19 11 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 19. 22-Oct-19 19 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture The imperial palace connected with the prayer pavilion [1890s] The modified prayer pavilion [around 1910]
- 25. 22-Oct-19 25 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture Summary o Fancy roofing forms o roofing material, thatch and corrugated iron sheets o Green painted balconies and roofs o the verandah and balconies were full of decorations, mostly with wooden ornaments and sometimes with flat metal sheets [which in turn decorated by cutting out forms.
- 36. PLAIN FORMS OF THE 1930’S 22-Oct-19 36 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 47. ARCHITECTURE OF THE 60’S 22-Oct-19 47 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture
- 50. 22-Oct-19 50 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture With the positioning of City Hall on top of the hill in the old city centre the Emperor intended to trigger several urban developments at once. The first is the establishment of a pole for Churchill Road, which now ran as a straight axis from the train station to the City Hall. The second is the redevelopment of the historical area around Piazza. The third is an even wider impact on the modernization of the city and society as a whole.
- 54. 22-Oct-19 54 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture o This mix of archaic labour- intensive techniques and modern technologies that are appropriate to the time and place of construction derives from the two architects‘ background in building educational facilities throughout the country (Tedros) and studying Tropical architecture at the Architectural Association in London (Enav). oThe Filwoha baths were built in less than a year. oOne of the architects even claims that the baths were „the largest in the world at that time“.
- 59. 22-Oct-19 59 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture The building for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was commissioned and designed to carry the message of Ethiopia being a modern state (or at least striving towards a state of modernity). However, the many new and varied approaches to architectural modernism that were virulent in the mid-1960s are apparent from the anecdote that architect Zalman Enav recalled in an interview: „The Prime Minister asked me to design a building similar to the UN building in New York … I told him that it was out of question, since I wanted to design an ‚Ethiopian building‘. But he insisted, telling me, ‚we want to be Modern‘ … I finally designed a large model and took it to the Cesar who asked me: ‚why is it not built with glass?‘ I answered him: ‚don‘t you see? The facade is made of units that resemble the star of Solomon, the Ethiopian symbol …‘ Only then was he convinced by my idea.“
- 61. 22-Oct-19 61 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture In the early 1960s, Emperor Haile Selassie dedicated his former palace and premises in the North of the city to the newly founded Addis Ababa University. The commission to build the new campus library went to the American firm Mc Leod, Ferrara & Ensign, which had a strong record in designing educational facilities. Following the classicist air around higher education facilities in many American campuses the library looks like a temple, a pavilion on a podium.
- 63. 22-Oct-19 63 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture The building of the Zawditu apartment block was part of the intended, however not completed, redevelopment of the historic city centre around Piazza. Built along one of the steep streets leading uphill, the architect needed to accommodate the height difference of the terrain in the design. Mezzedimi wrapped the whole residential part of the building in one continuous band that shows on the horizontal and vertical edges of the volume.
- 64. 22-Oct-19 64 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture At one point the slope requires a jump‘ from one storey to the other, and the band tilts accordingly. On the lower level the band serves as a balcony, while on the top level it is split and opens up to a panoramic terrace. On street level there are single and double-storey shops.
- 65. 22-Oct-19 65 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture Merkato is one of the largest markets in Africa and people from all over Ethiopia come here for trading. A central bus terminal is located in the core area of the market in-between two twin buildings, the Aderash. Adarash‘ literally means hall in Amharic and to shop in a hall was a new experience in Addis Ababa in the early 1960s. In contrast to the typical small- scale individual selling booths in Merkato the two halls of the Aderash house hundreds of retailers under one large roof.
- 66. 22-Oct-19 66 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture The Aderash was designed by the Ethiopian engineer Mekonen Mulat and built in 13 months by the company Ethiopian Contractors Engineers. Mekonen‘s sculptural yet functional design still proves its qualities after half a century of continuous use, a feature, which needs to be given special attention in the current redevelopment of Merkato.
- 67. 22-Oct-19 67 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture The National Bank building marks a strategic point in the city‘s street network. It stands at the large crossing of the North-South axis of Churchill Road and the East-West connection between the Palace hill and the Old Airport. The round form and raised platform indicate the bank building‘s claim towards monumentality. The bank consists of two concentric volumes - a cylinder and a dome. From the outside the cylindrical form is built of a continuous chain of 20 similar segments. These concrete parts are shaped through two parabolic cut-outs with a larger one from the bottom and a smaller one from the top, thus forming H-shapes. The holes left from the construction process of pouring the concrete elements in moulds are closed with a regular pattern of brass elements. The thin, elegant window profiles are of similar material.
- 69. 22-Oct-19 69 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture While some of the buildings of the 1960s in Addis Ababa attempt to work with local themes and symbolic motives, the General Post Office is designed in a truly non-contextual, modernist manner. It is an abstract composition of finely proportioned volumes clad in a well constructed, though universally applicable curtain wall façade.
- 71. 22-Oct-19 71 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture Built on the corner the main road from Mexico Square towards the National Theatre the Bedilu Building shows one of the most eyecatching facades of the modern period in Addis. The load-bearing grid of smoothly executed concrete shapes is formed such that the edges of the large glass window infills which are framed with fine brass profiles are slightly angled, thus resulting in a subtle octogonal outline. A further highlight are the glass corners, which give the whole building an elegant touch hardly found in the city elsewhere.
- 73. 22-Oct-19 73 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture Ras Shell‘ is the colloquial name for a small petrol station located near the Ras Hotel along Churchill Road. In a city where cars were not used widely for a long time this tiny building is a celebration of automobility. It is composed of circles, rings and round plates that are stacked vertically in different heights and proportions. The resulting strong mushroom-like form and monolithic concrete construction unite the disparate urban realm and orders the flow of vehiclular traffic around the building.
- 76. 22-Oct-19 76 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture This apartment block is characterized by its windmill shaped plans that have protruding balconies on all four corners. However, as the plan is flipped on each floor the balconies stretch out in different directions. The facades develop from a fully opened section at the balconies to a fully closed part, and then extend further with horizontal windows. The vertical stacking as well as the horizontal flipping of each floor‘s outline make this building a playful sculpture.
- 79. REFERENCES AMARE D. and FASIL G. (1986) Early Architectural Development in Addis Ababa Architectural History of ethiopia in pictures, Bernhard Lindahl [1970], addis ababa ADDIS MODERN Re-discovering the 1960s Architecture of Africa‘s Capital City with students of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development 22-Oct-19 79 HistoryofEthiopianArchitecture