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This article covers topics related to Cultural Architecture. Rebuilding Forests in Ethiopia.

'Eco Chapel' being centre to spread awareness

Rebuilding Forests in Ethiopia.

5 min read·80 reads

UNI published Results under Cultural Architecture on Oct 13, 2020

Background

Religion is a collection of designated thoughts and beliefs which were born by the virtue of nature, that relates to humanity and spirituality collectively. Forces of nature constitute the basis for spiritual beliefs for a lot of communities. Even though its definition was never absolute and varied drastically between one community and another, nature was somehow a common link between these mythological stories that were weaving culture and societies.

People worshipped gods of natural elements establishing a relationship. Yet, depleting resources for serving the growing population and development of mankind was inevitable. Now, most parts of the world are facing the dire consequences of Global Warming and Climate Change. There are a few communities that are trying to reinstate years of spoliation by means of their faith.

Ethiopia is a country located in the Horn of Africa and is said to be one of the primaeval countries of the world. It is one of the first nations that adopted Christianity in the 3rd Century. It is also a tropical country that was once rich in forests and biodiversity. But now the forests which were above 40% of the country’s landmass at the beginning of 20th century, was reduced to 2.36% in 2000. The country is on the brink of facing desertification in most of its parts. It needs to track it back to expanding its boundaries and preserving these remaining dots of forests to avoid a grim future

The churches of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Tewahedo, the dominant religious group in the country with nearly 50 million members were almost always nestled in patches of dense forest.

Brief

The active conservationists and priests of the “forest churches” have seen a significant change in the immediate vicinity of the environment around these chapels. The quality of water improved, tree seedlings survived, pollinators are benefitting the nearby agricultural lands as well. There is a remarkable difference in the temperature of enclosed forest spaces.

The Chapels are igniting a ray of hope in preserving and expanding the remaining flora and fauna. Can these “Eco-Chapels” be augmented into something that serves the community beyond creating forests?

The challenge here was to conceive a forest chapel and community centre for the Ethiopian Tribes and communities. It had to be built in a way to contribute to growing the forest instead of only “preserving” them. The church could be a junction point for exchanging knowledge and spreading awareness about drastic depleting forests in their country.

The jury for the competition consisted of esteemed designers, professionals and academicians from around the world. The Lead Jurors for the competitions were as follows:

Elisa Silva, Principal, Enlace Arquitectura, Venezuela

Ignacio Zañartu, Partner, PARALELA, Chile

Rodrigo Quintella Messina, Founder, Messina| Rivas, Brazil

Team212020 10 13T07 03 46 664914

Some of the Best of competition projects are:

Winning Project: Healing Façade

By: Ruben Gomez Ganan & Santiago Rodriguez Rubiano

Team212020 10 13T06 27 52 523004

Description: Based on the belief of forest churches in the chain of interdependence between humans and non-humans, the proposal is a feasible, modular and replicable facade to address the gap made by unsustainable human actions. Through fibers, the façade catches water from the wind to protect vegetation and foster conditions for reforestation and landscape restoration.

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Runner - Up: Silva Loop

By: Fionn Byrne, Shasha Wang & Gabriella Poncet

Team212020 10 13T06 29 49 811918

Description: Silva Loop is a building and landscape architectural response to forest loss in Ethiopia. Multiple microclimates provide a diversity of habitats for an abundance of local and endemic bird species. These birds, non-human allies, will spread seed as they navigate the global, regional, and local flyways which overlap the project site, replanting as they go.

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Honorable Mention: Chapel

By: Elizaveta Zhadenova, Aleksandra Kanukova & Elizaveta Gubskaya

Team212020 10 13T06 30 47 609522

Description: The chapel captures the simplicity and beauty of the rocky architecture of the landscape and demonstrates the value of stone usage.

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Honorable Mention: JeSustain

By: Gals RSID, Maggie Cheng, Jenny & Irene Liu

Team212020 10 13T06 31 27 183383

Description: JeSustain aims to establish a visual representation in an architectural format within a religious context of the unity and coexistence between human culture (sociosphere), architecture (anthroposphere), and nature (ecosphere). It strives to act as the link between nature and culture to raise cultural awareness of the environment and deforestation in Ethiopia.

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Honorable Mention: Bio//DOME//Stic

By: Jeremy Wing Che Chan, Wai Ching Lo & KaCheong Chan

Team212020 10 13T06 32 42 128793

Description: The design emphasizes on bridging the relationship between the community and indigenous nature with the anchor of religion. The plan preserves the existing trees and develops differentiated plantation models based on biodiversity to serve for ecological and recreational purposes, while securing the center for the chapel with a calm yet energetic atmosphere.

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People’s Choice: Eco Chapel Ethiopia

By: Andres Felipe Pinzon Holguin

Team212020 10 13T06 33 42 200048

Description: "Water as a Source of Life"

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Editor’s Choice: Op(En)closed

By: Andrew Hadley

Team212020 10 13T06 44 18 256476

Description: Op(En)closed attempts to engage with the issues of environmental and material sustainability in Ethiopia. With deforestation at a critical point and alternatives to timber having enormous embodied energies, the project proposes utilising Africa's largest yet under-utilised bamboo industry as the primary means of construction.

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Editor’s Choice: FOREST TO BE

By: Milad Aliakbari

Team212020 10 13T06 45 28 848962

Description: In the past, People used to go to the Forest and Pray in it. Through the Time, they Chose the Larger, Older Tree as a Symbol and Gathered around it to Pray. The Design Tries to Complete this Historical Process. which is Created by Organizing the Trees and the Surrounding Area and adding the Architectural Elements of the Church Space.

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Editor’s Choice: Beyond the tree

By: Clement Chivot & Hugo Despeisses

Team212020 10 13T06 51 27 370308

Description: The project is intended as an architectural interpretation of the tree. A break out of time and moments disconnected from the urban frenzy are established through the work of three interiorities. The tree becomes a project vector, a tool for designing space, sculpting architecture, orienting the believer and sequencing the path of a new chapel.

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Editor’s Choice: An Urban Forest

By: GIUSEPPE MAZZEO & Stefano Pirazzi

Team212020 10 13T06 52 32 513144

Description: Cities need to re-born and be alive, to make the world better again. Forest in town means that other forests can grow in town and each can make the place all living creatures can find a relationship. From Tewahedo tradition of the chapel in the forest we found the inspiration and a proof that this relationship is still possible and we should never forget.

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Editor’s Choice: Circle of Life

By: Margarita Morozova

Team212020 10 13T06 54 13 984764

Description: The Beginning. The Middle. The end. And again the Beginning.

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Editor’s Choice: A CHAPEL IN THE WOODS

By: Sanad Wir & Albert Karam

Team212020 10 13T06 55 23 831572

Description: The goal of this project was to create a place of sanctuary for the locals and one that reintroduces indigenous trees to the region; to counter the deforestation that is happening across Ethiopia. As soon as the visitors enter the forest, they are immersed in a green surrounding that would carry them away from the chaos of the city to a more peaceful place.

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Editor’s Choice: Urban Eco-Chapel

By: Robert Mannion

Team212020 10 13T07 00 58 268082