Mariam Kamara Issoufou: Intersectional Sustainability

Edgar A. Tafel Architecture Lecture Series

"Intersectional Sustainability" will explore Mariam Issoufou's approach to sustainability, which is about more than just sustaining the environment; it is about sustaining people, their culture, and their economy.

Mariam Issoufou is an architect from Niger. She studied architecture at the University of Washington. In 2014, she founded atelier masōmī, an architecture and research practice that tackles public, cultural, residential, commercial, and urban design projects. The firm is headquartered in Niamey, with a design studio in New York. Issoufou believes that architects have an important role to play in creating spaces that elevate, give dignity, and provide people with a better quality of life.

The firm's completed projects include the Hikma Community Complex, a library and mosque complex which won two Global LafargeHolcim Awards for sustainable architecture. Other works include the Niamey 2000 Housing project, a response to Niger's housing crisis which was shortlisted for the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Upcoming projects include the Yantala Office building in Niger and the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development in Liberia.

Issoufou is a professor of architecture heritage and sustainability at ETH Zurich. She previously occupied academic roles as an adjunct associate professor of urban studies at Brown University and as the 2021 Aga Khan critic at Harvard Graduate School of Design. Issoufou is a 2019 Laureate of the Prince Claus Award. She was named one of "15 Creative Women of Our Time" by The New York Times. The firm has been on the AD100 list since 2021.