Mariam Issoufou (NE)

At the End of the World

August 17th – August 23rd 2025

Mariam Issoufou Niger

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 headquarted 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, 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 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 as one of 15 Creative Women of Our Time by the New York Times. The firm has been on the AD100 list since 2021.

www.mariamissoufou.com

At the End of the World

August 17th – August 23rd

Workshop Categories

The Workshop

For the past three semesters, Mariam Issoufou has explored the topic of museums in her work as Chair of Architectural Heritage and Sustainability at ETH Zurich. This workshop is an opportunity to expand that research in a new setting, questioning fundamental ideas about museums, ownership, and the display of objects. What happens when restitution is complete and museums are left empty? How can we rethink exhibition spaces beyond material collections? How can architecture help us imagine alternative futures for institutions traditionally built around control, preservation, and classification? Rather than treating museums as neutral spaces, we will challenge the ways in which they shape knowledge and memory, often reinforcing systems of exclusion, appropriation, and erasure.

Instead of approaching these questions solely through discussion, participants will engage in hands-on experimentation. Using Boisbuchet’s facilities, we will design and build tangible prototypes of what a "museum of disobedience" might look like—whether through models, drawings, installations, or site-specific interventions. During a week, participants will have the opportunity to create speculative proposals for what a museum at Boisbuchet could be, incorporating—or deliberately excluding—artifacts, narratives, and spatial markers.

BOOK WORKSHOP
Student: €990 TTC

BOOK WORKSHOP
Normal: €1360 TTC

Housing

  • Accommodation & food are included

  • We can accommodate for special catering

  • All participants sleep in dormitories

  • To book a private room or bring additional guests, get in touch: workshops@boisbuchet.org

Education

  • Our staff are available to help you conceptualize & produce your designs

  • Tools & materials are provided by Boisbuchet

  • All workshops are taught in English

  • The number of participants is limited to 22

Activities