Reconnecting the Church Forests of Ethiopia 

Bamboo Frame Housing 

The Great Green Wall: UIA Single Stage Ideas Competition

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The brief called for the design of a sustainable dwelling for up to 25 people, situated on any site within the Great Green Wall Belt. We chose the Community of St Gabriel’s Church in the Amhara province in the highlands of Northern Ethiopia as our site. The core principle of our scheme is to help restore native forest corridors, whilst implementing sustainable land management processes such as agroforestry to improve climate resilience and food security, as well as bamboo plantations to produce sustainable building materials. 

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Each dwelling consists of an easily constructed catenary vaulted frame with a mud and straw outer skin, optimised to balance internal space with conserving materials. Waste is managed in a communal biodigester which produces biogas for cooking. A fog catcher is featured in the centre of the settlement, which condenses fog and dew into drinking water using a recycled plastic mesh.