Mariam Issoufou

Mariam Issoufou is an architect from Niger. A graduate of the University of Washington, she founded Mariam Issoufou Architects, based in Niamey, in 2014. The practice tackles public, cultural, residential, commercial and urban design projects. She 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.

Completed projects include the Hikma Community Complex, a library and mosque complex which won two Global Lafarge Holcim 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. Current projects include the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development in Liberia.

Her academic roles include professor of architecture heritage and sustainability at the technical university ETH Zurich and adjunct associate professor of urban studies at Brown University, USA. She serves on the Board of the African Futures Institute in Ghana and is an advisory board member for the German non-profit Diversity In Architecture. A Laureate of the Prince Claus Awards 2019, she was named one of 15 Creative Women of Our Time by The New York Times.

Photo credit: Mariam Issoufou on site in Niamey. Mariam Issoufou Architects