The ETH Zurich School of Architecture in Addis Ababa is a collaborative between Ethiopian and Swiss students and teachers. The remote branch of Addis Ababa University is a playground of design-build projects by students. A bamboo structure sits in a field as an exercise in structures (I bet they had fun calculating those forces!). Adjacently, the shipping container house is the first design-build structure on campus. Equipt with electrical amenities, the two story house proves functional yet empty for experimental testings.

The current project in 2010 was a rammed earth house. Construction was underway at the time of the visit. The house was a design challenge as well as a political statement. Much contemporary building in Ethiopia uses non-sustainable, expensive, imported materials like concrete and steel. The Ethiopian students felt that there can be pride in using traditional building techniques like rammed earth in contemporary ways that speak both to culture and progress.

These pictures were taken at three branches of Addis Ababa University, the last housing the Architecture School. The architecture students’ workshops and structures are also in this album.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]