we have to fold this need into our projects,
even when we’re not asked to do so.
One of my early works, which was
my thesis project, was an urban design and
architectural proposal that explored the
reality of young women in a conservative
Muslim environment in Niamey. Compared
with their male counterparts, they are con-
fronted with a lack of access to public spaces
for socializing. The project looked at how we
could create spaces and itineraries for these
women that would give them the same right
to the city that men have.
We addressed issues affecting the
youth in a different way with our religious-
cum-secular complex in Dandaji, which we
nicknamed ‘Hikma’. It contains a library, a lit-eracy centre and a mosque. Especially inter-
esting was finding a way to inject the youth
into that project. The library allows young
men and women to become part of the land-
scape. Most importantly, it provides a way
to channel and lessen the tension between
religion and secular learning that exists in
Niger and many parts of the world, directly
affecting the mindset of the youth and their
view of the larger world. Putting the mosque
and the library on the same site gives rise to
a casual dialogue between the two as young
people walk to the mosque from the library
at prayer time and back again to resume their
learning activities. Ultimately, the challenges
accompanying Niger’s demographic explo-
sion are great opportunities for thinking
carefully about the future. What direction
do we want to take?What about high-rise towers and apartment
buildings as a residential solution? They are
not culturally appropriate for the region and
don’t comply with Niger’s social norms. In
spite of its growth, the population and land-
availability ratio make it premature to offer
high-rises as a solution for increasing density.
Not to mention that high-rises are actually
not the only solution to the problem. Think
of cities that cope with incredible density
without erecting high rises – a city like Paris
comes to mind, where buildings are capped
at about six storeys in most neighbourhoods.
Berlin is another example, as it has a good
amount of density without having apartment
towers everywhere. There are different ways
of addressing density, and Niger is definitely
a place where that’s necessary.
The cultural inappropriateness of
apartment towers is related to their tendency
to erase social connections. Even in Western
countries, the typology has contributed to
social isolation. Because communal life is
really important in Niger, it’s easy to under-
stand how such a typology would actually
damage the social fabric. I find it more
interesting to see how we can achieve density
with low-rise buildings that keep people in
close proximity to each other – and to find
solutions that ensure social interaction in
spite of density. ●As part of Design Indaba’s Project 54, which aims
to set up a venture in each of Africa’s 54 countries,
Mariam Kamara is developing an ‘artisan’s valley’ in
and with the Nigerien city of Niamey
ateliermasomi.com‘Many African
architects
copy Western
architecture
as a way of
manifesting
modernity’
A project by collaborative United4design,
cofounded by Kamara, Niamey 2000
offers affordable homes to the growing
population of Niger’s capital city.To
rs
te
n^ S
eid
el,
co
ur
te
sy
o
f^ U
nit
ed
4 d
es
ign
60 PORTRAITS