ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND
ARCHITECTURE

Course title: Contemporary Trends in Environmental Architecture

Course Code: 6204
PROJECT I
Evaluating the Adoption of Green Building Concepts and
Principles on Lideta Mercato Market Center Buildings

Instructor: Yared Girma (PhD)

June, 2023

1
 ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
Course title: Contemporary Trends in Environmental Architecture
Course Code: 6204

PROJECT - I
Evaluating the Adoption of Green Building Concepts and Principles on

Lideta Mercato Market Center Buildings Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Instructor: Yared Girma (PhD)

Prepared by:

1. Anatoli Alemu - PGR/28109/15

2. Ayana Kabeta - PGR/28110/15

3. Bereket Lafraw - PGR/28111/15

4. Betelhem Alemu - PGR/28112/15

June, 2023

i
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First of all, and foremost, we would like to start by thanking the Almighty God for his guidance,
protection, and his forgiveness. Secondly, a great thanks to our course instructor Yared Girma
(PhD), for his support, consultative discussions, suggestions and revisions. Finally, we would
like to thank all our friends and senior students for their valuable suggestions and helpful
comments.

ii
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENT...............................................................................................................................ii
List of Figures...............................................................................................................................................iv
List of Tables................................................................................................................................................iv
CHAPTER ONE............................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................1
1.1. Green Buildings.............................................................................................................................1
1.2. Objectives of green buildings........................................................................................................1
1.3. Features of Green Building............................................................................................................1
1.4. Objectives..........................................................................................................................................3
1.4.1. General Objectives.....................................................................................................................3
1.4.2. Specific Objectives....................................................................................................................3
1.5. Scope of the Study.........................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO...........................................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER THREE.......................................................................................................................................5
METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................................................5
3.1. Description to the study area..........................................................................................................5
CHAPTER FOUR..........................................................................................................................................8
DATA ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................................8
4.1. Design Concept..............................................................................................................................9
4.2. Lideta Mercato: World’s best shopping Centre.............................................................................9
4.3. Site and its surroundings..................................................................................................................10
4.4. Energy Efficiency............................................................................................................................12
4.5. Water Efficiency..............................................................................................................................12
4.6. Building Facade System and Indoor Air Quality.............................................................................14
4.7. Material Efficiency and sustainability.............................................................................................15
4.8. Cost efficiency.................................................................................................................................17
4.8.1. Access of Natural light and Ventilation...................................................................................17
4.8.2. Rain Water Harvesting.............................................................................................................17
4.8.3. Photovoltaic Solar panel installed on the rooftop....................................................................17
CHAPTER FIVE.........................................................................................................................................20
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION...........................................................................................20
Reference.....................................................................................................................................................21

iii
List of Figures

Figure: 3.1. 3D view of Lideta Mercato Market Centre……………………….………………….5

Figure: 3.2. Description to the study area………………………………………………………....6
Figure 4.1: Design Concept of the building…………………….………………………………....9
Figure:4.2. Street layout of the site……………………………………………………………....10
Figure 4.3: Ground floor Plan View of pedestrian shortcut…………………………….….…….11
Figure 4.4: 3D Conceptual representation of pedestrian access rout on the ground floor.……....11
Figure: 4.5. photovoltaic umbrellas installed on the rooftop of the building………………. .….12
Figure:4.6. Collection and filtering of rainwater for reuse in the toilets…..............…………….12
Figure: 4.7. Section View of vertical circulation………………………………………………...13
Figure:4.8. 3D Conceptual representation of vertical circulation floor………………………….13
Figure:4.9. Ultra-light pre-compressed Concrete facades…….....................................................14
Figur:4.10. square openings used to ensure enough light and air circulation…............................14
Figure:4.11. (A), (B) - Pre-compressed concrete used for wall construction of Lideta Merkato
market center………………..................................................................................………………16
Figure: 4.12. Photovoltaic panels used for generating electricity and serve as shade ….….……17
Figure: 4.13. Collection and filtering of rainwater for reuse in the toilets…........................……17
Figure: 4.14. Ultra-light pre-compressed concrete facades used to reduce the need for air
conditioning….......................................................................................................................……19
Figure:4.15. Smaller size shops……....................................................................................…….19
Figure: 4.16. Smaller size shops................................................................................................…19
Figure: 4.17. Vertical circulation…...............................................................................…………19
Figure: 4.18. Night exterior view of the shops..........................................................................…19
Figure: 4.19. Roof Terrace….........................................................................................................19

List of Tables

Table 1. Summary of the Building sustainable Features...............................................................18

iv
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Currently a large number of buildings are being built and their design, construction, maintenance
and demolition have a tremendous impact on the environment and natural resources.

1.1. Green Buildings

Green Buildings also known as green construction or sustainable buildings expands and
complements the building concerns of Economy, Utility, Durability and Comfort. Green
buildings use less water, optimize energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generate less
waste and provides healthier space for occupants as compared to conventional buildings.

Energy savings in green buildings could range from 20% - 30%; water savings from 30% - 50%.

A green building can cost between 5% - to - 10% more to build than a regular building, but these
costs can be recovered in just 2 years in energy and water savings.

1.2. Objectives of green buildings

 The objective of green building designs is to minimize resources usage, maximize the
reuse, recycling and utilization of renewable resources.
 Low Impact: Minimize impacts on natural resources
 Energy Efficient: Reduce energy and water usage
 Healthy: Protect occupant health and increase productivity
 Minimize waste: Designed and constructed in a manner that minimizes waste, pollution
and environmental degradation.

1.3. Features of Green Building

 Consideration of sustainable aspects in all phases of building design and planning
 Use of healthy and environmentally friendly building materials and products
 Use of efficient systems
 Structural design efficiency
 Energy efficiency
 Water efficiency
 Material efficiency
 Waste and toxic reduction
 Use of construction and systems which are easy to maintain and service
 High aesthetic and urban design qualities, high public acceptance

1
2
 1.4. Objectives
1.4.1. General Objectives
The general aim of this study is to analyze the nature of the Lideta Mercato Market center based
on the Green Building concept and principles and to recommend possible solutions to the
building to enhance the adoption of green building concepts in the buildings

1.4.2. Specific Objectives

2. To assess the nature of Lideta Mercato Market center in terms of building layout, indoor
environment quality, waste, energy and water management and building material.
3. To examine and adopt the key issues involved in providing Green Building theories to the
Lideta Mercato Market center.
4. To recommend possible solutions to enhance the adoption of green building concepts in
the buildings

1.5. Scope of the Study

The spatial scope of this paper is confided within the Addis Ababa city only focusing in Lideta
Mercato Market Building. Though Green Buildings Theory states many issues, this paper’s
scope is limited to: Buildings’ situation and orientation; Building function and description; the
indoor air quality (Temperature, Windows and natural lighting, Orientation of buildings, Energy
Consumption; (Renewable energy; Energy efficient items; Energy consumption of items) Waste
management, Water consumption; Building material and its durability.

The main reason to select this building for the case analysis is that, it brings a new design and
construction technique which is not practiced before in the city or the country as well. It
incorporates many sustainable features in the design and construction. It also incorporates both
the building’s contemporary style and ecological sustainability.

3
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

4
 CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1. Description to the study area

Addis Ababa is the political capital city of Ethiopia and the African Union and is often called the
"African Capital" due to its historical, diplomatic, and political significance for the continent. It
is geographically located at the heart of the nation, 9° 2’ N latitude and 38° 45’E longitude.
Located in the foothills of the Entoto Mountains and standing 7,726 feet (2,355 meters) above
sea level, it is the third highest capital in the world. It is located in the geographic center of the
country. The total estimated population number in 2022/23 was 3,859,999 (Source:
https://cityaddisababa.gov.et/). Addis Ababa occupies a total of 540 sq. km land area surrounded
by mountainous landscape. The city has sub-tropical highland climate with a constant moderate
temperature of roughly 23 °C average high and 11°C average low throughout the year. The city
is divided into 10 sub-cities called kifle-ketemas and 116 woredas, which are the lowest
administrative units. Lideta sub city is one out of 11 sub-cities in which the Lideta Merkato
market center is located in. (Erena, Berhe et al. 2017)

Lideta Mercato Market / Vilalta Architects

Figure: 3.1. 3D view of Lideta Mercato Market Centre

5
 Description to the study area

Figure: 3.2. Description to the study area

6
7
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS
Lideta Mercato, a project by Vilalta Architects that won a competition held ten years ago, has
been named the world’s best shopping center according to the Prix Versailles, which presented
Xavier Vilalta’s studio with the UNESCO special prize in 2017. The project is built on a
considerable scale: more than 14,000 sqm on nine levels, the last of which is a public terrace, as
well as two levels of underground parking. The design process was all-inclusive and multi-
faceted, drawing inspiration from the local community and rural Ethiopian art while focusing on
the building’s contemporary style and ecological sustainability.

Xavier Vilalta started out by studying other shopping centres in Addis Ababa in order to identify
their critical points, particularly temperature, ventilation and lighting conditions. The cases
studied revealed a prevalence of enameled and glass materials that let too much heat and light
into the interiors.

Vilalta’s intuition was to draw inspiration from the Old Mercato, Africa’s biggest open-air
bazaar, in the planning of the new shopping center, preferring a large number of small shops
appropriate for local retailers rather than concentrating on just a few luxury shops owned by big
brands.

The building as a whole is imposing, with its squared-off rectangular shape, but the architects
skillfully found a way of combining functions and aesthetics with an element representing local
culture: a fractal geometric pattern made up of square of different sizes which appears frequently
in the fabrics of traditional Ethiopian clothing.

8
 4.1. Design Concept

Figure 4.1: Design Concept of the building

4.2. Lideta Mercato: World’s best shopping Centre

The Lideta Mercato is a new non-typical shopping mall in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It
is one of Xavier Vilalta’s major projects, in which he breaks out from the conventional idea of
the mall with its big stores, by getting back to the old traditional concept of the market and
modifying it to suit his multi-story project. After analyzing the city’s shopping malls, he figured
out three shortcomings that needed to be fixed in his project.

1. First, the big shops in these malls cost too much to operate, and so they end up being
empty.
2. Secondly, the typical all-glass facades are not suitable for the hot climate in Ethiopia
since they let in excessive heat and light, making the inside of the building
uncomfortable.

9
 3. Lastly, these malls do not reflect the image of Africa and its culture.

The Design Vilalta resolved the first issue by replacing the large shops with smaller ones,
inspired by the concept of the city’s Old Mercato which is a public space full of people and
activities.

Then, he makes the interior thermally comfortable, by using pre-fabricated lightweight concrete
system for the facade. The concrete is perforated in a fractal pattern that resembles the ones
found on Ethiopian women’s traditional dresses. The design of the facade minimizes heat
transmission inside the building and controls both lighting and ventilation. The result is a
pleasantly illuminated interior with an outdoor feel to it, and a unique exterior that reflects the
local culture. However, these were not the only challenges the designer had to face in this
project. There was the matter of the site itself.

4.3. Site and its surroundings

The site for this project has two parallel streets on both sides without any connection between
them. It has no public spaces nearby, and it is highly dense with buildings.

Figure:4.2. Street layout of the site

10
So, Vilalta decided to make his building into a public space by using it as a connection between
the two parallel streets. He introduces a diagonal path inside his building, with all the entrances
gathered on it, to act as a shortcut for pedestrians. The path extends to an inclined atrium that
connects the building on the vertical scale, giving a sense of continuity

Figure 4.3: Ground floor Plan View of pedestrian shortcut

On the ground floor, the Lideta joins two parallel streets with a diagonal line formed of entrances
at opposite corners of the layout.

Figure 4.4: 3D Conceptual representation of pedestrian access rout on the ground floor

11
This pedestrian shortcut guarantees a constant flow of people and an alternative use of the
building.

12
 4.4. Energy Efficiency

Vilalta introduces to his design a number of systems that save energy and reduce the cost of the
building operation. These systems include photovoltaic umbrellas on the rooftop, which provide
for a well-shaded entertainment zone besides their original use as energy sources.

Figure: 4.5. photovoltaic umbrellas installed on the rooftop of the building

4.5. Water Efficiency

There is a rainwater collection system on the roof which drains the water to tanks in the
basement, so that it can be treated and reused for the toilets. This makes the building water
efficient and reduce the cost of water.

13
 Figure:4.6. Collection and filtering of rainwater for reuse in the toilets

In the middle of the volume, an empty space joins all its levels right up to the sky with a big
circular staircase, the axis of which shifts on each floor.

Figure: 4.7. Section View of vertical circulation

Figure:4.8. 3D Conceptual representation of vertical circulation floor

14
This empty space permits air to circulate according to the laws of thermodynamics.

4.6. Building Facade System and Indoor Air Quality

High-performance sustainable facades can be defined as exterior enclosures that use the least
possible amount of energy to maintain a comfortable interior environment, which promotes the
health and productivity of the building’s occupants. This means that sustainable facades are not
simply barriers between interior and exterior; they are building systems that create comfortable
spaces by actively responding to the building’s external environment, and significantly reduce
buildings’ energy consumption.

Sustainable building design refers to flexibility, long lifetime, stable stagnancy, efficiency of
resources, and minimum energy. Sustainable architecture is an approach to design where
building technology is integrated with the concept design and has the potential to reduce the need
for high-tech systems and reduce the energy consumption of buildings.

The pattern on the Lideta Mercato Market Centre was extrapolated, processed and applied as
openings in the outer cladding of the Market. The facades of ultra-light pre-compressed concrete
become sunbreaks to stop excess light, while the square openings in them ensure enough light
and air circulation in the building on each level. This will reduce the energy bill needed for the
installation of active systems or mechanical for artificial lighting and ventilation. This makes the
building and also the façade highly sustainable and high-performance building.

Figure:4.9. Ultra-light pre-compressed Figur:4.10. square openings used to

ensure enough light and air circulation
Concrete facades

15
 4.7. Material Efficiency and sustainability
Ultra-Light Pre-compressed concrete used on the facades of the building
The exterior wall and the overall building façade of the selected building was constructed from
Ultra-Light Pre-compressed concrete. Ultra-Light Pre-compressed concrete is a building form in
which concrete is poured into reusable formwork and cured in a controlled environment (precast
plant) is called pre-compressed concrete. The cast components are then transported to the
construction site where they are assembled. Structural elements such as concrete frames,
concrete walls and concrete floors can be made from precast concrete.
It has many advantages to use this construction material. Some of them are:
 Saves Construction Time: This construction system saves time, and the risk of project
delay is also less. The casting can be carried on simultaneously with other works on site
such as earthwork, survey, etc., and thus saves time.
 Quality Assurance: The key factors which regulate the quality of construction such as
curing, temperature, mix design, formwork, etc. can be monitored for pre-compressed
concrete. So, improved quality of construction.
 Usage of Prestressed Concrete: By using pre-compressed precast, structural materials of
high strength and load-bearing capacity can be achieved
 Cost-effective: The simplified construction process reduces time, increases productivity,
quality and safety and thus the cost is reduced.
 Durability: pre-compressed concrete structure has a longer service time period and
minimal maintenance. The high-density pre-compressed Concrete is more durable against
acid attack, corrosion, and impact, reduces surface voids, and resists the accumulation of
dust.
 Aesthetics: As the structures are made of prefabricated concrete in a controlled factory
environment, several combinations of colors and textures can be used. A wide range of
shapes and sizes are available to choose from with smooth finishing and thus the
aesthetical value of products is increased.
 Safe Construction Platform: No raw materials have to be stocked on the site for pre-
compressed concrete construction. It reduces the requirement of traditional formworks
and props, wastage, workers, etc., and thus provides a safe working platform.

16
As glass shopping centres can create heat and excessive natural light which leads to a humid and
sharp atmosphere. To solve this problem the blocks and fractal gaps in Lideta Mercato instead
form a sustainable and breezy ventilation system. And although Addis Ababa’s residents may
escape the searing temperatures of other nearby cities, it can also be safely assumed that this
cooling innovation will still be gratefully received by the building users.

A B

Figure:4.11. (A), (B) - Pre-compressed concrete used for wall construction of Lideta Merkato
market center

17
 4.8. Cost efficiency
4.8.1. Access of Natural light and Ventilation
The facades system used on the building (Ultra-light Pre-Compressed Concrete) used for
sunbreaks to stop excess amount of light, while the square openings in them ensure enough light
and air circulation in the building on each level. This will reduce the energy bill needed for the
installation of active systems or mechanical for artificial lighting and ventilation. This makes the
building and also the facade highly sustainable and high-performance building.

4.8.2. Rain Water Harvesting

Rain water collected from the top roof and stored in a water tank in the basement floor, and after
treatment it reused for toilets. This will considerably reduce the cost for water demand on the
building.

4.8.3. Photovoltaic Solar panel installed on the rooftop

The solar panel that installed on the rooftop used to collect heat energy from the sun and convert
to electrical energy and finally used for different functions in the building. This makes the
building systems save energy and reduce the cost of the building operation. Since One of the
biggest problems with large buildings in this part of the world, the intermittent electricity supply,
is thus solved in an ecological way while creating added value for users. These umbrella-like
solar systems provide for a well-shaded entertainment zone besides their original use as energy
sources.

Figure: 4.12. Photovoltaic panels used for Figure: 4.13. Collection and filtering of
generating electricity and serve as shade rainwater for reuse in the toilets
18
The clients originally wanted a glass complex, which could easily become overheated, but the
holistic design and focus on detail of the Lideta Mercato plan convinced them to change their
minds, significantly cutting construction and operating costs. This is achieved through use of
concrete, which is cheaper than glass, and elimination of the need for air conditioning. At the
same time Vilalta gives the Mercato an identity that mirrors the local culture, offers investors
greater returns, and creates more shops of smaller size which can easily be stocked and will sell
inexpensive products affordable to all the people of Addis Ababa.

Table 1. Summary of the Building sustainable Features

Summary of the Sustainability Features of Lideta Merkato market Center

No: Sustainability Features of the Building
1. Energy Efficiency
2. Water Efficiency
3. Cost efficiency
4. Indoor Air Quality
5.

19
Figure: 4.14. Ultra-light pre-compressed Figure:4.15. Smaller size shops

concrete facades used to reduce the need

for air conditioning

20
Figure: 4.16. Smaller size shops Figure: 4.17. Vertical circulation

Figure: 4.18. Night exterior view of the shops Figure: 4.19. Roof Terrace

21
 CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

22
Reference
Erena, D., et al. (2017). "City profile: addis Ababa." Report Prepared in the SES (Social
Inclusion and Energy Management for Informal Urban Settlements) Project, Funded by the
Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.

23