The Addis Ababa House - Piet Nieder Kartoniert (TB)

In its early decades the ­Ethiopian capital founded in 1886 witnessed a very specific form of ­architecture. At the beginning of the East African country's first ­urbanisation process a mixture of vernacular knowledge and a new cosmopolitan mindset led to an archi­tectural type that local professionals refer to as the 'Addis ­Ababa Style': Pavilion-like buildings of different sizes made of stone earth and wood characterised by expressive pinched roofs generous verandas with curtain walls and a high degree of detailing. Today those graceful ­appropriate and nature-based buildings a re under threat of being swallowed up due to shortsighted economic interests. In cooperation with the Institute for Architecture in ­Addis Ababa (EiABC) architects of Berlin's Technical University studied this typology with regard to its embeddedness in local resources climatic conditions and craftsmanship. As such they employed the ­'Addis ­Ababa House' as a case study to discuss the possibility of a non-­industrial building type that ­reflects the desire for a cosmopolitan urban life.