Reflection

Graduation studio: global housing---cross-cultural methods and

position/Addis Ababa

Siyun Shen

4329376

21 June 2015

1. The relation between the graduation lab and my design subject: The graduation studio I am working on is: global housing---cross-cultural methods and position/Addis Ababa. The theme of the studio is focusing on addressing the pressing dwelling issue in developing territories with the increasing cross-cultural character of contemporary architectural practice. Positions breed especially from the local culture, environment, society and economic circumstances are required to be developed. Under this background, my design subject is to create a new housing model for the urban poor based on the existing “production & living” pattern that can accommodate both the conventional social connections and the economic activities. 2. The relation between research and design: There are mainly three research parts that have strong connections with my own design hypothesis. (1) The first part is taken place in the case studies. Three cases that all taking social-economic connections into account are discussed and compared to see what is the key factor that would make the housing for the urban poor work. They are the Aranya Project by Balkrishna Doshi in 1983 in Indore, India, New Gourna by Hassan Fathy in 1943 in Egypt and in-situ upgrading project Yerawada, Pune, India. All the three projects appreciate the intimate social ties in the existing community and try to preserve this feature in the new design. While only the last project turn the idea of embedding on-plot income into reality. And the combination of this social and economic sustainability pay it back with a long-running and more prosperous project than the other two. So it helps me to establish the insight that the fulfillment of both social and economic sustainability is the major point to achieve the long-term benefits in housing for the urban poor. (2) The second part of the research determines my design happens during the comparative analysis between the existing housing figures for the urban poor in Addis Ababa- the slum and condominium. In both figures, there is always a conflict between individuality (individual realm expansion) and collectivity (collective realm quality) from community scale to cluster scale and unit scale (Fig 1). But the reason behind this phenomena is different. For slum, the bottom-up forces conducted by people themselves can be concluded as the cause. While for condominium, the top-down strategy carried out in every place of the project leading to less flexibility for further adaptation. So after this comparison, I tend to think that the fusion of a top-down and bottom-up strategy should be taken here to provide a framework for dwellers to

SLUM CLUSTERexpansion for living space: kitchen

expansion for living space: courtyard

expansion for generating income: subrent

expansion for generating income: shop

CURRENT SITUATION PROPOSED SITUATION

CONFLICT:INDIVIDUALITY & COLLECTIVITY

4

CONDOMINIUM COURTYARDCONFLICT:INDIVIDUALITY & COLLECTIVITY

In most cases, the courtyard as the collective space for the cluster is not well-maintained. Some tenants on ground floor may make their private gardens to clarify their individual realm. The huge space are always used to dry their laundry. And because of the lose of connection to the ground, dwellers are unwilling to use the common facility which designed for common laundry and kitchen

The conflict is stiil there as the courtyard is designed as the collective space while individuals tend to abandon it and keep expanending on their own unit.

private garden

common facility for laundry and kitchen,now are abandoned or used as slaughter place

laundry for the cluster

10

CONDOMINIUM UNIT

FUNCTIONS WITH INDEPENDENT ROOM INDIVIDUAL REALM EXPANSION

CONFLICT:INDIVIDUALITY & COLLECTIVITY

individual realm expansion on the collective gallery

real privacy for individual family members

11

Fig 1-a. The individual realm expansion towards public space in slums.source: own illustration

Fig 1-b. The individual realm expansion towards public space in condominium (community scale). source: own illustration

Fig 1-c. The individual realm expansion towards public space in condominium (uint scale).source: own illustration

fill in as their own needs. (3) During my site survey, the existing social-spatial pattern of “production & living” in Addis Ababa enlighten me to come up with my design hypothesis. As it seems to have the potential to become a strategy that may enhance the social ties by collaborative production activities and generate on-plot income at the same time (Fig 2). So my design hypothesis is to improve, transform and integrate the existing “production & living” pattern into a new urban housing model to achieve a self-sustainable community. 3. The relationship between the methodical line of approach of the graduation lab and the method chosen by the student in this framework: (1) Phase One: Design research & projective mapping Studio’s approach: In the first phase, we were allocated in group of three students to account for six housing figures that evolved through time in Addis Ababa to build a collective knowledge base for the following phase of the design. They are: a. vernacular house, b. palace compounds, c. informal housing, d. colonial housing, e. modernist experiments, f. condominium and commercial developments. My approach: I participated in the analysis of vernacular housing. After categorizing six vernacular housing types based on their location, climate, material, dimension and construction method (Fig 3), we delivered a series of analytical drawings from the village scale, cluster scale to single housing scale to understand the conventional social-spatial practices in vernacular housing and the traditions as well as the potential in local materials and building technology (Fig 4). (2) Phase two: Problem statement Studio’s approach: Four independent societal issues in Addis Ababa were discussed to develop the critical reflection, determine the core issue and raise the research question on one of these issues. They are: a. arriving in Addis, b. housing for the urban poor, c. everyday trajectories, d. housing design towards an inclusive city. My approach: The issue attracted me the most was the housing for the urban poor. Our group mainly focused on the two existing housing figures that caters for the poor people in Addis, namely slum and condominium. By comparing these two, we figured out that in both figures there were the uncontrolled individual expansion into the collective realm which brings a conflict between individuality and collectivity. So the research question base on these issues is as follows: how can we achieve a balance between the individual dwelling extensions and the preservation of public space?

EXISTING "PRODUCTION+LIVING" PATTERN

The existing “production+living” pattern looks chaotic at the first glance, but what is the latent logic and the potential beneath it?

20

Oromo 34.4 %Amhara 26.9%Somali 6.2%Tigray 6.1%A�ar 1.7%Other 24.7%

Orthodox 43.5 %Muslim 33.9%Protestant 18.6%Traditionalist 2.6%Catholic 0.7%Other 0.6%

Wood and mud 73.5%Wood and thatch 13%Stone and mud 7% Reed or bamboo 2.5%Other 4%

Thatch 51% of housesCorrugated iron sheet 38%Wood and mud 5%Reed or bamboo 3.5%Plastic or shera 1%Other 1.5%

Ethnic groups and religionThere are currently more than 80 ethnic groups in Ethiopia. The Oromo, Amhara, Somali, Tigray and A�ar are the largest in population. Regions are divided based on these groups. Other large ethnic groups are Welaita, Silt’e, Sidama, Kembata, Ke�cho, Hadiya, Guragie, Gedo and Gamo.In Addis Ababa all ethnic groups are represented, but the most populous are the Amhara, Oromo, Guragie, Tigray, Silt’e and Gamo. A person’s ethnic group is not necessarily decisive for their religion. Although people in some groups share the same religion, as the Tigray and the Amhara are decidingly orthodox and the Somali mainly muslim, often people within an ethnic group can have di�erent religions.

Building materialsThe typical Ethiopian house is made of mud with a thatched roof. However corrugated iron roofs are becoming more and more common, especially in the cities. In Addis Ababa 98% of the houses have iron roofs.92% of the Ethiopians live in a house with a mud �oor, while in Addis Ababa slightly more houses are built with cement �oors than mud.In about three quarters of the houses built in Addis Ababa as well as the whole of Ethiopia walls are still made with mud.

Traditional division between agricultural zones

Berha: hot lowlands <500 m. above sealevel. In the east crops can hardly be grown. In the west, where it is more humid, corn and root crops are grown.Qolla: hot and dry lowlands 500-1500 m. Sorghum, �nger millet, sesame, cowpeas, and groundnuts are main crops in this region.Wayna daga: intermediate zone 1500-2300 m. This is the most populated part of the country. Wheat, te�, barley, maize, sorghum, and chickpeas are mostly grown.Daga: highlands 2300-3200 m. where it is relatively cool with an average temperature of 16˚C. The most grown crops are barley, wheat, oilseeds, and pulses.Wurch: highlands 3200-3700 m. Mostly barley is grown.Kur: highlands > 3700 m. Grazing animals.

Ethnic groups Religion

Roof materials Wall materials

DimensionLarger than with one pole

Tigre ProvinceEritrea Province

4 Sub-Provincein centural

Excpect in the north and north-west

East of Lake Margarita around the town

Dorze village

Region Somali

stone

leaves(bam

boo shoot)

leaves (bam

boo shoot)

grasses (thatching)

earth

bamboo

bamboo

bamboo

branch

junipers

timber

enset(false banana)

grasses(thatching)

eucalyptus

eucalyptus

Material

Framework

Location

R: 3-4m

H: 2-2.5mD: 7-8m

H: 6-8m

Openings

Parition

Centural Pole

TyingWeavingWeavingWeaving PilingTying

Time

Economy

Livelihood

Cost

4 years - collecting stone4-6 months - building

Hunting Fishing Trapping

SedentaryFarming

Increasing distinction between roof and wall

DORZE

SIDAMO

OROMO

GURAGE

TIGRAY

Vernacular Housing

Fleur Luca Siyun ShenYating Hu

SOMALI

Sidama

Bamboo is grown privately as a building material

Modern houses often have a concrete base, sometimes decorated with stones, and (large) windows

Around the houses false banana plant are grown. Di�erent parts of the plants are used for food and building material

The Sidama are well known for growing co�ee

The ground is compacted and a circle is drawn where the house will be built.Bamboo is the main building material but often whatever is found is used.A eucalyptus center pole is placed.

Vertical strips of split bamboo are placed in the ground and woven into place with horizontal rings of bamboo until the top is reached.

A layer of �ner woven bamboo is added on the outside of the structure, on top of that a layer of honchies, special leaves that are meant to waterproof the house, and again a layer of �nely woven bamboo.

Sometimes the outside is varnished for protection and aesthetics.On the mud �oor sometimes bamboo matting is placed and rooms are divided by bamboo screens.

Sidama DorzeVernacular Housing

Fleur Luca Siyun ShenYating Hu

Around their huts the Dorze people have their own little garden with tobacco.

Women of the Dorze tribe have most of the responsibility in the family. They take care of children as well as the house choirs. The women are also responsible for cooking, spinning cotton and collecting firewood.

Draw spl i t bamboo pieces into ground (each 10 cm apart).

A series of horizontial bamboo rings is interlocked between the vertical pieces (from bottom to top).

After building a scaffolding to reach the top part, a portion is added around the house (serves as entrance hall).

Layers of false banana leaves are placed outside the framework of the hut.

The Dorze people are famous for their cotton woven cloths. So around their houses there are also cotton planted.

Around the house false banana plant are grown. Different parts of the plants are used for food and building material.

The middle sized hut is used as honeymoon buildingl. After live for 3 months, the couple will leave to build another hut and leave that house to next generation.

The Dorze men spend most of their time on farming or building huts.

The Dorze men spend most of their time on farming or building huts.

Fig 2. The existing "production & living" pattern in Addis Ababasource: own illustration

Fig 3. The 6 vernacular housing types.source: own illustration

Fig 4. The analytical drawing of the Dorze type of vernacular housing..source: own illustration

(3) Phase three: Site survey Studio’s approach: A field trip was taken to further understand the existing social-spatial pattern in Addis and testify the core problem defined in phase two. My approach: The visit to Merkato (the biggest market area in Addis) unveiled me the existing “production & living” pattern which has an enormous potential to become the new housing model. And it also determined my site at exactly the same place where the most intense production activities happened (Fig 5). (4) Phase four: Urban strategy & design hypothesis From this phase, individual design begins and I started to explore how to realize those ideas I mentioned before into reality. My idea is to create a new typological figure with four layers which are production, living, commerce and leisure. Although as a new housing model, a continuous dialogue between old and new is always there. First, because the new housing figure is transformed from the existing “production & living” mode, the conventional social-spatial pattern is preserved and improved. Second, by taking advantage of the topography and the central river of the site, an urban park that can serve the whole city is introduced to function as a decompressing moment for the most intense area in Addis. The preservation of the landscape establishes a bond with the past and helps to keep local dwellers’ collective memory. Third, both the inner border (Fig 6) and outer border (Fig 7) is specially designed to articulate with the existing fabric. To sum up, my design is mainly about to provide a four layers new housing figure which bring in new qualities to the city but at the same time always integrate with the existing fabric. 4. The relationship between the project and the wider social context: By revising the relation between production and living, the original living pattern is largely preserved and the social networks are respected. What is more, with a community-scale production activity, the poor are no longer be treated as the people in the margin of the society but as part of the chain to complete the industrialized pace in Addis which helps them establish their confidence, position and dignity.

0 10 20 40

meter

SITE ANALYSISSITE FEATURES

1. The site is somewhere near marketo and works as an existing "production+living" pattern in Addis2. The grid road system introduced by Italian during the colony period.

15

Fig 5. The site which is at the center of Merkato.source: own illustration

Fig 6. Inner border of the project.source: own illustration

Fig 6. Outer border of the project.source: own illustration