BUILDING ETHIOPIA

SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION IN ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN

ZEGEYE CHERENET
HELAWI SEWNET
 Copyright © 2012 by EiABC

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or any electronic or mechanical
means, including information storage, and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the
publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in review.

First Edition

Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development , EiABC

Zegeye Cherenet, Helawi Sewnet (editors)

Building Ethiopia : Sustainability and Innovation in Architecture and Design, Vol. I, 2012

ISBN 978-99944-993-7-3

Digital Impressions, Printed in Ethiopia, 2012

 CONTENT
7 INTRODUCTION
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | HELAWI SEWNET
URBANITY
15 NEST
NEW EMERGING SUSTAINABLE TOWNS >> FRANZ OSWALD
27 THE BURA NESTOWN
AN INTERVIEW >> FASIL GHIORGIS
33 ADDIS ABABA
EXTRACTING CHARACTER FROM VOIDS >> DIRK HEBEL | ELIAS YITBAREK
39 FOLLOWING THE DONKEY PATH
TAILORING AS OPPOSED TO WIPING OUT THE TRACE >> EZANA YOSEPH
43 URBAN PRIMING
PROGRAMMED BY THE ENVIRONMENT >> HELAWI SEWNET
49 BASHA WOLDE CHILOT
AN URBAN DESIGN >> EZANA YOSEPH | FASIL GHIORGIS | ELIAS YITBAREK
55 FIGURE-GROUND PLAN
MAPPING ADDIS ABABA >> FELIX HEISEL
56 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 1
RE-THINK THE CITY MASTER PLAN >> BENIAM ALI
CONNECTIVITY
63 WITHIN THE EDGE
URBAN SPATIAL INTERFACES FORMING & IN-FORMING THE STREETS OF ADDIS ABABA >> ADDISALEM FELEKE
69 WATER URBANISM
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | BERHANU GEBREWOLD | WOSSEN GEBREYOHANNES | SELAM LEMMA | MICHAEL HAILE-
GABRIEL | FEVEN MERETE
77 INTERACITY LIGHTRAIL TRANSIT SYSTEMS
ADDIS ABABA >> YUSUF ZOHEB
81 IGNORING THE SIGNS
THE UNOBSERVED THREAT POSED BY BILLBOARD CLUTTER IN ADDIS ABABA >> SELAMAWIT WONDIMU
87 WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME
>> YOSEF TEFERI
90 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 2
ELECTRIC VEHICLE NETWORK >> AMANUEL MENGISTU
TEMPORALITY
99 SANDBAG SHELTER-ADDIS ABEBA
SHELTERS FOR REFUGEE CAMPS IN ETHIOPIA (OGADEN) >> DIRK DONATH
109 REFUGEE SHELTERS FOR ETHIOPIA
>> MARTA WISNIEWSKA | BISRAT KIFLE | ADDISALEM FELEKE
117 NOMAD PUBLIC SPACES
BYPRODUCTS OF CONSTRUCTION SITES >> HELAWI SEWNET
123 SPACES OF TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSITORY SPACES
RURAL-URBAN INTERFACE
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | BERHANU GEBREWOLD | ADIL MOHAMMED | ELIAS JEMAL | KALKIDAN WONDAFEREW |
TSION ADUGNA
139 PLACES OF TRANSIT
ENTRIES TO ADDIS ABABA >> ANTENEH TESFAYE
144 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 3
A DOWNTOWN CULTURE DISTRICT >> AMANUEL MENGISTU
MATERIALITY
151 BAMBOO EXPLORED
A POTENTIAL FOR URBAN ETHIOPIA
>> KARSTEN SCHLESIER | MICHAEL TESFAYE
157 DESIGN WITH MATERIALS
>> JOACHIM DIETER | DIRK HEBEL | INGO BECKER | KALKIDAN DEBELA | NEGUSSIE HAILESELASSIE | MULUKEN HAJU
169 MULU PROMISE PLAZA & VILLAGE
SUSTAINABLE, MODULAR, URBAN CONTAINER UNITS >> FELIX HEISEL | MARTA WISNIEWSKA
178 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 4
BUSINESS CUSTOMER SERVICE >> AMANUEL MENGISTU
ECONOMY
185 BUILDING THE FUTURE
THE APPLICATION OF LOCAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AND MATERIALS IN ETHIOPIA >> DIRK HEBEL
195 SCALING DOWN
>> DIRK DONATH
205 AFFORDABLE HOUSING
>> BISRAT KIFLE | BROOK TEKLEHAIMANOT | HELAWI SEWNET
212 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 5
CHARTER SCHOOLS >> BENJAMIN PIPER
TECHNOLOGY
219 EARTHEN MASONRY VAULTING: TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
TECHNICAL ASPECTS >> LARA DAVIS | PHILLIPE BLOCK
233 BUILDING WITH EARTH APPROPRIATELY
>> MELAKESELAM MOGES
239 MODEL MAKING AS A TOOL
THE AACM PROJECT >> BROOK TEKLEHAIMANOT
245 ORIGAMI
FOLDING STRUCTURES >> MELAT ASSEFA
249 STAIRS
AN ARCHITECTURE IN TRANSITION >> ZELEKE BELAY
252 HYPER-DICE
>> ZEGEYE CHERENET | BERHANU GEBREWOLD | RAMIAH LEMMA | LULIT SOLOMON | TIBEBU DANIEL | DEJENE LIRAMO
256 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 6
THE ESSENTIAL MOBILE TOOLKIT >> ADAM ABATE | ERIC CHIJOKE
SOCIOLOGY
263 HOUSING TYPOLOGIES
A CASE STUDY IN ADDIS ABABA >> FELIX HEISEL
271 APPROPRIATING SPATIAL ACCOMODATIONS
>> BERHANU GEBREWOLD
279 MESKEL SQUARE
AN URBAN THEATER >> BROOK TEKLEHAIMANOT
284 7 IDEAS THAT COULD TRANSFORM ADDIS ABABA - PART 7
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTIONS >> DAVID ROGERS
288 UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS
>>EiABC
290 ACKGNOWLEDGEMENTS
291 CONTRIBUTORS
294 COLOPHON
218 >> technology
EARTHEN MASONRY VAULTING 1 >> Läpple, Dieter. “Shaping Ur-
ban Ethiopia” Lecture. Lake Tana
TECHNOLOGIES AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER Region – Prospectives of Future Ur-
>> LARA DAVIS | PHILIPPE BLOCK banisation, International Scientific
Workshop, Bahir Dar University,
TECHNICAL ASPECTS Ethiopia, February 2011.
INTRODUCTION http://www.hcu-hamburg.de/
In rural Ethiopia – where the annual population growth rate is 7%, congested cities increas- research/arbeitsgebiete/laepple/
ingly cannot absorb the high rate of urban migration, and rural land is at capacity for subsis- veranstaltungen/lake-tana-city-
tence farming, innovative methods are urgently needed to provide housing and encourage the region-workshop/
growth of medium scale towns.1 Solutions are required at the building scale, which may foster 2 >> Block P., DeJong M., Davis L.
intermediate economies, ballast unemployment, and densify settlements so that it is affordable and Ochsendorf J.[2010] Tile vault-
to introduce communal infrastructures for semi-urban dwelling such as, supply chains for ac- ed systems for low-cost construc-
cess to food, potable water, electrification, crop irrigation, and access to social infrastructures tion in Africa, Journal of the African
like schools and health care facilities. This is born out of the belief that shared infrastructure is Technology Development Forum
equivalent to affordable facilities. In these same regions demanding new approaches to semi- (ATDF), Vol. 7, Nr. 1-2, pp. 4-13.
urban density, the only existing housing stock are roughly constructed dwellings disbursed 3 >> Ramage, M., Ochsendorf, J.,
widely throughout the landscape, which, critically, cannot accommodate strategies for multi- Rich, P., Bellamy, J. and Block, P.
story housing. Such dwellings, while being economically sustainable for the typical poor, rural (2010) Design and Construction of
Ethiopian peasant, are also heavy consumers of limited domestic resources (eucalyptis wood) the Mapungubwe National Park
and imported materials (corrugated steel roofing). The imminent challenge is to enhance these Interpretive Centre, South Africa.
vernacular construction methods – with consideration to the shortage of building material, Journal of the African Technology
capital resources, and skilled labor by applying the use of innovative techniques, to meet the Development Forum (ATDF) – Spe-
urgent need for housing. cial Issue on Architecture for Devel-
As such, timbrel vaulting and Mexican “leaning brick” vaulting are two historical masonry opment.
construction techniques, with demonstrated low-cost applications in construction markets of 4 >> Ramage, M., Ochsendorf, J.
Spain and Mexico, which have been proposed as viable low-cost techniques in the Ethiopian A. and Rich, P. (2010) Sustainable
context.2 Why vaulting? Though these traditional, Mediterranean and Mexican vaulting tech- Shells: New African Vaults Built
niques are both typically executed with fired clay bricks, both have been modified for more sus- With Soil-Cement Tiles. Journal
tainable building practice in the African context through the application of cement-stabilized, Of The International Association
soil-pressed bricks, or compressed earth block (CEB) technology. In the case of timbrel vaulting, For Shell And Spatial Structures (J.
this combination has been pioneered by the Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Centre Iass), Vol. 51, No. 4 December n.
project in South Africa.3-6 A more distant relative to the leaning brick method, Nubian vaulting, 166, pp. 255-261.
has a much longer history of application with the use of sun-dried, earthen Adobe construc- 5 >> Ramage, M., Ochsendorf, J.,
tion.7 This use of soil as a primary building material – locally abundant and inexpensive – has Block, P. and Rich, P. (2008) “Ad-
offered an environmentally sound, alternative building solution for low-cost housing, which re- vanced Geometry, Rudimentary
duces dependence upon expensive imported materials, and stimulates local economic growth
Construction: Structural Form Find-
through labor-based job creation. These methods have enabled the rapid construction of mod-
ing for Unreinforced Thin-shell Ma-
est, repeatable tile floor systems, which directly answer the demand for multi-story construc-
sonry Vaults” in Advances in Archi-
tion in a rapidly urbanizing society. This two-part chapter discusses the implementation of these
tectural Geometry 2008, Vienna,
two vaulting construction techniques in the context of Ethiopia. Part I will describe the tech-
Austria.
niques of timbrel and leaning brick vaulting in their technical details, while addressing the argu-
6 >> World Buildings Directory,
ments for their sustainable use in Ethiopia. This section will outline the construction methods,
Online Database – Mapungubwe
their structural principles, material properties, and applicable design tools and metrics. It will
Interpretation Center (2009) World
additionally present a comparative discussion of relevant selection criteria for the alternative
Architecture Festival 2009 - World
building techniques, with attention to the challenges of resource constraint in the developing
Building of the Year. http://www.
world context. Part II will juxtapose technical and social concerns of earthen masonry vaulting
worldbuildingsdirectory.com/proj-
in Ethiopia, querying implications of the cultural relevance and uptake of this new technology,
ect.cfm?id=1634
while setting forth strategies for sustainable technology transfer.

technology >> 219

 NEW APPROACHES FOR LOW-COST HOUSING–CAPITALIZING ON SOIL
To develop comprehensive alternatives for vernacular construction, it is necessary to identify
what makes local housing typologies already socio-economically fit for their environments, and

a >>

7 >> Houben, H. and Guillaud, H., what makes typical low-cost housing alternatives prohibitive by Ethiopian means. The most
Earth Construction: A Comprehen- common vernacular dwelling of the north is the ‘Sar-bet’ (or grass hut), a ‘tukul’ type con-
sive Guide. CRATerre-EAG, Inter- struction of eucalyptus wood, thatch roofing and mud plastering (a >>). The ‘korkoro-bet’ is a
mediate Technology Publications, slightly modernized version, which has an adapted, rectilinear form to suit the dimensions of
London, 1994. the corrugated sheet metal used for roofing (a3 >>). The increased cost of sheet metal in this
8 >> UN Habitat, Regional and housing type is offset by its benefit to its owners, as it is commonly collected and used as mate-
Technical Cooperation Division, rial capital in a practice of informal, rural banking. It could be said that these two typologies
ETHIOPIA: ADDIS ABABA URBAN most economically utilize the limited, available building material, and constructional skill in the
PROFILE. United Nations Human rural market. However, it is clear that these alone do not provide a strategy for the population
Settlements Programme (UN-HAB- increase projected in the coming decades (UN Report),8 and further, do not utilize Ethiopian
ITAT), UNON, Publishing Services resources in a sustainable manner. Eg. With the addition of bracing techniques, the abundant
Section, Nairobi, 2008.
9 >> Jarzombek, M. “Lalibela and
Libanos, The King and the Hydro-
Engineer of 13th Century Ethiopia,
A Connection to India?” in Cities
of Change: Addis Ababa, Edited by
Marc Angélil and Dirk Hebel (Zur-
ich: Birkhauser, 2009) pp.76-79

a1, 2 & 3>> Traditional Sar-bet dwell-

ings in rural Ethiopia (Amhara
region); 1) Traditional “Sar--
bet”(grass hut) dwellings in rural
Ethiopia (Amhara region) with Eu-
calyptus wood and plastered mud
construction method; 2) Typical,
roughly built Sar--bets showing
lateral instability; 3) Corcoro--bet,
rectilinear form with minimal brac-
ing and a corrugated metal roof.
b >>

220 >> technology

use of eucalyptus wood elements could certainly be reduced for lower cost targets and mitigat- b >> Imported building material:
ing unchecked development, which contributes to a long history of unsustainable deforestation Portland cement for concrete and
and soil erosion in Ethiopia.9 reinforcement steel.
Typical low-cost alternatives to vernacular construction techniques, known primarily only c >> Three methods of brick vault
in urban centers, are prohibitively expensive because of extensive inflation and the shocking, construction [7]: 1. Northern Eu-
disproportionate cost of imported materials. Further, the industrial manufacturing of building ropean vaults require extensive
materials such as steel, cement, and construction timber is extremely limited in Ethiopia (b >>). wooden centering; 2. pitched or
Yet, while steel, cement, and precision construction wood are scarce, soil and stone may be leaning brick vaults, built in North
considered as abundant, accessible and sustainable construction materials in Ethiopia. These Africa and Mexico, eliminate the
inexpensive alternatives may be considered the materials of choice for low-cost construction, need for centering; and 3. Mediter-
where lesser quality material can be safely employed. ranean thin-tile vaults may be con-
structed without centering.

TIMBREL & LEANING BRICK VAULTING

BACKGROUND AND METHODS
As stone and soil have limited tensile capacity, spanning space with these materials demands 10 >> Ochsendorf, J. and Block, P.
new structural solutions: compression-only structures. Wall elements in masonry are relatively (2009). Designing unreinforced
straight-forward; however, once a space has to be spanned for second story occupancy, beam masonry. In E. Allen and W. Zalews-
elements are needed. Such elements, which work in bending, typically require timber, steel or ki (Eds.), Form and Forces: Design-
reinforced concrete – all materials that are costly or not readily available in the rural Ethiopian ing Efficient, Expressive Structures,
market. Furthermore, while bending moments require a great deal of material to carry loads, Chapter 8. New York: John Wiley
compression-only solutions used to span space can be very thin and require comparably less Sons.
material. 11 >> Davis, L. (2010) Building the
There are three primary, typological methods for spanning space with a masonry system: SUDU. http://sudu1construction.
European, Nubian/ Mexican and Catalan vaulting (c >>).10 European-style vaults (c1 >>) may be wordpress.com/
immediately discarded as a viable solution for low-cost housing on account of the excessive 12 >> Hebel, The Vernacular Redis-
formwork (or centering) required for construction, as material and labor for formwork is one of covered: Applying Local Construc-
tion Technologies and Materials
in Ethiopia. Ed. Ruby I. & A., Rein-
venting Construction, Ruby Press,
Berlin, 2010.
13 >> Hebel, D. (2010) Appropri-
ateness is a moving target: The
re-invention of local construction
technologies and materials in Ethi-
opia. Journal of the African Tech-
nology Development Forum (ATDF)
– Special Issue on Architecture for
c >> Development.
14 >> Ochsendorf, J. (2010) Guasta-
the most significant hidden costs in the construction of vaults. Reduced formwork and scaffold- vino Vaulting: The Art of Structural
ing strategies are critical in Ethiopia, to reduce both cost and excess timber consumption. The Tile. Princeton Architectural Press,
other methods may be considered as “appropriate building technologies” in Ethiopia, and may New York, NY.
complement a multi-faceted approach to the enhancement of vernacular construction tech-
niques. This comparative study is intended to articulate the technical benefits, requirements
and challenges of each, so that the resource constraints and site conditions of localized contexts
may be taken into consideration when assessing their suitability. The following analysis is based
upon lessons learned empirically through the construction of the Sustainable Urban Dwelling
Unit (SUDU) at the EiABC.11-13

technology >> 221

 d >> Form and masonry pattern Timbrel vaulting also known as Catalan, Guastavino or thin-tile vaulting (c3 >>) is a historical
for typical double--curved 1) Tim- Mediterranean technique which has made use of thin ceramic tiles for structural vaults, in
brel vault; and 2) Leaning brick which minimal centering is required during construction. The success of this technology, which
vault (groins marked red). has flourished in Spain since the 15th century and was also successfully imported to the United
States by the Spanish architect and engineer, Rafael Guastavino14, is thanks to its extremely cost
e >> Methods enabling formwork--
effective nature, given the context of a lower cost of labor and a prudent practice of building
less construction: 1) Timbrel vault
gypsum adhesion; and 2) Leaning
with local material. This system typically employs three layers of thin brick, the first of which is
brick vault form/unit geometry. set with a fast-setting Plaster-of-Paris mortar, with subsequent layers built with a conventional
cementitious mortar. The bricks are typically only 3cm thick, and the tiling pattern of each layer
f >> 1) Deep catenary geometry is rotated 45 degrees to break continuous joints between layers and to establish a sandwich
(compression above; tension be- of strong structural bondings. With long spans, high load capacity, and fire resistance, these
low), 2) Shallow catenary geom- structures are a cost-effective solution to spanning space.
etry, and 3) Shallow funicular ge- Originally a Nubian vaulting construction technology c.1200 BC (c2>>), which was developed
ometry for a timbrel vaulted floor just over 1000km from modern Ethiopia, this ancient vaulting technique was rediscovered and
system (note that the influence first introduced to Mexico by Hassan Fathy in 1980.15 It was subsequently combined with tra-
of the loading of fill in the floor ditional Central American vaulting techniques and adapted into its present form of Mexican
system creates a funicular, but no leaning brick vaulting as practiced by the builder-architect Alfonso Ramirez Ponce.16 Leaning
longer catenary, geometry). brick vaulting is so named because, like Nubian vaulting, it employs full bed bricks which are laid
face-to-face, to ‘lean’ into the cross section of the vault.
g >> Rafael Guastavino standing on
a newly built arch during construc-
tion of the Boston Public Library,
Boston, Massachusetts, 1889;19 2)
Completed vaults; 3) Guastavino
Rib and Dome System, New York,
1902.20

d >>

The primary distinctions between Nubian vaulting and Mexican leaning brick vaulting are the
geometry and order of sequence in construction. Leaning brick vaulting is distinctive in that
double curved vault forms are always begun from the corners, and worked progressively in-
wards to create groins where each corner ‘squinch’ meets (d2>>). Most other vaulted types, in-
cluding thin-tile vaulting, have groins which occur along ‘diagonals’ of masonry (d1 >>); whereas
the groin of the leaning brick vault is turned 45o, to terminate at the mid-point of a span.

e >>

222 >> technology

Vault curvature for either method may be single or double curved and adapted to a number 15 >> Alfonso Ramírez Ponce, Cur-
of boundary conditions for various design considerations. On the whole, timbrel vaulting has vas De Suspiro Y Barro. El Ladrillo
greater formal flexibility, which, provided the mastery of the technique by more experienced Recargado: Una Técnica Milenaria
builders, may be adapted for a broader range of design criteria (i.e. leaning brick vaulting is Y Moderna.
more commonly provided with continuous edge supports).(d2>>) Similar methods of light guide- 16 >> Alfonso Ramírez Ponce and
work may be employed for both techniques. Note that “guidework” indicates a non-structural Rafael Ramírez Melendez , “Curves
guide which describes for the mason where a surface must lie, whereas “formwork” indicates of Clay: Mexican Brick Vaults and
that the centering has a load-bearing capacity. For a single-curved vault, for example, two rigid Domes”, pp. 143-154 in Nexus V:
arch profiles may be positioned at opposite ends of a space and connected with mason’s lines. Architecture and Mathematics, ed.
Formwork-less construction is made possible in timbrel vaulting by the gypsum mortar, which Kim Williams and Francisco Delga-
adheres two sides of a thin-tile masonry unit to a masonry surface, holding it in cantilever until do Cepeda, Fucecchio (Florence):
each masonry course is closed to insure its stability (e1>>). Yet in leaning brick vaulting, it is pri- Kim Williams Books, 2004.
marily the ‘leaning’ geometry, along with the low weight of the masonry unit (1.5 kg / brick with 17 >> Morales, R. A. Bóvedas Mexi-
typical dimensions of 10x20x5cm), that enables formwork-less construction (f2 >>). Each closed canas.
course then establishes stable sections, which prevent masonry units from sliding. 18 >> Ochsendorf, J. ibid.
19 >> Boston Public Library, Print
VAULT DESIGN : SIMPLE STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES, DESIGN TOOLS & RULES Department.
The structural form of vaults for both techniques is funicular; it is able to resist the design loads 20 >> Guastavino/Collins Collec-
and its self-weight, in pure axial compression. The hanging chain, taking the shape of a catenary, tion, Drawings and Archives, Avery
has a funicular geometry, which acts in pure tension under its own self-weight. The inverted cat- Library, Columbia University.
enary – the funicular arch with constant thickness – acts in pure compression rather than pure
tension (f >>). The generation of a funicular vaulted form can either be accomplished by tracing
a hanging chain at 1-to-1, or by a system of geometric rules for approximating a catenary.

0.50 0.10

0.45 5.60 0.45

f >>

Leaning brick and timbrel vaulting allow for the construction of compact, efficient floor systems
– such as that developed by the Guastavino Company (g >>)17,18 – which may be used for multi-
story construction. Since stresses are low within funicular vaulted structures, soil tiles with low
material strength can be used, bending reinforcement can be omitted, and tension ties can be
minimized.
A compression structure thrusts outward as its self-weight accrues and is directed through
its geometry. This can be represented by a ‘line of thrust’, which is a theoretical line, describing
the path of compressive forces through the masonry vault. This line of thrust, which has a cat-
enary geometry (i.e. the shape of a hanging chain) only when the loading is proportional along

g >>

technology >> 223

 the center line of the arch, must travel through the cross section of masonry for a compression-
only vault to be stable (i1>>). Heavy asymmetrical loading, for example, from a group of people
standing on only one side of the vault, alters the position of a thrust line, and may result in a
solution which no longer fits within the thin section of the vault (i2>>, j2-3>>). Thus, stiffening
diaphragm walls and stabilized fill on top of the vault are needed to give additional structural
depth to the vault, while providing a horizontal surface for a second story. Though typically ei-
ther diaphragms or stabilized fill is used in such a floor system, the structural redundancy of this
combination provides a safety factor against construction error and lower quality construction
materials (e.g. soil elements which have absolutely no capacity for bending).

h >> Unreinforced timbrel vaulted

floor system of the SUDU hous-
ing prototype: a) simple, single--
curved barrel vault with stiffening
diaphragms, to be stabilized with a
pumice/lime fill. i >>

i >> Masonry behavior (after The floor fill furthermore adds self-weight to the vaulted floor system, so that the effect of point
J.Heyman):21,22 1) Maximum and loads remains small. The diaphragm stiffeners and fill provide alternative load paths for point or
minimum thrust lines which fit asymmetrical loading and distribute these loads over a larger area of the vault. Diaphragms are
within the cross-- section of ma- critical structural components for a barrel vault. Such vaults have the important advantage, on
sonry; 2) asymmetrical loading account of their single curvature, that they can be easily geometrically described for construc-
within cross--section of material; tion. On the other hand, they are more vulnerable to asymmetrical loads than a double-curved
and 3) asymmetrical loading ex- vault, as the loads can only be carried down to the supports in one primary direction. A deep
iting material, to form a failure funicular structure has less horizontal thrust. A shallow form, with a greater horizontal thrust,
mechanism must be resolved by providing steel tension members to tie back the vault (k >>). Regardless
j >> Loading diagrams: 1) self- of the design requirements for tension ties, a vaulted structure can only be safe when stable,
weight, 2 & 3) asymmetrical load- inflexible boundary conditions are provided.
ing within cross-section of the floor
system

k >> Thrust diagrams, 1) thrust of

vault, 2) required reaction forces,
3) steel tension tie to resolve out- j >>
ward thrust

k >>

TIMBREL VS LEANING BRICK VAULTING: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS IN ETHIOPIA

The many parameters which vary between these two techniques – structural, material, con-
structional and tectonic – may be studied as elements in a cost-benefit equation, as a function
of local human and material resource availability. Criteria for structural performance include,
general structural efficiency of the system (e.g. thrust value) and resistance to asymmetrical
live-loading. Material criteria include, mortar type and soil properties for the masonry units.
Constructional criteria include, ease of masonry block production, guidework method, error
margin for laborers, and stability during construction, speed of construction, and cost of labor.

224 >> technology

Tectonic and typological criteria include, appropriateness for multi-story floor or roof systems, 21 >> Heyman, Jacques, The Stone
capacity for higher degree curvature (single/ double), and formal adaptability. It should be not- Skeleton: Structural Engineering of
ed that this is not a comprehensive list of challenges associated with vault construction in the Masonry Architecture. Cambridge
developing world context – including site conditions, waterproofing, and seismic concerns – University Press, Cambridge, 1995.
which the authors have previously addressed.23 22 >> Block, P., DeJong, M. and
Ochsendorf, J. (2006). As hangs
STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCY the flexible line: Equilibrium of ma-
Generally speaking, leaning brick vaulting is more structurally efficient. The height to span ratio, sonry arches. The Nexus Network
according to Ramirez Ponce’s rules,24 produces a steeper form. Thus, its load action transmits Journal 8 (2), pp. 13-24.
more vertically, with a horizontal thrust smaller than that of timbrel vaults. This means that it 23 >> Block P., DeJong M., Davis L.
may be designed so that no or minimal reinforcing is needed to tie back the outward thrust of and Ochsendorf J. ibid.
the leaning brick vault. It is, however, less efficient as a floor system for multiple story build- 24 >> Alfonso Ramírez Ponce, ibid.
ings, due to the deeper vault form (e.g. the greater total vault surface and floor height requires 25 >> Rigassi, V. and CRATerre-EAG
additional vault and fill material). According to Ponce’s rules, which are formulated in part to (1985) Compressed Earth Blocks:
insure that formwork-less construction is possible, the leaning brick floor system can only reach Volume I. Manual of production.
a reasonably shallow rise and floor depth if the span is small or if an intermediate wall or beam A Publication of the Deutsches
system is provided (e.g. vaulting between steel I-beams). Thus a leaning brick floor system of Zentrum für Entwicklungstechnol-
shallow rise could require, depending upon the span, much more steel than timbrel vaulting. ogien - GATE in: Deutsche Gesell-
Timbrel vaults, the naturally shallower structures, transmit greater horizontal thrust, yet use schaft für Technische Zusammen-
less material as a floor system. Tension ties are sufficient to tie in the thrust of the timbrel arbeit (GTZ) GmbH in coordination
vaulted floor system, mitigating the need for a more pronounced steel support. As steel is the with BASIN.
greatest component expenditure for masonry construction in the Ethiopian context, this mate- 26 >> Guillard, H., Joffroy, T., and
rial expense governs the economic sustainability equation. Thus, the timbrel technique may be Odul, P., CRATerre-EAG (1985)
advantageous where it is necessary to have shallow floor systems. The leaning brick vaulting Compressed Earth Blocks: Volume
technique may be more appropriate for roof systems, with its deeper structural system and II. Manual of Design and Construc-
greater double-curvature, conferring more advantage against asymmetric loading. tion. A Publication of the Deutsch-
es Zentrum für Entwicklungstech-
SOIL SELECTION & TILE PRODUCTION nologien - GATE in: Deutsche
The manufacture of stabilized soil tiles requires intensive study of the quality and properties Gesellschaft für Technische Zusam-
of local soils, including particle fraction, clay fraction plasticity and stability (expansiveness and menarbeit (GTZ) GmbH in coordi-
shrinkage). The authors will refer here to the excellent, comprehensive manuals on soil selec- nation with BASIN.
tion and CEB block production produced by CRAterre EAG, and will treat this complex subject
only as it applies to the comparative analysis.25,26 The most stable soils for CEB’s have a very
robust and well-distributed skeleton (gravel and sand) to prevent silt and particularly clay par-
l >> Field testing of various soil
types and mix proportions (“cake
test” for a comparative measure
of shrinkage)

l >>

technology >> 225

 m1 >>

n >>
ticles from expanding. Clay should be minimized for cement stabilized tiles, providing only suf-
ficient adhesion for bricks before curing, because the cement stabilizer binds with gravel and
sand particles. Overly clayey bricks are prone to expansion, contraction, and associated cracking
when exposed to moisture variation.
Soil masonry units are generally compressed with hand or hydraulic presses and stabilized
with a typical 5-13% inclusion of cement. Particularly applicable for this comparative analysis,
the production of very thin tiles is much more difficult – timbrel bricks are brittle and prone to
fracture before curing. The robust dimensions of the leaning brick block, however, save time
and labor with less statistical breakage. Additionally, since timbrel vaulted systems are a sand-
wiched composite of many smaller masonry units, more masonry units must be produced,
cured, prepared and then laid onto a masonry surface to cover the same surface area of a lean-
ing brick vault, a more massive brick construction system. This indicates the inherent efficiency
of leaning brick vaulting with respect to the speed of construction and thus cost of labor. Never-
theless, the extremely low cost of labor in Ethiopia, and the valuable investment of labor for job
creation, could make optimizing this factor counter-productive in many respects.

MORTARS
Timbrel vaulting relies upon the availability of fast setting gypsum mortar, which is needed to
set the first layer of tiles. Since it is typically not readily available on the market and must be cus-
m2 >> tom-produced by a manufacturer to meet the material requirements and specific properties for
m1 >> Soil samples from the Am- speed of setting essential for the technique, it is thus expensive in comparison to even typical
hara region; m2 >> testing for ad- cementitious mortars (sand, cement, lime and water). While most industrial scale production
equate sand/gravel skeleton for of gypsum is currently concentrated in Addis Ababa, the cost of the material could eventually
stable block production. (Image decrease if and when industrial plants become more available in rural regions, or if partnerships
credits: LKD, drawing by Benjamin
are developed with smaller scale manufacturers. Leaning brick vaulting, on the other hand, has
Stähli, PB)
the advantage of not using a gypsum mortar. Either a readily available cementitious mortar may
n >> Soil bricks produced at ZOMA
be used, or even mud mortars with sufficient adhesive properties would suffice.
Contemporary Art Centre, Harla
It is necessary to maintain cohesion between the various layers of a vault with consistent
expansive properties of masonry bricks and mortars, both in beds between masonry layers and
Village: 1) Full--bed adobe bricks;
joints between the masonry units. For this reason, cementitious mortars are typically utilized
and 2) thin--tile masonry units (for
for the upper layers of a timbrel vault, incurring yet further expense with respect to mortar.
timbrel vaulting).
Also on account of the sandwiched structure of timbrel vaulting (and the bedding between each
layer), it is evident that the proportion of mortar to masonry blocks, and the total amount of
mortar used, is greater. In any case, the potential for the use of mud mortars in the leaning brick
method confers greater advantage in resource efficiency and overall expense.

226 >> technology

SKILL, EXPERIENCE AND TOLERANCE FOR ERROR
The first layer of timbrel vaulting is very thin, and laid in cantilever; thus, this technique is rela-
tively error-prone for unskilled laborers who have insufficient experience to accurately achieve
its funicular geometry. For instance, if there is a local flattening or region of negative curvature
built in error, this section of masonry can cause failure mechanisms induced by local bend-
ing. Because timbrel vaulting relies upon the tensile capacity of the mortar for stability during

o >>
construction, rather than the geometry of the vault, masons must follow very careful rules of o >> 1) Timbrel masonry systems (3
sequencing to insure stability before each masonry course is closed. If masonry is not laid care- layers with thin-tile bricks); and 2)
fully in stable sections, it is prone to collapses. The first and only course of leaning brick vault- Leaning brick systems (1 layer with
ing, essentially full bed bricks (q >>), immediately confers a greater thickness; this method thus modified full bed bricks).
accepts error more readily, as the initial load path has a greater cross section to move within. p >> Teaching vaults: 1) Timbrel

Additionally, because leaning brick vaulting is stable during construction more so on account vaulting; 2) Nubian vaulting.

of its geometry than of its material property, its construction-phase stability is more optimal.
While nevertheless demanding attention to stable building sequencing, leaning brick vaulting
has inherently more tolerance for error than timbrel vaulting.

CONCLUSIONS: WEIGHING EFFICIENCIES

p >>

technology >> 227

 CREDITS
The Mapungubwe National Park
Interpretation Centre, SouthAfrica
was designed by architect Peter
Rich of Peter Rich Architects,in col-
laboration with Michael Ramage,
James Bellamy, Henry Fagan, Anne
Fitchett, Matthew Hodge and Franz
Prinsloo, as well as one present au-
thor (Block).
The construction of the Sustainable
Urban Dwelling Unit for the ETHio-
pia Urban Laboratory summer
school, held at the Ethiopian Insti-
tute of Architecture, Building Con-
struction and City Development
(EiABC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
could not have been accomplished
without the support of the follow- q >>
ing individuals: From the EiABC:
In terms of the application of floor systems for multi-story construction, timbrel vaulting pro-
Special thanks to Scientific Direc-
vides the best-fit solution. This floor system, with a shallow structure and a reduced floor height,
tor Dirk Hebel, Herbert Schmitz,
is more economically feasible; since it requires much less material than that (is) needed for a
Dr. Elias Yitbarek, Tibebu Daniel,
leaning brick floor system. Timbrel vaulting is also advantageous with respect to its formal flex-
Joseph Hennes, Dejene Liramo,
ibility. In terms of structural efficiency, ease of tile production, efficiency in mortar use, minimi-
Melak Moges, Zegeye Cherenet,
zation of most critical cost factor (steel), tolerance for error and stability during construction, it
Fasil Giorghis; From the Depart-
is evident that leaning brick vaulting provides the best solutions. An insightful compromise may,
ment of Architecture ETH Zürich:
however, combine the two systems within one structure, such as in the example of the SUDU
Dr. Philippe Block, Dr. Marc Angélil,
prototype (r >>). Towards these aims, the SUDU has served as an applied research project,
Lara Davis, Astrid Smitham; From
which has tested the application of these two appropriate building technologies in a context-
ETH Sustainability: Dr.Christine
specific manner.
Bratrich, Catherine Lippuner; From
It is evident, however, that we must better qualify the descriptive “appropriate building
the North-°©-South Centre ETH
technology” for developing countries, and carefully interrogate the criteria for “sustainable”
Zürich: Dr. Barbara Becker, Emma
construction technologies in Ethiopia. While such terminology is used to frame the problem
Lindberg; participating students
of economical construction practice in resource-constrained contexts, it radically oversimpli-
from ETH and EiABC, and local Ethi-
fies the complex dynamics of human and material resource constraints as they apply to new
opian laborers.
technologies. In comparing material efficiencies, structural efficiencies, and labor-based effi-
ciencies, a reductive logic cannot determine what is the best-fit for any given locality. In rural
Special thanks go to Franz Oswald,
Ethiopia for example, it is not necessarily natural resource scarcity, but constraints with respect
and the editor, Zegeye Cherenet,
to infrastructure for production, supply and transportation of building materials, which govern
for their motivating force in this
the logistical and economic challenges for construction. Since import and material transporta-
article, along with other critical
tion comes at tremendous cost, material constraint becomes highly localized. This contingence
participants in the development of
upon local conditions requires a multi-facetted and flexible approach to adapt to available ma-
NESTown/ BuraNEST: Fasil Giorgis,
terial, labor skills, and the constraints of a given locality. One must proceed then, along careful
Dejene Liramo, Benjamin Stähle.
lines to understand what the critical efficiencies are. Whether constraints consisting primarily
Final thanks for many technical ad-
of capital, material, energy, transportation infrastructure, or skilled labor, extremely local cost-
vices to Olivier Moles of CRAterre,
benefit analyses are necessary to ascertain which constraints (and which design goals), most
Alfonso Ramírez Ponce, Meskerem
govern the “sustainability” equation in all of its economic, environmental, social, and political
Assegued, and Elias Sime.

228 >> technology

r >>

facets. When the design goals are identified, such construction technologies may be used as q >> Teaching vault: Leaning brick
flexible tools to respond to conditions of constraint, to mobilize labor economies in production, vaulting
manufacture, and construction, and to generate modest but desirable outcomes in critical in- r >> SUDU 1) 1st floor Thin-tile
vestments for rural Ethiopian towns. >> vault, 2) 1st floor vault and 2nd
floor Leaning brick vaulting, c.
SUDU Sectional drawing –Compos-
ite of type
s >> Material transport in rural
Ethiopia (Image credits: Benjamin-
Stähli)

s >>

technology >> 229

 230 >> technology
unreinforced thin-tiled floor system of the SUDU housing prototype
technology >> 231