Spatial Interaction at Buiding Plinth: The Case of Mixed Use Buildings of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2020-10
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Addis Ababa university
Abstract
Strong building interaction with the public space has a great role in shaping social activities such
as sitting, walking and standing. Especially on the ground floor the space created inside the
building must interact with the public space (Camilo Sitte). This study aims to understand the
strong spatial interaction of the public space at the plinth ground and lower level which has a
great role in shaping social activities such as sitting, walking and standing and many more. The
study is expected to provide the future building of Addis Ababa, which may encourage
awareness among local developers and communities to do more in designing and enhancing the
interaction at the ground plinth. On the other hand, the study also opened for further
investigations. Spatial interaction at building plinth should be investigated and propose a design
that can enhance the plinth on mixed use buildings through incorporating accessible ground floor
spaces, well function space flow from private space to public space of the building, open public
space, walking spaces, staying spaces with friendly activities for encouraging social interactions.
Case study buildings are selected based on exposure of the building in conjunction with the
adjacent street and street should be > 25meters and between 15- 25meters. Here, the study
focuses only on the ground floor that is analyzed based on characters that are identified to
influence the spatial interaction. In order to get a deeper understanding of what is happening;
case study method is used in this research as a methodology. Different data collection techniques
such as interview, site observation and mapping are used. Observation, documentations and
drawing are summarized and interpreted through maps and tables. Finally, the analyzed data are
presented with tables and pictures obtained during field study.
The study findings indicate that the existing spatial interactions at building plinth of the mixed
use buildings of Addis Ababa faces lack of accessible ground floor spaces, well function space
flow from private space to public space of the building, open public space, walking spaces,
staying spaces with friendly activities for encouraging social interactions. In response to those
findings, this study confirms the importance of ground floor, as a pedestrian in the city, feel
comfortable, safe, and captivated by the details of what your eyes see. The design attitude of the
architect is important to start designing from the street, not from the building. Need to design
good and pleasant entrances and ground floors. Different functions should be included with in
the ground floor. Flow space should describe the space that is produced from the flows of people,
information and goods, rather than concentrating on the boundaries. Physical access should not
be limited to entrance spaces. Visual connection with the surrounding should be considered.
Description
Keywords
Plinths,, Public realm,, spatial interaction,, human scale,, activity