Woliatta Village is a collaborative project designed by Ethiopia Studio, eleven ASU graduate students led by a practicing architect. The project includes an orphanage, chapel, medical clinic and guest house for the community of Soddo, in Ethiopia, Africa. More images, a video and information after the break.
In an effort to plunge maturing architecture and landscape architecture students into ‘authenticity’ – this collaboration took students deep into reality where they could personally experience the desperate needs of a community in the developing world. The EthiopiaStudio focused on the research, comprehensive development and building design of an orphanage, chapel, medical clinic and guest house for the community of Soddo, (located 350 kilometers south of the capitol city Addis Ababa) in Ethiopia, Africa. In partnership with an American, non-profit organization currently working in the community, the EthiopiaStudio developed the master plan, landscape and architectural design and a complete set of construction documents for the immediate construction of these desperately needed facilities to support a community subject to extreme poverty and famine.
The focus of this collaborative design studio is to emphasize reality, survival and hope through design; synthesizing and shifting the typical traits of academic work. The EthiopiaStudio fundamentally functioned like a real-world project team where team members had varied, integral and necessary responsibilities that served the team as a whole, and ultimately the needs of the client. The project, Wolaitta Village, will be built with local materials in a manner that honors the indigenous culture of the Wolaitta region. Construction will be performed by Ethiopian builders and artisans; the facilities will be staffed by local Ethiopians and will provide employment for many people in the community; thus creating hope and opportunity through meeting the desperate needs of the children and community.
Ethiopia Studio is: Dusty Bodrero, Stacey Crumbaker, David Fowler, Arundhati Ghosh, Ashlee Grubbs, Tommy Huggins, Matt Ihms, Heather Landvatter, Morgan Pakula, Salvador Patino, Edward Scheletsky, led by architect Jack DeBartolo 3 AIA Consultants: Mark Rudow (structural), Doug Woodward (electrical), George Josephs (mechanical), Bob Atherton (civil)
