A City Web

The in-between area of Kirkos becomes the starting point of the project, that aims to bridge and reconnect - materially and symbolically - the two halves of the city. As the urban poors are usually the first to be displaced from the central area to condominiums build in the outskirts of Addis Ababa, the reconstruction of the quarter can be realised in stages, with relocation of the population and activities into new buildings within the same area. A concept that implies the search for a dwelling environment that is neither completely modern nor completely traditional, but incorporates the field of tension between both, is used.

The development of the strategy start from a grid, that has the capacity of accomodating multiple and particular developments and open spaces while maintaining a certain general logic. The result is a web of connections in which the gradual transition between public and private domains becomes clear in the succession of main streets, alleys, patios and dwellings. The continuous pedestrian connections, open spaces and public amenities which constitute the locus of collectivity, site of meeting, trade and play. Two main pedestrian roads connect vertically this neighbour to the others around. These two streets lead to two main open spaces, that are defined by the middle/high-rise developments. These open spaces host playgrounds, meeting points shaded by trees, water points, and multifunctional bamboo structure that, with the temporary addition of textile and bamboo planks, can be uses as market stalls, performance places and and as morgue. Moreover, the ground floor of the middle-rise buildings houses public functions, such as educational, cultural, social and commercial activities that activate the porch and the the open spaces around.

The low-rise housing blocks are then located in the openings and in-between spaces of the web of connections. A great attention is put on the threshold as a space of transition between public and private, the inhabitants have the possibility to use it as a working or a selling space, activating and extending the life in the small roads inside the neighbour.

The web of connection, made by the open spaces and the different kind of streets, is a device that structure the composition of the building environment and can be adapt to the context or can be extended to re-create it.