The goal of the graduation studio is to research and design housing solutions that improve the livelihood of Addis Ababa’s urban dwellers. Combining analysis, planning and design, the participants of this graduation studio were challenged to use multidisciplinary research methods and tools to elaborate design proposals for the development of a pilot housing project in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is following the urbanization trend which can be seen across Africa. This is reflected in the population growth in Addis Ababa which has doubled from 2.3million in 2000, to 4.5million in 2020. The primary reasons for this rural-to-urban migration are education and work. We find that unmonitored overcrowded households, long commuting distances and high urban expenses pose obstacles to the progress of all Ethiopian students. This project places due importance on arriving students, as I believe that acknowledging this group as critical to the future development of Addis Ababa and Ethiopia as a whole.”

This research booklet brings together a selection of quantitative data (e.g. Demography, Economy, Climate) related with Ethiopia, in general, and Addis Ababa in particular. This booklet compiles data from different sources (e.g. bibliography, online databases, and statistical data). The data is processed using new visual outputs that allow a comparative analysis of the case study (Addis Ababa) with other geographical contexts.

This graphic novel is the result of a micro-ethnographic research to Kechene, a district of Addis Ababa. Using graphic techniques borrowed from the architecture discipline, this graphic novel aims at bringing together representations of everyday life in the Kechene sefer (neighbourhood), that show how human life shapes its environment and vice versa. This graphic novel not only represents the architectural qualities and spatial relationships, but also reveals the hidden narratives of ordinary stories. The graphic novel is complemented with a research booklet, which includes some of the key research findings that support the narrative used in the graphic novel. The research booklet is structured as a series of commented images reporting the research methods and the analysis that lead to the elaboration of the graphic novel