Goha Sefer— A New Urban Quarter in Gondar, Ethiopia

Goha Sefer- A New Urban Quarter Gondar, Ethiopia

CONTEXT

The historic city of Gondar is located in the northwestern part of Ethiopia and standing at an elevation of about 7500 feet . In Gondar, we see a significant point in Ethiopian urban development. The city flourished and endured as the capital for two hundred years – and still to this day an important historic and cultural hub

Looking briefly at the whole city plan, it is easy to point out where the historic center is located as opposed to the sprawl that is currently eating away at it. The historic center is mostly made up of regular blocks comprised of an irregular configuration of buildings. The streets maintain a modest hierarchy responding reasonably to the rich topography – yet lacking in civic spaces. Ethiopia is a very conservative country with most of it adhering to the Coptic Orthodox Christian Faith. Therefore, almost all of the public spaces that exist are concentrated around the church, mosque, or religious activities in general – with very little alternative for non-religious social gatherings.

In the city of Gondar there is at lease an attempted at providing some forms of public plazas. This might be the result of the Italian urban planning; one can see the structure that is still maintained form the Italian scheme. Fasil Gibi which I have mentions in previous chapters is not as much a civic space as it is a monument at the center of the city. It is the most integral part of the history and culture of Gondar. Even though the Gibi (compound) in and of itself is not a public space, there are however several civic spaces in close proximity to it. The Gondar City Hall is located directly south of the palace complex and adjacent to it is a public park. Both of these civic spaces are contained within walled compounds; this is a regularly occurring element in almost all cites in Ethiopia. Most buildings – aside form very few commercial and office buildings – be it residential or civic are contained within a wall of some sort. North of the complex we can find a very popular market square Kidame Gebeya (Saturday market). Here we can find low scale kiosk-like shopping structures; but there are even more people that just lay out their wares on the side to commence with mercantile activities.

Current condition site context Typical street section within the Site Typical single-family dwelling blocks Typical midrise residential blocks Typical low-scale commercial blocks

Overall Structural Plan of Gondar showing the location of the site in relation to the historic center of the city

MASTER PLAN -URBAN QUARTER

The proposed quarter is located southwest of the historic center. It was important to find continuity with the current urban structure wherever possible; therefore, I decided to maintain the grid system used in the existing neighborhood. One can notice very quickly the significant difference in the scale of the buildings in the proposed quarter as opposed to the adjacent neighborhoods. This is because the existing buildings consist solely of low-scale single-family homes. A typology – while still occurring in some parts of the new quarter – cannot be maintained throughout. These single-family homes are not appropriate given the main aim of this proposal is to create a mixed-use urban quarter.

Current condition site context

The goal of this urban development project is to introduce new urbanism to Ethiopia by promoting it as an example other cities in the country. It aims to reorient the trajectory of urban development in the city of Gondar, providing the 2016 structure plan. The project will focus on promoting the need for the public realm and creating a vibrant

The project aims to promote an urban plan that emphasizes the need for civic space, such as parks and as diverse building use typology. This includes a mix of residential, commercial, and civic uses in other, which will create a more livable and sustainable community. The project will also prioritize accessibility bicycles, and public transit, in addition to cars, promoting active transportation and reducing dependence

Primary Pedestrian Armature / Connection with Academy Secondary Pedestrian Armature / inter block Vicolo Vehicular Access Boulevards

example or pilot program for providing a counter proposal to vibrant and inclusive urban village. and public squares, as well in close proximity to each accessibility for pedestrians, dependence on automobiles.

GONDAR ACADEMY OF ARCHITECTUREAND BUILDING CRAFTS

The location of the academy consists of an unbuilt plot of land currently being used as a parking lot for trailer trucks. though the site is zoned for educational purposes It is therefore an ideal site for the construction of an academic campus.

The Academy of Architecture and Building Crafts would be an ideal public building that could function as a landmark in the new quarter of the city (also to be proposed at the urban scale). The desire to center the town on a public building comes from the understanding that an urban setting is not successful without a network of civic buildings to perform as anchors – creating multicentered cities. Community engagement and connectivity to the larger urban context is another important theme throughout the project. I envisioned residents of the city as well as visitors being able to access the building on a day-to-day basis. This was achieved by including several retail spaces, which also have the added benefit of bringing in additional income. The topography of the site also lends itself to utilizing these retail spaces.

Another way I was able to address the topographic change is by elevating the academy on a platform on the east side of the building – thus signaling its importance. At the same time, the platform itself is part of the building; under which the retail spaces would be located – allowing the building a connection to the street level. In addition to the retail space, one can have direct access to the building from the street side through the auditorium. The auditorium can function as a space where the community can engage with talks and lectures without having the need to traverse the whole building. Students are also able to access the auditorium from the first level (plaza level), which has the added benefit of having multiple ingress and egress point to the auditorium.