Tag: atelier-masomi | ArchDaily

Reclaiming the Narrative: A New Generation of Museums in West Africa

Mohieldin Gamal — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 07:30:00 +0000

As countries in Africa emerged from colonialism in the mid-twentieth century, many expressed their independent identities through architecture. This process continues several decades later, exemplified by several new museums in West Africa, recently completed or in planning. Although varying in purpose and form, they have some common goals: addressing the need for restitution of many artifacts taken during colonialism and mostly kept in European museums; and defining a museum with local identity as opposed to a non-contextual import.

Rhythms of the Soil: Architecture as Agroecology

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

At a time of ecological collapse and rising food insecurity, architecture is increasingly called upon to engage not only with landscapes but with the systems that sustain and regenerate them. Among these systems, agriculture occupies a paradoxical role, as both a leading contributor to environmental degradation and a potential agent of ecological recovery. Industrial farming has depleted soils, fragmented habitats, and driven climate change through monocultures, fossil-fuel dependency, and territorial standardization. In response, agroecology has emerged as a counter-practice rooted in biodiversity, local knowledge, and the cyclical rhythms of nature. It reframes farming not as extraction, but as regeneration of ecosystems, communities, and the soil itself.

Projects by Female Architects from the Global South for Women's Day 2024

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 04:00:00 +0000

In our exploration of architectural endeavors, it is essential to recognize the persistent influence of women, particularly from the Global South, in shaping our built environment, especially the contributions of women who serve as catalysts for social change and cultural celebration. As we delve further into their narratives, it becomes evident that the architects’ lived experiences inform their creative processes, resulting in spaces that resonate with their users and surroundings. Architects like Sumaya Dabbagh, Mariam Issoufou, Tosin Oshinowo, and Marina Tabassum embody this enduring spirit of innovation and resilience.

Architecture Philanthropy re:arc institute Announces the 2023–24 Grants, Practice Lab Collaborators, and Initiatives

Maria-Cristina Florian — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 06:30:00 +0000

Copenhagen-based philanthropic association re:arc institute has announced the cohort of nonprofit organizations, people, and practices they will support throughout 2024. The organization founded in 2022 works at the intersection of climate action and architectural philanthropy, aiming to support the development of solutions that address the root causes and consequences of climate change.

The Distinctive Mosques of Sub-Saharan Africa

Matthew Maganga — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 07:30:00 +0000

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to an enormous number of religious adherents – within which there is extraordinary diversity in religious expression. Iconic buildings serving a religious purpose are found throughout the continent, such as The Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in central Nairobi or the Hare Krishna Temple in South Africa. What is evident is that architecture that hosts religious gatherings makes up a key part of the urban fabric of sub-Saharan African cities and that in a lot of cases, religious structures go against the grain – leaving aside or tweaking classical models in favor of a unique architectural approach.

Representing Africa at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale: Recurring Concepts and Approaches

Claire Brodka — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 07:30:00 +0000

The 18th International Architecture Exhibition, curated by Ghanaian-Scottish architect, educator, and novelist Lesley Lokko – who is also Founder and Director of the African Futures Institute (AFI) based in Accra, Ghana – officially opened to the public on May 20th and is now on view through Nov. 26. Entitled The Laboratory of the Future, this year's Venice Architecture Biennale for the first time highlights the African continent as a leading force in shaping the world to come and Lokko's curatorial mission prompts entries to question traditional notions of what the future can hold and what architecture looks like.

Atelier Masōmī Designs the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development in Liberia

Nour Fakharany — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 05:30:00 +0000

Atelier Masōmī has just revealed its design for The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS Center). President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf chose an all-female team to work on the project with lead architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara of Atelier Masōmī, exhibition's architect Sumayya Vally of Counterspace, and the local architect Liberian architect Karen Richards Barnes. The EJS Center, located in Liberia’s capital Monrovia, will provide digital access to former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s personal and professional archives.

International Women’s Day 2023: Innovative Women at the Forefront of Global Challenges

Christele Harrouk — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 07:30:00 +0000

Looking back at 2022, last year had seen major female-led stories. Kimberly Dowdell was chosen as AIA’s First Black Woman President, Carol Ross Barney has received the 2023 AIA Gold Medal, Jeanne Gang won the 2023 Charlotte Perriand Award, Frida Escobedo was selected among the 100 Emerging Leaders by TIME 2022, Renée Gailhoustet was presented with the 2022 Royal Academy Architecture Prize, "Infinite Freedom, A World for a Feminist Democracy" opened at the 2022 Biennale of FRAC in France, and ArchDaily presented SkyFrame’s Women in Architecture’s documentary, following Toshiko Mori, Gabriela Carrillo and Johanna Meyer-Grohbrügge, three architects in three different countries, in different contexts, at different stages of their life and career, but with a lot in common. And that's just to name a few...

2023 Venice Architecture Biennale: 63 National Pavilions and 89 Participants with Significant Representation from Africa

Christele Harrouk — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 02:30:00 +0000

Announced today in a live presentation, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition, titled The Laboratory of the Future, curated by Lesley Lokko, will be open to the public from May 20 to November 26, 2023, in Venice, Italy. This edition will include 63 National Pavilions, 27 of which are at the Giardini, 22 at the Arsenale, and 14 in the city center of Venice. Structured in six parts, the exhibition will include 89 Participants, over half of whom are from Africa or the African Diaspora, with a 50/50 gender balance, and an average age of 43 for participants. Contributors include Adjaye Associates, atelier masōmī, Kéré Architecture, MASS Design Group, Sumayya Vally and Moad Musbahi, Theaster Gates Studio, Andrés Jaque / Office for Political Innovation, Liam Young, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, to name a few.

Mariam Issoufou Kamara Chosen to Design New Museum and Center for Culture and Community in West Senegal

Dima Stouhi — Wed, 11 May 2022 06:30:00 +0000

The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation/Le Korsa has announced that Niger-born architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara, founder of award-winning practice atelier masōmī, has been selected to design Bët-bi, a new museum and center for culture and community in southwestern Senegal. Located near a series of megaliths in the vicinity of the historic city of Kaolack, Bët-bi is set to be a state-of-the-art museum that sits at the forefront of West Africa’s flourishing arts scene and wider cultural renaissance.

Mariam Kamara Could Profoundly Change Design Pedagogy Everywhere

Kelly Beamon — Thu, 05 May 2022 03:30:00 +0000

Architect Mariam Kamara—founder of Niamey, Niger-based firm Atelier Masōmī—is a contrarian of design pedagogy as it is largely practiced today. To Kamara, modern is not synonymous with European forms, architecture is not only for Westerners to define, and the so-called canon of great buildings actually ignores most of the built world. The Niger-based architect's rapidly growing practice informs a series of lectures she has delivered recently at MIT, Columbia University GSAPP, the African Futures Institute in Ghana, and Harvard GSD.

Socialising, Commerce, and Trade: The African Market Hall in a Modernised World

Matthew Maganga — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 07:30:00 +0000

A few months ago – in July 2021, the 47-year-old Kariakoo Market went up in flames in Dar es Salaam. Designed by Tanzanian architect Beda Amuli, the market is a central landmark – a key part of Dar es Salaam’s commercial hub. Early images of a new Kariakoo Market show a taller structure, with six floors compared to the three in Amuli’s design. Conversations on social media have abounded on the new design, and if a “tower” typology is really the appropriate choice considering the unpopular nature of other similar “tower” market halls in Dar es Salaam.

Can Vernacular Architecture Be Exoticized?

Matthew Maganga — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 07:30:00 +0000

When we talk about vernacular architecture, we’re talking about an architectural style specific to a region – architecture that relies on the use of local knowledge and materials to construct buildings. It’s the Beehive Houses of Harran in Turkey, to the traditional Malay Houses found throughout southeast Asia. The vernacular architecture of various places continues to be a source of inspiration for contemporary architects, as they look to create sustainable architectural responses well-suited for their context.

The 5 Guiding Principles for an Ideal City

Christele Harrouk — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 07:30:00 +0000

The world is constantly changing, and our built environment is continuously evolving and adapting. As we find ourselves immersed with challenges, experts and thinkers are re-examining the approaches humanity has adopted so far, in order to set new ideas for a better tomorrow.

36 Architecture Firms from the Global South You Should Know

ArchDaily Team — Thu, 07 Nov 2019 08:45:00 +0000

Countries that are part of the so-called “global south” have undergone many transformations in their cities and urban contexts in recent years due to the economic and social challenges they face. Urban growth, sustainable development, quality of life and health in emerging cities, and the development of their own cultural identity have been some of the issues that local architecture had to incorporate.

Young architects have understood the importance of making an architecture that is deeply rooted in their own territory while giving this architecture a clear local identity. By generating new typologies and using their own resources and materials, they have presented innovative, site-specific, and, above all, solutions with a new fresh focus towards what represents them as creators of this architecture.

Royal Academy Announces Shortlist of Emerging Architects for the Dorfman Award

Katherine Allen — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000

The Royal Academy has revealed the shortlist for their annual prize recognizing young talent in architecture, the Dorfman Award. The award is given to those "...reimagining the future of architecture and whose work demonstrates a high degree of sensitivity to local and global context." The 2019 shortlist comprises four emerging architects practicing across the globe.