Students and Professionals together in Rural Housing Competition

The Innovative Rural Housing competition, a unique architectural competition to address the living conditions of Ethiopia’s rural communities, reached its climax on the 10^th of February, 2007, at 6 pm, at the Award Ceremony where the winners were announced by H.E. Ato Wondwossen Kiflu, State Minister for Education.

Winners and organizers

 

The competition, from 23^rd October 2006 to 23^rd January 2007, was open to professionals and students, raising public expectations and attracting many talented entries. This event, which identified solutions to problems facing rural households in Ethiopia, was an exceptional opportunity to create awareness and promote innovation within rural architecture. “This competition is the motor of a new generation of architecture in the rural areas, where traditional values and modern facilities will be combined in perfect harmony”, said Ato Tefera, Minister of Capacity Building.

The competition judges were, they said, most impressed by the students’ work, which was, in many cases, considered better than the professionals, said Ato Ashenafi, President of the Jury. The regions were certainly the main winners of the night as the first and second prize in the student category went to Arba Minch. “We have the advantage of being close to the actual problems of the people living in rural areas. We can see their needs,” explained Zeray Weldesenbet, winner of the first prize in the student category.   

The Association of Ethiopian Architects (AEA) invited members of the AEA, other registered architects, engineers, town planners, design offices and architecture students to participate in the Innovative Rural Housing competition. Forty-six entries were submitted and winners were chosen by a jury of experts.

All plans, sketches and models were exhibited after the award ceremony. The exhibition will last for two weeks (10^th – 23^rd February, 2007) at the Library Auditorium, Addis Ababa University Faculty of Technology, Northern Campus.

The names of the winners and the prizes are:

Student Category:
1^st Prize (30,000 Birr): Zeray Weldesenbet (Arba Minch)
2^nd Prize (20,000 Birr): Lawe Birhanu (Arba Minch)
3^rd Prize (10,000 Birr): Haftom Girmay (Addis Ababa)

Professional Category:
1^st Prize (100,000 Birr): Bet Consulting Architects and Tibabu Daniel (Addis Ababa) – joint winners
3^rd Prize (30,000 Birr): Tilahun Bekele (Addis Ababa)