Mariam Kamara's Courageous Architecture in Niger

Nigerien architect Mariam Kamara (born 1979 in Niamey) left a career in computer science at age 30 to study architecture at the University of Washington, driven by a desire to create democratic, socially and economically sustainable spaces in the Sahel. She co-founded the global collective united4design with Elizabeth Golden, Philip Sträter, and Yasaman Esmaili. Commissioned by UN-Habitat to rethink housing in Niamey, the group built a patio residence block using compressed earth bricks, winning an AIA Seattle Merit Award 2016 and an R+D Award 2017. Leading atelier masōmī, Kamara executed radical public space interventions addressing gender equality in Nigerien society, including covered shelters along routes to schools and markets, and the Hikma secular and religious complex in Dandaji—a mosque with a library and literacy center in a former religious building—which earned a LafargeHolcim Foundation Gold Medal in Regional Awards 2017 Middle East Africa and Silver in Global Awards 2018. In the past twelve months, she completed Dandaji's first permanent market and proposed a craft promenade in Niamey, leading to her appointment as jury chair for the 2020 LafargeHolcim Awards and the 2019 Prince Claus Laureate. She will reveal details of a cultural center for Niamey designed with mentor David Adjaye at the Rolex Arts Weekend in February 2020.