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Traversing the Rift

Stiching Piazza Back Together 

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Year: 2020

Award: Lucille Smyser Lowenfish Memorial Prize

Project type: Strategic Neighborhood Planning

After going to Addis Ababa and working with local architecture students, we have developed a strategic plan for the Historic City Center of Piazza. Piazza boasts a vibrant street life and architecture that documents the city's rich past. The neighborhood is planned to be demolished for a Chinese Funded river redevelopment, a plan that would demolish thousands of homes and the existing rich river’s biodiversity. Our proposal envisions an alternative to this heavy handed masterplan. With the formation of local cooperatives coupled with construction training and material subsidies, locals themselves can introduce attainable street infrastructure to improve their homes and foster sustainable streets. This incremental approach would preserve the local character of the neighborhood while prioritizing community agency.


In collaboration with Tal Fuerst and Claudia Kleffmann

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