A Conservation And Adaptive Reuse Study For Menelik Ii Palace In Holeta Genet Town Ethiopia

Menelik II’s Palace, a national cultural heritage site, which is found in Holeta town, is one ofrna very few buildings that have stood time and shouldered burdens during the changing ofrnregimes. The beautiful appearance of the building is still found in its graceful character thatrnoutshines the effects of time. Although the building is a national cultural heritage site, it alsornhas a significant role in the recent history of Ethiopia, in its connection to the foundation of arnmodern military academy as well as Holeta town’s establishment and settlement. It is a livingrnwitness of the building technology and thought of the period of Emperor Menelik II. With allrnthe precious value that the building and its compound have, it is the discovery of its presentrndeteriorated condition which inspired this research.rnThe primary and secondary data resources show that, the Palace building has made arnsignificant mark on Ethiopia’s architectural history. As reviewed on the case study, the AddisrnAbaba Palace of Menelik II has a very similar architectural character and heritage value withrnthe building under consideration. It has been conserved recently and shall open to the publicrnwith new function in the near future. Thus it serves as an example and the lesson what wernlearn should be taken to conserve and transfer such precious historic building to the nextrngeneration.rnAfter documenting the Palace building’s history and floor plan, the paper closely identifiesrnand examines the factors contributing to its deterioration and recommends conservationrnoptions. It also identifies potential stakeholders in the process and analyzes opportunities andrnvalues as well as current challenges and threats regarding the conservation of the historicrnPalace building.rnDespite various problems related to the building’s deterioration, this study also shows therneffects of abandonment and absence of ownership that have been observed on the heritagernPalace. Nonetheless, the site has considerable potential for sustainable development as touristrndestination and socio-cultural integration if properly managed and conserved. These findingsrnlead to a few recommendations on valorization of Menelik II Palace building in Holeta forrnsustainable use.

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