MIT Architecture | Spring 2021 Lecture Series
6:00 PM, webcast
Mariam Kamara is an architect from Niger who studied architecture at the University of Washington. In 2013, she became a founding member of architectural collective, united4design. They collaborated on Niamey2000, a housing development which was awarded Architect Magazine’s 2017 R+D Award for innovation. In 2014, Kamara founded atelier masōmī, an architecture and research practice that tackles public, cultural, residential, commercial and urban design projects. Kamara believes that architects have an important role to play in creating spaces that elevate, dignify, and provide people with a better quality of life. Collaborative project, Hikma Religious and Secular Complex, won the 2017 Gold LafargeHolcim Award for Africa and Middle East, and the 2018 Silver Global LafargeHolcim Award for Sustainable Architecture. Other projects include the Dandaji Regional Market, which was shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards in 2019. Upcoming projects include the Niamey Cultural Centre, which Kamara designed under the mentorship of Sir David Adjaye as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé programme. In 2019, Kamara was named as a Laureate of the Prince Claus Award. She was a 2019 Royal Academy of Arts Dorfman Awards finalist. Last year, The New York Times named her as one of 15 Creative Women of Our Time. atelier masōmī made its debut on the 2021 AD100 list.