Mariam Issoufou Kamara

Mariam Issoufou Kamara, a Nigerien architect, obtained her Masters in Architecture from the University of Washington. She later founded Atelier Masōmī in 2014, an architecture and research firm through which she tackles a wide variety of public, cultural, residential, commercial and urban design projects.

Mariam Kamara's architectural work is strongly rooted in local context and focuses on responding to people's real needs and aspirations. Her work is rooted in the local context and she focuses on responding to the needs of the people.

She coordinates with local craftspeople and engineers to create sustainable solutions that are both functional and beautiful. Her architectural projects are constructed using locally sourced materials such as compressed earth bricks and are designed to counter the hot climate conditions in the country.

One of her amazing projects is the housing development, “Niamey2000” in Niger’s capital city.

The Niammey2000 became the launch project for Atelier Masōmī, and it was completed in 2016. According to her, there was need to solve the housing crisis which was a major challenge for the emerging middle class people of Niger. She goes ahead to highlight that there was plenty of housing for the very rich people, as well as the poorer people, however, there was nothing to cater for the people in between. The middle class people included the bachelors, newlyweds and many other young people. The objective of the project was to create houses that properly catered to the clients.

These houses were built using local materials and techniques that were proven to protect their occupants from the harsh weather conditions in Niger. They also honored the culture and identity of the people.

The Hikma Religious and Secular Complex (2018), is another astonishing work of Architect Mariam Kamara.

The Hikma Religious and Secular Complex in Dadaji, Niger was built to tackle the gender and secular issues in the Muslim society in Niger. In this project, Mariam Kamara created a type of urban spatial typology known as "mobile loitering", which allows women to move freely in the city without being judged by society, especially the men. It is a culture in most Muslim communities that unlike the men, women are meant to remain indoors and not move or loiter outside. By inserting covered shelters in unclaimed spaces along routes to schools, the market, offices, and shops, this project therefore gives women an opportunity to avoid being criticized while they move around, to carry out any necessary activities.

Another rather interesting project designed by Mariam Kamara is the Regional Market in Dadaji, Niger. She designed this project with the hope that the regional market would provide new employment opportunities for the people of Dandaji and give them a chance to earn a living, and also be able to sustain themselves.

Furthermore, the market was built using locally made and available materials like compressed earth bricks, adobe posts and reeds. Using compressed earth bricks keeps the market cool, despite the hot climate of Niger. The market has many spaces for the people to gather around which makes it an engaging public space. The market is designed to have colourful metal canopies placed at varying heights. These mainly act as shading devices to protect the market users from the scorching sun. They also add to the beauty of the market, which equally attracts many people to it.

According to Architect Mariam Kamara, African architects should start looking at their own history and heritage before attempting to copy the already existing architecture in the West.

She further points out that it is very important for different African architectural firms to put real examples of vernacular architecture out there so that the public can see why these types of buildings are important.

References

1. ArchDaily (2021), Dandaji Daily Market / atelier masōmī, Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/922161/dandaji-daily-market-atelier-masomi, Accessed on: 10/10/2021

2. Wallpaper (2021), Mariam Kamara takes on the architectural challenges of the future Available at: https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/mariam-kamara-mini-profile-niger, Accessed on: 10/10/2021

3. Clay Risen (2021), Award: Niamey 2000 Housing, Available at: https://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/r-d-awards/award-niamey-2000-housing, Accessed on: 10/10/2021