The 1960s architectural legacy of Addis Ababa.
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Source: Selamta - The Magazine of Ethiopian Airlines
Such a beautifully written article about the building that were built in the 1960's in Addis Ababa. These mid-century buildings are my favorite and have studied them back in school. Their timeless beauty amazes me and I really wish we could find ways of respecting their surroundings and also make efforts of renovating and maintaining them.
In the period that followed over the late 1950s and early 1960s, Addis went through a massive urban makeover that proved extremely prolific architecturally. The all-powerful emperor attracted some well-known international architects to help realize his dream of presenting Addis as the capital of a united Africa. In his memoirs, Italian architect Arturo Mezzedimi — who worked very closely with the emperor for some 23 years — quoted him as saying: “It is necessary to show people that it is possible to construct grand buildings here, too, by erecting a couple of high-profile structures, with the maximum possible use of home-produced material.”
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