Bridging History: Asmara's Visitor Center & Museum

While reading "Invisible Cities" by Italo Calvino, one chapter describing the City of Maurilia served to introduce the idea of two separate cities that have inhabited and lived in the same place, under the same name, but could look completely different. Compared to the old provincial city, there is a new metropolis in place, however people still look back upon the value the history and evolution of the past in order to progress towards the future.

Through an AI Exploration, I brought relevancy to this fictional story into the context of Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. This city has undergone much colonization and expansion by the Italians during the early 1900s. From being an Italian colony, becoming governed by the British, to the independence of Eritrea, one element has remained. The Mai Bela River is one of the only parts that did not succumb to the grid system. It stands as a historical mark honoring the past and using it as a storytelling device to showcase the transformation of the city.