Casa M
Project details
- University
- Basel Academy of Art and Design / Institute of Experimental Design and Media Cultures
Fall Semester 2021
This project examines architecture as a fundamental act of spatial appropriation and the exertion of power, taking the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Asmara as its starting point. Architecture claims space, displaces other life forms, and centers humanity. The focus is on two significant historical periods: the Aksumite Empire and Italian colonial rule. Both left behind UNESCO-listed monuments—visible remnants of their histories that also reveal their entanglements with exploitation and destruction.
Rather than contrasting architectural styles, the project questions the very act of building. The Aksumite Empire, centered in what is now Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, was known for its monumental structures, territorial expansion, and the intertwining of architecture with political and religious authority. Italian colonial rule, in turn, reshaped Asmara with numerous modernist buildings that continue to define the city's landscape. These structures served not only representational purposes but also functioned as instruments of colonial power.
The name "Casa M" references Mussolini and Italy’s colonial past. Through a site-specific intervention, the project reverses historical power dynamics: in Italy, the outline of a colonial-fascist house—still standing in Asmara—is excavated. This creates a negative imprint, an absence with spatial, political, and ecological significance, inviting a reconsideration of space beyond a human-centered perspective.
Amid the climate crisis, "Casa M" challenges architecture’s anthropocentric foundations. The project poses speculative questions about architectural concepts that emerge when moving away from a human-centered perspective. While indigenous practices often harmonize with nature and emphasize sustainable methods, dominant cultures have historically used architecture as a tool of control. This project artistically examines that tension, opening new perspectives on architecture’s role.
Supervisors
Prof. Dr. Nicolaj van der Meulen, Prof. Dr. Angela Koch
Aida Kidane
Aida Kidane is an artist, researcher, and architect. Her artistic work is informed by studies of modernism, questions of cultural identity, and postcolonialism. Coming from an Eritrean background has greatly influenced her work and continues to do so. She spent formative years in Eritrea and Sudan before settling in Germany and Switzerland. Her artistic work aims to invert modernist patterns. Kidane earned her MFA in Visual Art from FHNW Academy of Art and Design in Basel and her diploma in Architecture from the University of Applied Sciences TH in Cologne. She works as an artist in Cologne and is currently participating in the Make/Sense PhD-programme in Basel and Linz.