Master Students from BAUHAUS UNIVERSITY WEIMAR traveled to Addis Ababa to visit the current housing program in Ethiopia. The work is part of the intensive collaboration between EiABC and partners in Germany based on the “welcome africa” project. The participants gathered background information during excursions and interviews. While talking to different stake holders and involved parties an insight view about the current situation and housing backlog could be obtained. Their visit went along with various lectures by specialists at EiABC. For the upcoming weeks they going to work on computer supported and generated solutions for housing typologies. The results will be presented on the annual re:load africa workshop in Weimar on July 2013. At tihs occasion representitives of EiABC will also discuss further shared projects.

contact: dirk.donath@eiabc.edu.et and martin.bielik@uni-weimar.de

For the second volume of the EiABC publication series “BUILDING ETHIOPIA”, the editor is calling for papers:

Interested applicants can submit papers, articles, projects and/or products under the theme “INNOVATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT” pertaining to any of the disciplines within the built environment.

Notification of Interests and Abstract: May 31st, 2013

Submission of Paper Draft: July 15th, 2013

Submission of Final Paper: August 31st, 2013

CONTACT: helawie.sewnet@eiabc.edu.et

The first meeting of the Scientistas! took place on 23rd of April at EiABC. The Scientistas! are a group of female scientists wishing to support and empower women in their scientific career. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, 8th of May 2013 at 4 pm in the EiABC staff room. In the meeting the specific situation of female scientists at EiABC shall be discussed and targets for empowerment set as well as the form of collaboration framed. The working group is due to meet on a regular basis. The group will also be involved in the advisory activity and establishment of an EiABC gender office, as it is planned by the EiABC management board and defined in the institutes 2013 action plan that this unit goes operational soon. Invited are all female staff members, MSc and PhD Students who are interested to share their experience and embark on a collaboration. Please sign up for the next meeting personally with Darik Zebenigus, Yemisrach Negash or Petra Gruber.

darik.zebenigus@eiabc.edu.et

yemisrach.negash@eiabc.edu.et

petra.gruber@eiabc.edu.et

The EiABC Chair of CAD & Geo-informatics presents a lecture by Dr. Henriette Bier, Assistant Professor at TU Delft/Faculty of Architecture on Monday April 22, 5:30 pm A-Hall, EiABC campus

Technological and conceptual advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and material science have enabled some of the 1960-70s visionary ideas to be implemented and tested in recently built robotic prototypes such as Hyperbody's Muscle Projects and dECOi's Aegis Hypo-Surface. While these prototypes obviously point towards a paradigm shift from inanimate towards animate architecture, they do not operate at building but at building component scale and do not address neither socio-economical nor environmental aspects that affect the society at large.
The aim of this research is, therefore, to develop reconfigurable, robotic architecture at building scale that addresses with consideration to environmental impact issues such as overpopulation (rapid urbanisation) and has, therefore, influence on society at large.

Dr. Henriette Bier is the Project leader of Robotic Architecture in the TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture. Results of her research have been published in books, journals and conference proceedings. She regularly leads workshops at universities in Germany, Italy and Belgium, and teaches at design studios within Hyperbody and SpaceLab at TU Delft.

for more information on the research go to: http://www.hyperbody.nl/research/projects/robotic-architecture/

On the 20^th of November, 2012 the EiABC has signed an MoU with the Jommo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenya. The signature was done by Prof. Mabel Imbuga, Vice Chancellor, and Joachim Dieter, Scientific Director of EiABC. Dr. Mebrahtu Meles, the Director of the Engineering Capacity Building Program (ecbp/MoE) established the relationship between the EiABC and JKUAT. Since then the EiABC has received two visits in which ended with the agreement between both institutions to cooperate in the fields of education, research, technology transfer, capacity building and institutional development. This cooperation also has a major focus on entrepreneurship, where JKUAT will closely work with the Centre of Entrepreneurship of the EiABC for our students and staff. The second visit of delegates from JKUAT at EiABC served the exchange of experiences in the field of education, with a focus on architectural design and landscape architecture. This team was led by Susan N. Kibue (PhD), Dean of the School of Architecture and Building Sciences at JKUAT.

The EiABC with its rapid increase in student numbers and the need for creating more opportunities signed this agreement to enable creation of other areas of mutual interest between the EiABC and JKUAT. Access to this agreement is available at the International Relations Office internationalrelations@eiabc.edu.et. The coordinating chair in this relationship is the Chairholder of Entrepreneurship Mulu Solomon Bezuneh, who is also the President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce.

Dawit Benti, Joachim Dieter and Petra Gruber

EiABC announces the establishment of the Chair of Architecture III led by Dawit Benti and Petra Gruber. With this step the scientific director Joachim Dieter initiates the reform of the chair structure at EiABC. The new Chair of Architecture III is focusing on high quality architecture in a holistic interpretation, reflecting the current economical, social and technological developments in Ethiopia. The chair will start teaching in the Bachelor of Architecture in summerterm 2013. The students are introduced to an integrative approach to architectural design in order to develop the skills to solve complex building tasks independently, considering real world boundary conditions. Dawit Benti and Petra Gruber are also project leaders for the design of the Master program in Advanced Architectural Design, that is planned to start in autumn 2013. Dawit Benti [March] is a professional architect, having extensive teaching experience at EiABC. Petra Gruber [Dipl.Ing. Dr.techn.] is a Visiting Professor (DAAD), architect and expert in building science and biomimetics with a focus on construction and sustainability.

Joachim Dieter (EiABC) and Halefom Abay (Woreda 04) signing the memorandum of understanding	EiABC team along with Woreda 04 team visiting the SICU site

EiABC and Lideta Sub-City / Woreda 4 have signed a Memorandum of Understanding where both parties would like to develop a friendly and Cooperative relation in the fields of Urban Design, Urban upgrading, Architectural design, and Construction detailing and Building management. During this signage, Ato Halefom Abay (chief Executive Director of Woreda 04) was representing the Woreda while Scientific Director Joachim Dieter was representing EiABC. Both partners were very much Enthused in the official start of the SICU prototype http://www.eiabc.edu.et/sicu which will be the keystone to a lot more collaboration in education, research of architecture, Building Construction and City Development. The EiABC SICU team consists of three chairs (Chair of Building Construction, Chair of Architectural Design I and Chair of CAD & Geo-informatics) who are collaborating to make a building prototype in the city of Addis Ababa. After signage, all parties (EiABC team, Woreda 04 team and other stake holders) went for a visit to the site, and discussed future projections and outcomes.

For more information on SICU visit the web page http://www.eiabc.edu.et/sicu

Dipl.Ing. Dr.techn., Visiting Professor, Chair for Urban Design, Johannes Fiedler

is an architect and urban planner from Vienna with a strong background in urban development consultancy and design, carried out in different cultural contexts. His experience involves housing (Palestine, South Africa), urban and regional planning (Cape Verde, Mozambique) and urban design (Europe). Following his dissertation on the phenomena of globalization/ urbanization in 2001, he has developed a broad range of activities in teaching and research and for the past three years he has headed the Chair of Urban Design at TU Braunschweig in Germany. In his presentation, he will present some key projects across all scales of the urban sphere.

Dipl.Ing. Dr.techn., Visiting Professor, Architectural Design, Petra Gruber

He stressed the central vocation of urban design as to the production and qualification of public space. Referring to Addis Ababa, Professor Fiedler pointed at the inherent qualities of this city as to user-based production and walkability, qualities to be cherished and maintained in the ongoing process of modernization.

The EiABC Chair of Building Construction, the Chair of Architecture and Design I and the Chair of CAD & Geo-Informatics have started the SICU project which will emphasize on the construction of an incremental housing system aiming to construct a fast and simple prefabricated construction in the city of Addis Ababa. SICU will be :-

• Constructed in an 8 x 8 meter square area at the Lideta Sub City, Woreda 4 , Kebele 38 - right behind the Federal Court of Addis Ababa
• combine theoretical knowledge with practical training for higher education at EiABC(training students with realistic parameters of a site and building construction system)
• promote critical reflections for further implementations; a prototype in the real environment, with real site factors, real neighbors and real risks

Taking the above into account, clear project schedule with appropriate feasibility dates and task force descriptions have been done. Spatial design concepts with clear design and construction parameters have been stated. These concepts are combined with new technologies and material systems in structure, which are under experiment at the EiABC Campus. 

SICU is the second phase of an international research and academic project that includes the realization of three experimental prototypes in scale 1:1 in the years 2011- 2014 : the first prototype is SECU - Sustainable Emerging City Unit - is a material oriented Building realized in three months,(see: http://eiabc.edu.et/secu-project), the second protype SICU , is a building process oriented prototype dealing with participatory design and is to be realized on site in the neighbourhoods of Addis Ababa , The third will be a prototype dealing with building systems, and will be placed in South Sudan. SICU will emphasize on the process of the design and construction, where these processes will involve not only students and academicians but also the neighborhood stake holders and the local community. For more information on SICU refer to http://www.eiabc.edu.et/sicu-project

EiABC students Alpha Yacob and Semira Akmel as well as our recent graduate Khlud Mohammed were invited to attend the World Student Summit for Sustainability 2012. About 150 (80 Kenyan and 70 International) well selected students, academics, young entrepreneurs and policymakers had gathered in Nairobi, Kenya and shared their insights on a green economy.

The summit was organized by the World Student Community for Sustainable Development in partnership with the University of Nairobi’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s EETU. It took place from 12th to 16th November 2012 at the Multimedia University, Nairobi, Kenya. Further, they were invited to join a post-summit workshop on Green Entrepreneurship, prepared for students motivated to launch green careers and innovative enterprises after the summit.

The summit focused on developing a common understanding of a green economy and how university students’ energy, actions and innovation can be harnessed for an enhanced impact on sustainable development. The summits topics emphasized on energy, waste, water, food and transport. Apart from keynote speeches, poster presentations and group discussions, practical activities were also incorporated into the summit. A competition on sustainable energy design for a Kenyan neighborhood was held in one of the workshops where our students stood number one. Furthermore, the summit was geared to enhance understanding of the Green Economy concept and to increase action towards green entrepreneurship by providing a platform for student-student and student-professional interactions. It also aimed in prioritizing youth actions towards the Green Economy and Sustainable Development.

The Sustainable Rural Dwelling Unit (SRDU) research project has inaugurated SRDU-I and II and launched SRDU-III.  The one day event was held on 21 October 2012 in Gubrie-Wolkite , Guraghe Zone  in the presence of H.E. Ato Mekuria Haile, Minister, Ministry of Construction and Urban Development. The focus of SRDU-I and II was capacity building, through hands-on training, and the development of improved housing units. As a result two housing typologies were inaugurated (See Figure-1 above). 

SRDU-III will consolidate and deepen the capacity building started in SRDU-I and II though curriculum development and scientific research at the PhD level. To achieve this, during the launching ceremony a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between five parties: EiABC, Bete-Guraghe Cultural Centre, Wolkite University, the Guraghe Zone Administration and Wolkite Polytechnic College (See Figure-2 above).  The SRDU-III will be carried out in collaboration with ETH-Global, ETH-Future Cities Laboratory (SingCore) and the Arthur Waser Foundation.

In the long-standing cooperation between the ETH Zürich and the Ethiopian Institute for Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), the Students of Architecture Alpha Yacob, Hiwote Negash, Michael Tesfaye and Tewedaj Eshetu had been invited to the Academia Engelberg, with the topic “Future Cities: Technology, Society and Agencies of Change” from 12-14 September 2012 and presented their experiences in research in the Conference. Their attendance greatly contributes to promoting collaboration in research and education on urban issues through including the perspective of Ethiopian students.

Further, the four students had also participated in a Summer School on the topic “Becoming Neighbors: Sustainable Empowerment and Rich Urban Communities” from 3-8 September 2012, organized by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Northwestern Switzerland), and to the Future Cities Laboratory Conference “Territorial Encounters” 10-11 September 2012 in Zurich, organized by the ETH Zurich.

EiABC published the first scientific architectural and urban book in Ethiopia titled ‘’Building Ethiopia: Sustainability and Innovation in Architecture and Design“. Building Ethiopia attempts to record and document the prominent ideologies, approaches, and discoveries of its time wihin the disciplines of the built environment. It is intended to create a link between the academia, practitioners and decision makers of the building sector, as only the integration of these three actors will bring about the changes and innovations needed to push the construction industry forward. This publication hopes to become a medium through which further partnerships and collaborations within the respective disciplines are forged, as well as a provocative platform for constructive discussions about the NOW and the very near TOMORROW of the architecture of ETHIOPIA, which is loaded with both tremendous potentials and formidable challenges.

The book was produced and edited by Zegeye Cherenet and Helawie Sewnet and contains 40 chapters by various authors. It is available on the market now for a net price of 500 ETB. It will be found at the Book World stores in the city as well as on the EiABC campus. For international purchase, the book will be online at Amazon soon.

Please click here to download the invitaion card

WarkaWater at the 13th Architecture Biennale in Venice 2012

WarkaWater has been the main attraction of the opening of the 'Traces Of Centuries & Future Steps' Exhibition at Palazzo Bembo, which is an official lateral event of the Architecture Biennale. The 9m high tower, which is designed to collect water from the air in Ethiopia, was developed by the studio Architecture and Vision with the EiABC, the IUAV university in Venice and the Italian National Research Institute CNR.

WarkaWater will be on exhibition at Palazzo Bembo until the end of Architecture Biennale. It is planned to build a new tower with local materials in the North of Ethiopia in 2013.

Location: Palazzo Bembo, Riva del Carbon 4793, 30124 Venezia, Italy

LINKS: http://www.architectureandvision.com/av/073.html

              http://www.palazzobembo.org            

EiABC is proud to announce a book publication of its staff Esubalew Nebebe. The book researches Ethiopian case studies on Urban Poverty Implications on the Educational Conditions of Children. The book is available via Amazon (Lambert Academic Publishing).

Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) and the International Association of Universities (IAU) are jointly organizing an international seminar on “Innovative Approaches to Doctoral Education and Research Training in Sub-Saharan Africa” . The seminar brings together the pilot institutions of both the ACUP project, African-Spanish Higher Education Management Platform, and the IAU project, Changing Nature of Doctoral Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa. The seminar also bring other experts from Africa and beyond to reflect on the state of doctoral education and research training in Sub-Saharan Africa and to develop new networking and collaboration opportunities for future developments. The main goals of the seminar are three fold: 1) to exchange, debate and reflect on current developments and joint challenges, 2) to discuss innovative approaches and new models and instruments to confront these challenges as well as 3) to discuss and further develop an interactive, web-based portal on doctoral education in Africa initiated by ACUP and IAU.

The seminar will take place on July 12and 13, 2012 and will be hosted by the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.

For more information, please contact Dr. Hilligjevan’t Land (h.vantland@iau-aiu.net) or Nadja Gmelch (nadja@acup.cat).

"Warka" - The Tree of Life' is a project for a fog-harvesting community tower conceived for the mountainous regions in Ethiopia. After a first prototype has been built in May at EiABC, a full-scale prototype 'Warka02' has been presented today at the campus of IUAV in the heart of Venice. Guests invited were architect Gebreegziabher Tadesse Girmay from EiABC University of Addis Ababa, textile designer Precious Desperts, Nigeria, photographer Gabriele Rigon and Massimiliano Caretti from the Italian National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies ISTC.

The project has been initiated by Italian and Swiss architects Arturo Vittori and Andreas Vogler from Architecture and Vision, and the 'Warka01' prototype has been built during a workshop by Architecture and Vision at EiABC in May this year with students from Prof. Fasil Giorghis, Tadesse Grimay and Raffi Tchakerian from IUAV University of Venice. The 8.5m high Warka02 prototype presented today was built with students from IUAV. A new prototype 'Warka03' will be exhibited during the 13th International Architecture Biennale in Venice from August 29 - November 25 at Palazzo Bembo.

Please visit  http://www.vittori-lab.com/warka-02

                       http://www.architectureandvision.com

                       http://www.iuav.it

The Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development, EiABC, will officially inaugurate the SECU (Sustainable Emerging City Unit) experimental building on Friday, June 22, 2012, at 3:00pm with State Minister of Urban Development and Construction, H.E. Hailemeskel Tefera, at an opening ceremony to be held at its campus in Addis Ababa. The SECU building is a double-storey experimental prototype to present a provocative and innovative design for housing for emerging settlements. The research discusses the potentials of innovative building materials for fast growing housing solutions in Ethiopia. The building was realized in 3 months with experts and students from EiABC together with the chair of building construction. The whole house was structurally built out of compressed straw board panels, which will soon be produced in Ethiopia in cooperation with a German company called STRAWTEC. The research is part of the capacity building initiative as well as the higher academic education reform collaborations between EiABC, the Bauhaus University Weimar and the ETH Zurich/Singapore. The results will also be presented in Germany by the EiABC students and staff on July 2012.

Abdelmoumen Benabdeljalil EAC, Alta Steenkamp UCT, Okey N’duka ESUT

Network of African Architecture Schools Launched in Accra

Accra, Ghana, 3 June 2012– ArchiAfrika, the network connecting professionals, scholars and others interested in the African built environment, launched the ArchiAfrika Educational Network, a partnership of architecture schools across the continent, at a conference held in cooperation with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Mr. Mark Ankrah, MD of the State Housing Company, officially closed the Educational Network conference, attended by fourteen schools of architecture, representing all the regions of the continent and joined by internationally renowned thinkers and practitioners, at Afia Beach Resort on Sunday, 3 June, 2012.  The newly appointed head of the ArchiAfrika Educational Network, Mr. Abdelmoumen Benabdeljalil from the Architecture School in Casablanca, Morocco, presented the goals and ambitions for the coming years. The ArchiAfrika Educational Network aims at developing excellence among the next generation professionals in the African built environment. The parties agreed that strategies to address the challenges in the African built environment should be developed from within the continent, in a cross disciplinary and cross cultural dialogue, including the excelling contemporary architects of Africa in the activities.

A committee, existing of Mr. Benabdeljalil and Prof. George Intsiful (KNUST – Ghana), Prof. Aletta Steenkamp (University of Cape Town – South Africa) and Dr. Lawrence Esho (Kenya Polytechnic University College), will elaborate a programme consisting of international lecture series using new technologies, innovative workshops, trainee and summer school programmes for staff and students. The international network ArchiAfrika recently established its international base in Accra. The network will continue its stimulating activities, now coordinated by ArchiAfrika Accra through biannual conferences all over the continent, newsletters, a website and local activities like the cross cultural series of events ‘Adventurers in the Diaspora’ (AiD).

The participating schools of the network that attended the conference in Accra are:

1. Ecole d'Architecture de Casablanca, Morocco
2. Department of Architecture, Pretoria University
3. Ethiopian Institute of Architecture Building Construction and City Development (EiABC), AAU Addis Ababa University
4. ARDHI University, Dar es Salaam
5. The Kenya Polytechnic University College, School of Architecture and Built Environment
6. Ecole Africaine des Métiers de l'Architecture et d'Urbanisme (EAMAU), Togo
7. Department of Architecture, KNUST University
8. Federal Polytechnic, Ede
9. University of Nigeria, Enugu
10. University of Pretoria, South Africa
11. College Universitaire d’architecture de Dakar
12. Central University, Ghana
13. Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife
14. School of Architecture, Planning & Geomatics, University of Cape Town, South Africa

From left to right: Ato Ezana Yoseph - Deputy Scientific Director EiABC, Ato Imam Mahmoud - Director of Research and Consultancy EiABC, Ato Seifu G/Michael - Head Construction Development and Regulatory Bureau MoUDC, Joachim Dieter - Scientific Director EiABC, Ato Tegegne Yismaw - Construction Technology Research and Development Junior Expert MoUDC, W/ro Hiwot G/Hiwot - Head Department of Construction Development Study, Research and Technology Development MoUDC.

On May 15, 2012, EiABC and representatives from the Ministry of Urban Development and Construction signed a Memorandum of Understanding. In the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding, the Parties have agreed to further concentrate efforts on the thematic areas of public housing and cost efficient construction. The purpose of the signed MoU is to achieve the following main points:

• To develop new affordable and sustainable housing strategies in the inner city;
• To identify, and study local construction materials that can replace imported construction materials currently in use;
• To devise or adapt construction methods and systems that help create employment opportunities;
• To devise or adapt construction methods that is cost effective through the use of better design, materials, technologies, and construction management systems.

Please visit: www.hebel.arch.ethz.ch

Currently, Addis Ababa is experiencing a building boom. While constructing for the future it is worth looking back and studying the buildings constructed in Addis in the 1960s. From April 8-12, 2012 a team of recent graduates from the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) and former Visiting Professor Nikolaus Knebel (now at the German University of Technology in Oman) joined for a workshop and continued their research on the exceptional architecture of this period. They are planning to share their findings in a book on 'ADDIS SIXTIES - Rediscovering the Modern Architecture of Africa's Capital', which will be published within the EiABC research series soon.

Mulu Solomon, Chairholder of the Chair of Entrepreneurship at EiABC, has been elected President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations by the General Assembly of the Chamber. EiABC is proud having a key staff member in such a strategic position fostering the booming economy of Ethiopia. The election of Mulu Solomon will help opening the gateway to intensify EiABC's cooperation with the Ethiopian industry and to align EiABC's activities further to the needs of the industrial and economic development of the country. One of Mulu Solomon's major projects is establishing the EiABC Center of Entrepreneurship and linking it to existing entrepreneurial, innovation and consultancy initiatives on EiABC campus as well as outside EiABC.

In collaboration with the Bauhaus University in Weimar, and the Future Cities Laboratory Singapore, ETHZ, the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) is offering a one-week workshop to launch the construction of a full-scale double-story building out of straw panels at its urban laboratory sites at the campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Hundreds of new settlements are emerging in Ethiopia every year, growing fast into urban conglomerates. Ethiopia today is one of the most rapidly urbanizing countries in the world with an annual urbanization rate of 4.3%. One of the biggest problems in emerging cities is next to infrastructure measurements also available typologies and techniques shelters, which migrants can afford and handle. In this light, the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) launched a research project on innovative and low-weight construction materials and techniques for emerging cities in Ethiopia. SECU (Sustainable Emerging City Unit) will be an experimental project, testing and researching a low-cost and lightweight modular housing unit at EiABC Urban Laboratory site, addressing the high demand for housing in the country.

The Workshop will be held in Addis Ababa between April 21 and April 29, 2012.

EiABC:

Prof. Dr. Dirk Donath

Helawi Sewnent

Ingo Oexmann

Belay Getachew

Sami Tsegu

Jacob

Students - Aknaw Yohannes, Estifanos Kiflu, Fruta Haddis, Henok Teshome, Habtamu Regassa, Mohammed Jemal, Mintesinot Kifle, Nejat Hassen, Nejmia Ali, Peniel Tekle, Regebe Hagos, Samia Ibrahim, Samrawit Tazezew, Seife Abdulsemed, Seyoum Weldeyesus

ETH/FCL:

Ass. Prof. Dirk Hebel

Felix Heisel

Marta Wisniewska

Bauhaus University Weimar:

Prof. Dr. Bernd Rudolph, Dean Bauhaus University

For more information please visit: http://eiabc.edu.et/secu-project.html

The Arthur Waser Foundation, based in Lucerne Switzerland recently agreed to sponsor a continuous research project called SRDU (Sustainable Rural Dwelling Unit) in Ethiopia to the tune of 460,000 Swiss Francs over the next three years. The project builds on academic research cooperation between the Housing Chair of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) in Ethiopia and the Professorship of Dirk E. Hebel of Architecture and Construction at the Singapore - ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability and the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) in Singapore.

Dr. Elias Yitbarek initiated the project 2010 as part of his work at the Chair of Housing at the EiABC and has secured funding from the Arthur Waser Foundation for a pilot project in 2011, with support of the North-South Centre of ETH Zurich, Barbara Becker and the ETH Foundation, Nathalie Fontana. The pilot project was registerd as a great success.It involved building two housing units located approximately 175km south of the capital Addis Ababa and experimentaion with local building materials combined with new building techniques and autonomous operating energy supply units. This succes convinced the Arthur Waser Foundation to continue the engagement with the two universities and enlarge the scope of the work to included questions of capacity building, academic exchange with local schools and industry and the transfer of knowledge to a wide academic and non-academic audience in Africa.

For the location of Tetecha in Sidama, a site where African Bamboo will conduct experimental designs and construction, EiABC has been asked to execute a competition to get architectural designs, considering the materials properties of bamboo as a construction material. The competition is subdivided into three areas, to get exemplary building solutions for the site of Tetecha, but considering the fact that these design typologies can be built in different locations in Sidama:

1. Guest Houses / Lodge
2. Bamboo Collection Centre
3. Office Building

The design competition will be carried out by the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) in cooperation with and funded by African Bamboo PLC.

The Idea Competition is open to EiABC students of all programmes!
Nine prizes will be awarded for the three competition categories with a total value of ETB 40,000!

The Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) is an Institute of Technology under the umbrella of Addis Ababa University. It offers state-of-the-art research-based education of high standards of international standing.  EiABC is fostering applied research and industry linkages and contributes to capacity building and technology transfer. The institute is strongly networked internationally with renowned universities collaborating in teaching, learning and research. It generates one fifth of its budget through research and consultancies, which contributes to the sustained development of the institute to become one of the leading institutes in its field. 

Currently 3,200 students are enrolled in EiABC. The programs offered by EiABC cover the following:

Bachelor Programs (B.Sc.)

• Architecture
• Construction Technology & Management (also as Extension Program)
• Urban & Regional Planning

Master Programs (M.Sc.)

• Environmental Planning & Landscape Design
• Urban Design & Development
• Housing & Sustainable Development
• Construction Project Management

Doctoral Program (PhD)

• Environmental Planning

As EiABC has gained autonomy in academic and administrative affairs, it now hosts its first graduation ceremony on its own campus. On Saturday, March 17, 2012, EiABC celebrates the graduation of the students from the Architecture Bachelors Program and the Construction Technology and Management Bachelors Extension Program.

EiABC is proud to honor all its 83graduatesof the Year 2012. We are confident that the Ethiopian labor market will absorb these graduates immediately.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Dr. Karola Hahn, Managing Director EiABC

The DAAD proofed 300.000 Euro funding proposal for the next three years

http://www.eiabc.edu.et
http://www.ice-ethiopia.org/  http://www.eiabc.edu.et
http://www.uni-weimar.de
http://www.uni-weimar.de
http://www.juba.edu.sd

Based on the existing bilateral cooperation between the EiABC and the Bauhaus University Weimar in Germany since 2011 both institutions initiated a funding proposal for the DAAD program “Welcome Africa” which has been proofed in February 2012.

The funded cooperation between the three partners Bauhaus University of Weimar (BUW), Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development (EiABC) and University of Juba (UJ) in South Sudan aims at strengthening the praxis orientation (1:10 and 1:1 scale prototyping) and interdisciplinary composition of architecture education in Africa, as well as involving the private sector (new business models).

The proposal in particular offers a unique framework to strengthen already established competencies in praxis orientation and interdisciplinary work as well as to build new capacities with regard to architecture in Africa and to create a functioning dissemination and up-scaling model.

All parties at the EiABC are invited to be involved into this cooperation.

It runs from March 2012 up to 2015 with experimental prototypes, design courses and exchange programs in Ethiopia, Germany and South Sudan.

The project is funded with 100.000 Euro each year.

Currently the chair building construction is working on an experimental prototype for sustainable housings. The project SECU (Sustainable Emerging City Unit) is an experimental project, testing and researching a low-cost modular housing unit at EiABC’ Urban Laboratory site, addressing the high demand for basic housing in the country.

In April 2012 a student’s group will come to Addis for a SECU workshop as a first student’s activity between the two institutions.

Contact

EiABC -  chair building construction

prof. dr. dirk donath

dirk.donath@eiabc.edu.et

GIZ Germany - Consultant: ice.bauhaus

Joern Schultz

joern.schultz@uni-weimar.de

For more information please visit: http://eiabc.edu.et/secu-project.html

Addis Ababa is undergoing a major transformation, especially in terms of the built fabric and infrastructure. We have tried to document, how some of these changes in the informal areas, new emerging condominiums, micro-economies and the recycling centers (Minalesh Terra) manifest themselves. Thus, you are cordially invited to the premiere of our documentary movie series on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 17:00 in the EiABC Campus (former building college).

Event Program:

17:00  Introduction

17:15  Disappearing Spaces (13min)

  Emerging Spaces (15min)

  Supporting Spaces (14min)

18:00  Discussions

18:30  Cocktail

Precisely these open spaces give the built areas their meaning, function and character. Squares provide a breathing space within the structure of the city, separating and connecting. The workshop is organized in three Modules where Module 1 & 2 are o_ered on 10 -19th of February, 2012. At the end of the Modules students will have the chance to participate in the realization of a public space on EiABC campus.

Module 1 - Basic Introduction to Public Space and Landscape Planning - Lecture and Excursion

Module 2 - EiABC - Campus Space Analysis, Planning and Space Design

Module 3 - Implementation on Campus site (O_ered in September 2012)

REGISTRATION

For STUDENTS: Director office (eshet)

For Instructors: Contact the Chair of ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN II

ICE Ethiopia is a technology innovation hub, which aims at accelerating Ethiopia's economic growth by promoting market-driven and environmentally viable innovations through enabling new private sector initiatives and facilitating the constructive interaction between technologists, entrepreneurs, investors and creative workers. It is hosted by EiABC where is plays a vital role in the newly established Center of Entrepreneurship under the supervision of Mulu Solomon, Chairholder for Entrepreneurship and President of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce. EiABC/ICE Ethiopia received a grant of USD 25,000 by Google. The funding is provided for start-up operation expenses of ICE Ethiopia, for co-branding, hosting events and providing work spaces. EiABC/ICE Ethiopia will cooperate and serve in Google or Google partner events. The cooperation and support by Google - the famous internet and Software Corporation specialized in internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies - shows the high appreciation and confidence of Google for EiABC and ICE Ethiopia. It also indicates the general acknowledgement of the Ethiopian government’s endeavors to foster entrepreneurship and technology transfer in line with the reform of higher education and TVET.

For further information please visit http://ice-ethiopia.org/

Members of the EiABC staff participated in the kick-off conference on Harmonization and Tuning of Higher Education in Africa at the University of Yaounde I, in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 22 to 25 January 2012. Harmonization and Tuning is a continent-wide pilot project of the African Union Commission and the European Union and implemented with support of the Association of African Universities. Dr. Karola Hahn and Ms. Haddis Rebbi serve as Steering Committee members and also coordinate the Pilot Project in Civil Engineering. In addition to EiABC, Adama University of Science and Technology, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, Jimma University, and Mekelle University are involved in the project.

For more information please visit http://www.bc.edu/content/bc/research/cihe/inhea/editorial.html, http://www.tuningafrica.org

For more information please visit: http://www.aho.no/en/

A panel discussion on the Grand Housing Program in Addis Ababa is conducted at EiABC on Friday Dec 30, 2011. The Addis Ababa city Administration, the Addis Ababa Housing development project office, Master plan revision office, Association of Ethiopian Architects, consultants, EiABC and end users participated. Addis Ababa is in a state of fundamental transformation in terms of physical, socio-economic and spatial aspects. One of the main changes is happening through the provision of affordable housing in the grand housing program since its launch in 2004. EiABC took the initiative to organize a platform where all involved stakeholders discuss the subject matter. The panel, “Condominium Housing: Past, Present & Future”, tried to trace the path embarked by condominium housing and discuss possible scenarios to follow. The output forecasted further research collaborations between the city administration office, master plan revision office, and the institute regarding alternative affordable housing scheme. EiABC management thanks all participants for making this panel discussion successful.

EiABC received an international quality label certification for its introductory course “Introduction for Teachers to eLearning”. The program is intended to give teachers the practical and theoretical background they need to be able to start adapting their own course to a blended, ICT supported learning scenario. Omar Dawud, eLearning project manager of EiABC and peer reviewer on the quality label process, received the certification from Prof. Dr. Ulf-Daniel Ehlers, vice president of European Foundation for Quality in eLearning. EiABC and Cairo University are the first and only African Universities yet receiving this certificate. This international quality label certification is a new accreditation and quality improvement scheme for E-Learning Programs and institutions in international Capacity Building. It supports capacity building organizations to measure how successful their e-learning programs are and allows for continuous improvement though peer collaboration and bench learning. This certified course is intended to be given at national level as an iceaddis service.

Haddis Rebbi and Dr. Karola Hahn, EiABC, members in the Steering Committee of a continent-wide pilot project on the Harmonization and Tuning of Higher Education in Africa attended a conference on invitation of the European Commission. The Conference on "Tuning, credits, learning outcomes and quality: a contribution to harmonization and the space for higher education in Africa" was held on 27-30 November 2011 in Dakar, Senegal. Further colleagues from Ethiopia participated in the conference: Dr. Yohannes Woldetensae, African Union Commission, Prof. Dr. Zinabu Gebremariam, Director General Higher Education Strategy Center (HESC), Addis Ababa, and Dr. Damtew Teferra, Founding Director, International Network for Higher Education in Africa, Boston College. Ethiopia was the country which submitted the highest number of applications for the African pilot project.