As Addis Ababa creaks under the weight of a mushrooming populace, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest housing project is under way. But who benefits? Wrapped in a white shawl and sporting a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, Haile stares out at his cattle as they graze in a rocky patch of grass. “My family and I have been here since I was a child,” he says, nodding at the small, rickety houses to his right. “But we will have to leave soon.” In the distance loom hulking grey towers, casting long shadows over his pasture. This is Koye Feche, a vast construction site on100

On October 20th 2014, Bisrat Kifle, Fasil Giorghis and Dirk E. Hebel presented alternative housing concepts to the Addis Ababa Housing and Construction Development Board as part of the ongoing research project ADDIS 2050 The aim of the project is the construction of 5`000 low cost housing units to shelter relocated citizens within the inner city of Ethiopia’s capital, preserving existing social and economic networks. The presented typologies resulted in an overwhelming feedback for EiABC and the ETH, featured in the national evening news on the Ethiopian Broadcasting Network EBC. The short clip can be seen below in Amharic. EBC Evening100

The conference ADDIS 2050 – an alternative pathway into Ethiopia’s future – was held on October 9th and 10th 2012 at the campus of the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development EiABC in Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa belongs to the fastest growing urban centers in the world. Migration from the rural areas as well as massive redevelopment strategies of the City Government put the African capital under enormous pressure. Infrastructural deficiencies, water and energy shortages, environmental hazards and mobility challenges question the current modus operandi in place. The Green Forum Ethiopia under the leadership of Heinrich Boell100

Energy Today Today, in 2012, over 70 million Ethiopians live without electricity. This is more than 80% of the population without access to the electricity grid. As a result, 90% of Ethiopian households use firewood for cooking, resulting in the deforestation of almost 1500 km2 every year. Research by Ludger Hovestadt and Jorge Orozco Developed by Eva-Maria Friedrich, Matthias Berger and Stefan Mueller-Arisona   Energy 2050 – An Alternative Tomorrow, in the year 2050, Ethiopia produces more renewable energy than it consumes. Every home is electrified, every citizen, regardless of his or her location, his or her religion, his or100

Mobility Today   Mobility 2050 – An Alternative Tomorrow, in 2050, Addis Ababa is the first African city that reached its goal of establishing a ‘Zero Emission’ society. Through a collective effort in the past 40 years, Ethiopia achieved something remarkable – the decoupling of economic growth and mobility from burning fossil energy carriers. As a result, the capital Addis Ababa, this year received the title of “most livable city in Africa” for the second time in a row. This is mainly due to reasons connected with the management of emissions, social space initiatives, public transport concepts, education possibilities, ecological100

Culture Today   Culture 2050 – An Alternative Tomorrow, in 2050, life in Addis Ababa is vibrant, diverse, public and secure. We enjoy our social heritage, our cities as cultural centers and our public spaces as an expression of an open, active, inventive, green, and responsible society. At the end of the 20th century, housing shortages, energy blackouts, old and outdated mobility concepts, and inefficient or not existing infrastructures challenged the future of our nation. Additionally, health risks resulting from high levels of air pollution and other environmental hazards made the capital difficult to enjoy. But combining economic growth and100

Housing Today   Housing 2050 – An Alternative Tomorrow, in 2050, Addis Ababa can offer to every citizen a place to live. It is a beautiful city characterized by its diverse and dense building stock, amble spaces for social and private interaction and heterogeneity of functions. Today, we live and work in the same area, we walk to get our groceries and meet our friends in front of the door. Addis Ababa is a city of millions, but composed of small characteristic neighborhoods and families; a city of chances for the individual to thrive. Addis is my city of choice.100

The Chair of Architecture and Construction Dirk E. Hebel at FCL Singapore together with Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development is organizing an international workshop to develope a vision for Addis Ababa in the year 2050. The African population is growing fast and urbanization will shape the coming decades. Existing cities are changing rapidly and new infrastructures and buildings are constructed at an enormous speed, ambitious plans are in place to create dozens of new cities from scratch. Currently, the focus of this development seems to be “catching up” with developed or100