Japanese architects Atelier Tekuto have updated their website with images of The Japanese Pavilion, a project to disassemble a vacant traditional home in rural Japan and transport it to Gondar, Ethiopia where it is reassembled into a working home. The joint project between several parties, which included the City of Gondal and the Society for Research on Traditional Japanese Homes was announced in August 1, 2008 and came to a close exactly 1 year later.

Before the relocation

After the relocation

According to the Society for Research on Traditional Japanese Homes – a non-profit organization who advocates the reusing of abandoned traditional Japanese homes – there are 30,000 “high-quality” homes in Shimane Prefecture alone that have been vacant for over 5 years. They also continue to argue that, on average, these homes, if destroyed, would create 30 tons of rubble. If you were to incinerate them it would release 15 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.  And according to Atelier Tekuto’s estimates, the entire process – from disassembling, shipping and reassembling – could save the environment in excess of 8.4 tons of C02.

Due to some of the infrastructure constraints in Gondar, Atelier Tekuto installed a water purification system that would convert rainwater to drinking water, as well as solar roof panels that would provide the necessary energy to power the pumps and lighting.
The space is currently being utilized for vocational training.

Sustainable Housing | The Gondar Japanese Pavilion by Atelier Tekuto

Japanese architects Atelier Tekuto have updated their website with images of The Japanese Pavilion, a project to disassemble a vacant traditional home in rural Japan and transport it to Gondar, Ethiopia where it is reassembled into a working home. The joint project between several parties, which included the City of Gondal and the Society for Research on Traditional Japanese Homes was announced in August 1, 2008 and came to a close exactly 1 year later.

According to the Society for Research on Traditional Japanese Homes – a non-profit organization who advocates the reusing of abandoned traditional Japanese homes – there are 30,000 “high-quality” homes in Shimane Prefecture alone that have been vacant for over 5 years. They also continue to argue that, on average, these homes, if destroyed, would create 30 tons of rubble. If you were to incinerate them it would release 15 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.And according to Atelier Tekuto’s estimates, the entire process – from disassembling, shipping and reassembling – could save the environment in excess of 8.4 tons of C02.

Due to some of the infrastructure constraints in Gondar, Atelier Tekuto installed a water purification system that would convert rainwater to drinking water, as well as solar roof panels that would provide the necessary energy to power the pumps and lighting.

The space is currently being utilized for vocational training.