You just can’t ignore Mikias Solomon Assefa because of his ordinary look; glint in his eyes and flailing ambition would make you go deeper into his persona. He isn’t tall neither cute, but his achievement is extraordinary!

Apt perception about his own potential and promptness to respond to the immediate need of the country gives him a thumps up. This Architecture and Urban Planning’s top-scorer has innate desire to create the blend of Ethiopian and Modern Architectural style!
Mikias hails from Addis Ababa; his engineer father Solomon was instrumental in making him, what he is today. His mother, secretary in Ministry of Agriculture office also played a great role. Above all he attributes the entire credit of his success to Almighty God.
On what prompted him to choose Architecture, he said, ‘‘Right from school days, I was interested in technical drawing. However, I used to draw some other things as well, but I always had a penchant for Architectural drawing that’s what brought me in this arena.’’
He further said, in Architecture, I loved basic design, because it’s the most important aspect that makes one familiar with the basics. But, when you go to architectural design, it only focuses on design while ‘basic design’ is applied for everything under the sun.
Unraveling the secret of his planned study, he adds, ‘‘I would usually follow the lectures, but unlike other streams, Architecture is bit different, here you have to get into the skin of the things, have out-of-the-box thinking, search deep, be inquisitive and look for innovative ways. You need to be creative enough, otherwise your all efforts will be just a damp squib.’’
When asked about his best area, pat came the answer, ‘Form,’ the 3-D visualization of the building, which is the most important aspect of any installation. I love this aspect of the subject and in future would like to use it to come out with something different.’’
For him, Architectural Heritage wasn’t that exciting; though, the teaching mechanism was right, but quintessential field trip, workshops and guest lecture were missing. Being an ardent reader, he expected something more, ‘I wasn’t satisfied with the slides show,’ he stressed.
On future course of action, he revealed, ‘‘I will open an architectural firm in Addis Ababa, where I would focus on Ethiopian Architectural style and after getting the hang of it, I will come up with a blend of Ethiopian and Modern Architectural style, something new for the country.’’
He got his schooling done from St. Joseph’s from Addis Ababa. His elder brother Benyam Solomon is pursuing Master in Hydraulics Engineering from Hawassa University.
Giving a useful tips to the upcoming graduates he said, ‘‘Believe in yourself, if you have positive energy get it properly channelized; then you can accomplish whatever you want.’’

(By Corporate Communication Directorate: Philips Joseph)