Mariam Issoufou Kamara is the founder of Atelier Masōmī, an architecture and research firm based in Nigeria. The firm works on a wide range of public, cultural, residential, commercial and urban design projects.
A key project that Atelier Masōmī is working on is Bët-bi. This is a new museum and centre for culture and community in Senegal and is being developed by the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and Le Korsa. Set to open in 2025, the museum will be home to exhibition and event spaces, alongside a library and community rooms. It will showcase contemporary and historic African art, and will also store repatriated objects.
Kamara was selected by a jury to lead the design of the new museum. In an interview with blooloop, Nicholas Fox Weber, the director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, said:
“We had an intense selection process. We looked at architects all over the world, trying to figure out who would be most qualified. Mariam both made a very interesting submission, and also showed an attitude which was responsive to the local community, to the materials that are available there, and to the needs of the people to have live functions there. I also saw some of her other work, as did others in our architectural jury, and everyone was terribly impressed. What she is planning is quite extraordinary.
“We will also build with people who are in the region and will use materials that come from the region.”
Kamara says that her work is guided by the belief that architects have an important role to play in thinking of spaces that have the power to elevate, dignify, and provide a better quality of life. Through her practice, she aims to discover innovative ways of doing this whilst also maintaining an intimate dialogue between architecture, people, and context.