In last decades, the housing sector have been going through profound transformations imposed by the society’s changes. The number of city dwellers is increasing all over the World, especially in the Global South where the shift from rural to urban life is still ongoing. Nevertheless, the resulting strategies to cope with the challenges that are following this escalation have often proved to be ineffective, leaving part of the population in miserable condition, unable to access proper housing and services. Particularly in developing countries, the lack of proper unifying urban strategies has led to the proliferation of gated communities, both formal and informal. As a result, a fracture between public and private space has been created. The aftermath of this phenomena are the lack of security and the communities’ alienation. Also, the call for progress, the attempt to build a modern ideal city and the pressure from the housing market have led to the erasure of the existing historical fabric, thus both tangible and intangible heritage. Therefore, the thesis’ pivot is the border-boundary condition and the transitional spaces as the crucial threshold toward an integrated and cohesive system, regarding physical transition, income groups, and technology. The project envisions an area where different income groups can come together, providing a regular and varied scheme, together with special urban condition. The in-between spaces, translated form the one observed and studied on site, provide a physical transition from public to private space and from existing to new architecture. Likewise, the technological feature aim at providing a solution which can be adapted and work in different conditions. The final intent is to realize a neighborhood where the local community will be supported believing also that this will lead also to the support of the incoming fabric as well.

This graphic novel is the result of a micro-ethnographic research to Summit, a district of Addis Ababa. Using graphic techniques borrowed from the architecture discipline, this graphic novel aims at bringing together representations of everyday life in Summit, that show how human life shapes its environment and vice versa. This graphic novel not only represents the architectural qualities and spatial relationships, but also reveals the hidden narratives of ordinary stories.

This research booklet brings together a selection of data and spatial analysis of dwelling types and housing policies and programmes in Ethiopia – in general – with a particular focus on the case of Addis Ababa. This booklet uses historical iconography, archival research and a selection of bibliographic references, to produce a wide range of graphic outputs that illustrate the different dwelling cultures of Ethiopia and systematize the evolution of housing figures that were developed in Addis Ababa over a period of 130 years, from the foundation of the city (c. 1887) until the current days