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DIASPORIC CITY


CCA MFA Design Thesis
Exhibited at Institute for the Future, hosted on itch.io


My game was a response to a “site obstruction” given to me by my thesis instructors. The game is set in Mission Bay park, a continuum where architectural forms and archetypes drift through. The player, a lonely wanderer on horseback (inspired by the Sufi Muslim pilgrimage to Dire Sheikh Hussein Mosque in Northern Ethiopia) solemnly rides through the city but is caught in an endless loop of the site. While the journey continues the landscape subtly transforms as it becomes invaded by forms and archetypes from four different vernacular architectures from across Ethiopia.



The project flattens space and time to create a continuum where all these different architectures are in dialogue with each other. The landscape becomes diasporic as these foreign forms emerge floating atop the water in the canal. It also harks back to the idea of World Fairs, in which different countries were invited to showcase their architecture and show off the cultural and industrial advancement. Of course, historically (and presently in Biennials and expos) African countries were excluded from these events as they were deemed primitive.
The game is simply a contemplative experience.
Open the link on your computer, with audio on and in full-screen. It’ll take a while to load.




Running on Cargo