The School, The Book, The Town is a biography of an experiment
undertaken in Ethiopia for nearly a decade, starting with the founding
of a school, setting off a series of investigations assembled in a book,
and leading to the construction of a town. A timeline running all
through the book reveals how logical and consistent, but in some cases
also chaotic and interrupted the story evolved.In an age of rapid
urbanization, the city is everywhere. In the case of Ethiopia, as with
so many other developing nations, architecture and urban design are
brought face to face with a country undergoing radical, often painful
transformations that put longstanding traditions to the test. The
burning question here is how to modernize and yet maintain distinct
cultural identities, while also trying to accommodate mass migration
from rural regions to urban centers. In sum, the route followed here is
one marked by a series of trials that leave nothing standing as it
was.Contributions by Marc Angélil, Philippe Block, Zegeye Chenet, Dirk
Hebel, Fasil Giorghis, Sarah Graham, Franz Oswald, Cary Siress, et al.
