Addis Ababa Science and

Technology University

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Designing Spaces Left After Planning (SLAP) Around Commercial Buildings for Leisure Activity to
i
Enhance Connectivity of Commercial Buildings with The Public in Addis Ababa

f design quality. Author: Kaleab Dejene

Advisor: Mesfin Alemu (M.Sc.)

March 2020, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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Declaration

I declare that the thesis project entitled “The missing link: Designing Spaces Left After Planning (SLAP) Around Commercial
Buildings for Leisure Activity to Enhance Connectivity of Commercial Buildings with The Public in Addis Ababa” describes work
undertaken as part of Bachelor Degree at College of Architecture and Civil Engineering (CACE), Addis Ababa Science and
Technology University, is my original work and has not been presented in any university. All views and opinions expressed therein
remain the sole responsibility of the author. I also declare that all sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and
acknowledged by means of complete references.

Author: Kaleab Dejene

Date: ……………………

Signature: ………………
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Authentication
A thesis submitted to the College of Architecture and Civil Engineering (CACE), Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, in
partial fulfillment for the award of a Bachelor Degree in Architecture.

Title of Thesis: “The missing link”:

Designing Spaces Left After Planning (SLAP) Around Commercial Buildings for Leisure Activity to Enhance Connectivity of
Commercial Buildings with The Public in Addis Ababa

Author: Kaleab Dejene

Date: ……………………

Signature: ………………

ii
Approved by Board of Examiners:

………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………… ……………………

Advisor Signature Date

………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………… ……………………

Examiner 1 Signature Date

………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………… ……………………

Examiner 2 Signature Date

………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………… ……………………

Thesis Coordinator Signature Date

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Abstract
The purpose of this study to find out what has been missing in achieving seamless connectivity of commercial building and the
public in the urban realm. The thesis tries to do so by drafting guidelines that will help acquire new possibilities and proposing an
exemplary innovative commercial center design, that aims to inject wide usage of public centers.

The study was conducted by graphical analysis of a professional observation made in four selected commercial buildings in Addis
Ababa based on parameters taken from the research paper by Anastasia Koltsova, Design of urban space at pedestrian scale, to
evaluate the performance of the buildings with respect to the pedestrian.

Spatial shortage, overcrowdings, traffic jam and pollution of the SLAP (Space Left After Planning) caused the deterioration of
functional and environmental quality of commercial buildings which relate to the dying of culture of comfortable market system
and great loosening of social interaction in commercial centers.

Hence, inserting public spaces in and near commercial building for leisure activity proved to increase the culture of use of
commercial building, reduce pedestrian traffic jam, promote positive pedestrian friendly environment, add value to market buildings
iii
and strengthened social interaction.

Key words: Open spaces, Public Open spaces, Private Open spaces, Commercial spaces, Public property, Private public spaces,
Space left after planning [SLAP] and Leisure activity
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Acknowledgement

May the first praise and round of applause go to the creator of earth and heaven, the architect of architects; what would I be without
you, God!?

Secondly, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Mesfin Alemu (Msc) for sharing your knowledge and experience
without hesitation. I have learned a lot from you thank you very much.

It is my radiant sentiment to place on record my best regards, deepest sense of gratitude to my best friends’ Abdisa and Melat
who always stood by my side and encouraged me to go ahead and fight no matter what. Thank you, guys, for believing in me and
not giving up on me.

Lastly, a special thanks to my beloved family, your love and support has always kindled my life and your experience and
grievance on life has always fueled me to my goal. I’m blessed to be your son. I owe you my life
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Table of Contents
Declaration................................................................................................... i
Authentication ............................................................................................ ii
Abstract.......................................................................................................iii
Acknowledgement ......................................................................................iv
Table of Contents.........................................................................................v
List of Tables ...............................................................................................vi
List of Figure...............................................................................................vii
........................................................................................... 1
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 1
1.1 CULTURAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................ 1
1.1.1 Dembel City Center............................................................................ 2
1.1.2 La Pyramide........................................................................................ 2
1.1.3 Trump Tower ..................................................................................... 2
1.1.4 Skyscrapers ........................................................................................ 3
1.2 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................... 3
1.3 MOTIVES TO THE STUDY ............................................................................. 4
1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT ................................................................................ 5
1.5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................ 7
1.5.1 General Objective .............................................................................. 7
1.5.2 Specific Objective............................................................................... 7
1.6 RESEARCH QUESTION ................................................................................. 7
1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY .......................................................... 8
1.7.1 Scope.................................................................................................. 8
1.7.2 Limitation ........................................................................................... 9
1.8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................... 9
1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH PAPER ...................................................... 9
......................................................................................... 10
2. METHODOLOGY .............................................................................. 10
2.1 RESEARCH DESIGN ...................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
2.2 RESEARCH METHOD .................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
2.3 CASE SELECTION METHOD ........................................................................ 10
2.4 DATA SOURCES .......................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
2.4.1 Primary Data Sources...........................Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.4.2 Primary Data Sources...........................Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS ....................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
2.6 DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 12
2.6.1 PARAMETERS FOR DATA ANALYSIS.................................................. 12
2.7 VALIDITY OF THE DATA ............................................................................. 14 v
......................................................................................... 14
3. LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................ 14
3.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 14
3.2 DEFINITION OF TERMS .............................................................................. 14
3.3 REVIEW OF THEORIES ............................................................................... 15
3.3.1 Commercial Center in The Urban Realm ......................................... 15
3.3.2 Public Open Space ........................................................................... 15
3.3.3 Types of Public Spaces ..................................................................... 15
3.3.4 Function of Public Spaces ................................................................ 17
3.4 CASE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 18
3.4.1 Normal’s uptown water circle .............Error! Bookmark not defined.
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..........................................................................................23
4. DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS................................................23
4.1 OVERVIEW OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN OPEN SPACES IN
ADDIS ABABA MARKET PLACES ................................................................. 23
4.2 CASE STUDIES ...................................................................................... 25
4.2.1 Kafdm Plaza, [Akaki Kality]............................................................... 25
4.2.2 Friendship Building and Dh Geda Tower, [Bole] .............................. 27
4.2.3 Dembel City Center, [African Avenue] ............................................ 31
List of Tables
Table 2.1 List of Urban Design Qualities and design Parameters for Urban Form at the Pedestrian Scale Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2.4 National Theatre and Ras Hotel, [Biherawi] .................................... 34
4.3 QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS ................................................................. 38
4.3.1 Introduction .........................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3.2 Limitation .............................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3.3 Description and inference....................Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.4 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS .................................................................... 39
4.5 FINDINGS ............................................................................................. 40
4.6 GUIDELINES ............................................ ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.7 RECOMMENDATION............................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
4.8 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 45
vi
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List of Figure
Figure 1.1 Location Map of a) Dembel b) La pyramide c) Trump Tower ......... 1
Figure 1.2 Dembel City Center (Zak Photography) ............................................... 2
Figure 1.3 La Pyramide (Ben Robson 2010) ............................................................ 2
Figure 1.4 Trump Tower (Wikipedia) ......................................................................... 2
Figure 1.5 Vanity Space in Burj Al Arab (CTBUH) .................................................. i
Figure 1.6 Categorization of spaces in human life (adapted from Kim, 2015)
.............................................................................................................................................. 3
Figure 1.7 Transformation of market and mode of transportation (Amanuel,
2016) .................................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 1.8 Connectivity between buildings and SLAP (adapted from Kim,
2015) .................................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 1.9 Comparisons of the two market places at different times and
characteristics................................................................................................................. 5
Figure 1.10 List of problems......................................................................................... 6
Figure 1.11 Connectivity study variables ................................................................... 8
Figure 1.12 Study Area ................................................................................................... 8
Figure 1.13 Thesis structure and list of contentsError! Bookmark not
defined.
Figure 2.1 Research design................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2.2 Choice of method structure ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2.3 Case Study Area .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2.4 Data sources .............................................................................................. 11
Table 2.1 List of Urban Design Qualities and design Parameters for Urban
Form at the Pedestrian Scale.............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2.5 Data triangulation diagram ................................................................... 14
Figure 3.1 SLAP [Space Left After Planning] types (adapted from, Betel) . 14
Figure 3.2 Types of public space based on openness (Ermias, 2015) .......... 15
Figure 3.3 Types of public space based on spatial definition (Ermias, 2015)
............................................................................................................................................ 15
Figure 3.4 Types of public space based on their morphology (Ermias, 2015)
............................................................................................................................................ 16
Figure 3.5 Types of public space based on enclosure behavior (Ermias,
2015) .................................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 3.6 Types of public space based on circulation behavior (Ermias,
2015) .................................................................................................................................. 16
Figure 3.7 Dimension of Public spaces (Ermias, 2015)......................................17
Figure 3.8 Filwuha spring in 1900 (Mikyas, 2011) ................................................23
Figure 3.9 Saturday market at Arada 1920 (left) & Celebration of Meskel St.
George square 1930 (right) (Mikyas, 2011)............................................................. 23
Figure 3.10 Horse Racing at Janmeda (Mikyas, 2011) ....................................... 24
Figure 3.11 Views in the park (Schaudt, 2011) .. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 3.12 Water feature used for entertainment (Schaudt, 2011)...... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
vii
Figure 3.13 Water filtration and recycling system Section (© Hoerr Schaudt)
....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 3.14 Water intake points and filtration system (© Hoerr Schaudt)
....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 3.15 Site Plan (© Hoerr Schaudt) .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 3.16 Integration of water feature (© Hoerr Schaudt) ................... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Cultural Background

[Dembel City Center] [La Pryamide] [Trump Tower]

1
1.1.1 Dembel City Center 1.1.2 La Pyramide

“…… the market-like

shopping mall with an
open facade devoid of
glazing. However,
inefficient organization
of space, especially
evident on the higher
levels of the supporting
towers, the building has
been largely abandoned since the 1990s.” (Rinaldo, 2019)

Going around the above seen building in Bole my first 1.1.3 Trump Tower
2
impression was what sector office building is this? I literally
thought it was government owned/rent office building which I Trump Tower is well known for its
feared to approach in at the time. Few years later after I knew notion of “hostile design”. This
it is mixed use commercial center I couldn’t yet find a refers to the design of the objects
compelling reason to go in. This same feeling is shared by of a public space in such a way that
setargaw kenaw on his paper Shopping Centers as Black they deter certain uses and in
Boxes: A Reflection in Philosophy of Engineering Design. effect deter the presence of some
targeted population. The term is
“….When I go to and from my workplace, almost everyday I
used as a form of criticism, calling
pass by the building you see above (Figure 1.2). I have to walk
attention to the mistreatment of
right on the pavements of this building in order to take a taxi.
already disadvantaged groups. For
However, I didn’t have the appetite (or the courage?) to go in
example, the homeless population
and look around.” (Setargew, 2009)
(Rosenberger 2017).
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1.1.4 Skyscrapers

Although skyscrapers are pushing the boundaries of how tall

we can build, little is being done to use all of the space
captured in these new structures. According to a new report
by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat unnecessary
“vanity space” is being added to the skyscrapers in attempt to
set records. Yet these spaces are not considered for public
space usage rather a VIP helipad and city view are the current
phenomena (CTBUH, 2020).

1.2 Background 3

Human Life Transformation of our cities and towns into the inevitable urbanization forced its
dwellers are to live a hazy and chaotic abnormal individualistic life style.
Urbanization in modern society is not only an issue of spatial shortage,
- Wide
- Low density overcrowdings, inflation, traffic jam and pollution but also causes the deterioration
- Calm
Narrow- of functional and environmental quality which connects to the
High density-
Busy- ( .

Now a days shopping centers, malls and supermarkets are being the current phenomena in Ethiopia. And the idea of Commercial
building emerges (if not evolved) from the prevailing market forms which are urban and rural periodic markets, small and easily
accessible neighborhood shops ( ), (small neighborhood traders’ open-air stalls for fresh and semi-processed food
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items), cattle selling open-space stands, and a variety of other traditional markets. Typical market places provide a variety of goods
as well stages of a variety of social interactions and cultural transactions. (Setargew, 2009).

The need for this research arises on the second but most ignored aspect of the customary market place trend which is socializing,
interacting, up bringing culture and identity on space left after planning (SLAP) in the commercial building.

1.3 Motives to the Study

As precedents of urbanization in our country on one hand 4
contemporary cities has become hazy and on
the other hand for the creation of
increased personal assets. Hence, currently architecture
is emphasized for its disregard of the urban context,
culture and the public leading to poor customer
satisfaction, imposing new and unfamiliar market culture,
loosening of social relation and interaction change in
individual characteristics, free will, and creativity, and it
causes obstructing of urban context and shape.
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1.4 Problem Statement

UNUSED SPACES CREATED cars, small kiosks, blocked view by wall and fencing and stairs
inaccessible to handicap.
Nonfunctioning open spaces around the building left
undeveloped and became health, security and entertainment walkable - - obstructing
threat to the public. permeable- - impermeable
sociable- - Socially isolated
diversified- - class based

POOR
RICH

5
overcrowding
densification
busy working hours
vertical & congested living

IMPERMEABILITY & INACCESSIBILITY

SOCIAL SECLUSION / HOSTILE DESIGN
In the customary market places, one can move freely and
In the contrary of the long standing and well-established
enjoy the colorful view of the variety of goods, food crops,
market tradition that welcomes all, commercial buildings are
cattle, pack animals, etc. (Setargew, 2009) whereas in the
now centers for social and class seclusion based on economy.
current marketplace permeability is obstructed by parked
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Deliberate criticism, calling attention to the mistreatment of degeneration of urban public spaces have started to diminish
already disadvantaged groups like the poor and homeless. a space for public activity. Therefore, social, cultural and
historical background of the society fades and new way of
living is pulled down that will disrupt the natural way of being.

LOST SENSE OF PLACE

Unrelatable to the customary way of living, complex and

overwhelming structures and buildings are not functionally
and spatially integrated to the local culture and lifestyles
surrounding them.

Generally, open space and street for pedestrians have

decayed. Expansion of buildings, reduction of streets, and
1.5 Objective of the study
1.5.1 General Objective

The objective of this study is to assess the use (spatial quality) of spaces left after planning (SLAP) and commercial buildings as
open public space. The study analyzes connectivity between public and commercial building on spaces left after planning (SLAP)
and propose design.

1.5.2 Specific Objective

To gain new insight about spaces left after planning around commercial building and how do they inhabit or promote
connectivity of the public and commercial center for leisure activities specifically.
To obtain detail note of leisure activities that take place around commercial building and how to integrate them in design
intervention.
To portray characteristics that influence the connectivity of the public and commercial centers on spaces left after planning 7
for leisure activity.

1.6 Research Question

The research attempts to addresses the following research question:

1. What are the elements of contact and spaces of contact that inhabit and / or promote leisure activity around
commercial building?
2. Why do commercial buildings of modern time feel disconnected from the public?
3. How can spaces left after planning be used to create sense of place and restore cultural, social and historical
context of the people and enhance connection of commercial building and the public?
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1.7 Scope and Limitation of the Study

1.7.1 Scope

Contextual Scope Spatial Scope

This research studies spatial and functional qualities of space This thesis is carried out in four selected commercial areas in
left after planning (SLAP) around commercial building and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
how it affects social and cultural fabric of the public. The study
depends based three variables namely spaces left after
planning (SLAP), Commercial building and the public.
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1.7.2 Limitation 1.9 Organization of the Research Paper

Time
The time allocated for the research is quite low due
to the pandemic Covid 19 disease. Thus, using time
wisely is taken as measure.

Budget
Budget to the study has not been allotted. Hence,
visiting as many sites as possible in one trip is taken
as solution.
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1.8 Significance of the Study

The findings from this research will be a milestone
in addressing the role of integrated public spaces for
casual and leisure time spending on up bringing the
society close and maintain cultural, moral, and
environmental health.