one to the other, manifesting in space and form the collapse of tensions between religious and secular knowledge. “The current library used to be a mosque, so the link was immediate,” Kamara says of the project. “It was a building that the villagers were really familiar with, and there is a comfort in that. And then a mosque — no matter how old or new — is a building that is used every day, and there is comfort in that. The two together just made sense.” The population of Dandaji is young and literacy rates are low, with the local middle school serving children from five surrounding villages. The new library has provided books, quiet spaces and a computer lab in an effort to boost graduation rates. It has also welcomed women’s groups, who now have a civic space where they can meet and run workshops. To renovate the building, Kamara and her team invited the masons who originally worked on the building back to the village to participate in the work, and they also contributed in the construction of the new one. For both they used compressed earth bricks, which are much easier to maintain than the adobe used on the original façade, but have the same thermal qualities. The project won the LafargeHolcim Awards for Sustainable Construction in 2017, and soon after Kamara was invited to join the Rolex Protégé programme, which entails a twoyear mentorship with David Adjaye. Kamara has always loved architecture but, being a practical
UPFRONT
person, she studied computer science instead. “I wanted to be an architect since I was ten years old, but I didn’t think it was reasonable. I didn’t know any African architects then,” she says. The yearning never faded however, and several years into her computer-engineering career in the US, she quit and returned to school to follow her vocation, at the University of Washington. “While studying I would have moments at 3am when I would get overwhelmed and just tear up because I felt so in harmony,” she recalls. Kamara now divides her time between Niamey, Niger’s capital, and Providence, near Boston, Massachusetts. At the moment she and Adjaye are working on a cultural centre in Niamey. During workshops with local youth to develop the project, it became clear that there was a hunger among them for learning. When presented with a series of objects they resonated most with books, which they saw as a means of experiencing worlds beyond their own lives. “The impact and the consequences of what you build are much more impactful in countries that are vulnerable. It’s not theoretical. There is a huge responsibility that comes with the practice,” she reflects. “However, something that serves purpose can also be beautiful.”
With thanks to DESIGN INDABA.
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