ALEBEL DESTA, ET-302 MEMORIAL, ETHIOPIA
The
ET-302 Memorial is a monument built by the Boeing Company and Ethiopian
Airlines in honour of the 157 victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Unveiled
six years after the accident in March 2025 following an international
competition won by the Ethiopian firm founded by Alebel Desta in 2022, the
Monument and Commemorative Park are located on a 40,000-square-meter area of
farmland southeast of Addis Abeba and embody three guiding principles behind
the project: absence (reflecting loss), revelation (the story of what happened),
and healing (offering comfort).
The memorial features two sacred spaces: the
crash site and cemetery. A main path from the southwest narrates the last six
minutes and forty-four seconds of the flight, guiding visitors toward the
central monument. A secondary route from the northwest takes visitors on a
quieter, more reflective journey, while other paths lead to the amphitheatre,
rock garden, and congregation spaces.
The cemetery, left in its natural state, is a
sacred circle measuring 28 meters in diameter surrounded by a concrete walkway
and sloping steel handrails. The main monument, built on the exact spot where
the accident happened, has an emblematic design made of four sloping structures
made of concrete clay symbolising Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia.
Their rough textures are inspired by the rock-cut architecture of Ethiopia and
the Rift Valley. Bronze plaques shaped like the windows of a Boeing 737 MAX
display the names, nationalities, and birth years of the victims, while raised
cubicles provide the opportunity for private contemplation. A sound system
captures and echoes visitors' voices, symbolising collective memory, and four
radial paths extend the monument’s narrative right across the park.
The
commemorative layout is marked by symbolic features that offer additional
moments of reflection, contemplation, and remembrance. A Corten steel sculpture
with perforated surfaces referencing aeroplane construction filter the light to
project resilience and hope; an amphitheatre consisting of xix concentric tiers
of seating can accommodate over 360 people; a Rock Garden of vertical stones
sourced locally creates a meditative landscape, replacing the original idea of
a flower garden.
Concentric pedestrian paths wind among the
stones, encouraging contemplation and a sense of blending into nature, embellished
by over 120,000 new plants that add ecological richness and continuity to the
park
.
Client: The Boeing Company and Ethiopian Airlines Group; Voluntary Committee Representing the Families of ET-302 Victims; Emergency Response: Blake Emergency Services; Design and Supervision Consultant: Alebel Desta Consulting Architects and Engineers; Architectural Design Team: Abraham Lelisa, Alebel Desta, Biniyam Bewketu, Daniel Waju, Edom Elias, Frezer Abrha, Shiferaw Tatek, Solomon Desta, Tibebu Arega, Tinsae Tsegahun; Contractor: Elmi Olindo Contractors Plc; Structural Design: Kenmos Engineering; Sanitary and Mechanical Engineering: Werede Melaku and Team; Electrical Consultant: Splenor Technology PLC; Detailed Road Design and Supervision: ENISRAD; Landscape Works: Green Paradise Gardens; Material Sourcing and Shipping (Italy): ACOMEX; Project Coordination: ZIAS Engineering Team; Project Management: Turner & Townsend; Logistics, Events, and Coordination: Prologue Marketing PLC ; Photography: Aron Simeneh
