Finding Her Voice Through Architecture: Mariama Kah’s Journey from AUS to Harvard and Beyond

Finding Her Voice Through Architecture: Mariama Kah’s Journey from AUS to Harvard and Beyond

For Mariama Kah, home meant something different every few years.

Born in the United States to Gambian professors, she spent her childhood following her parents’ academic careers across continents, living in the United States, West Africa, the Gulf and Eastern Europe. Every move meant a new home, a new school and a new community.

Yet, in the midst of this constant change, she found herself paying close attention to the spaces that quietly held people’s lives together.

“I developed an intimate connection to the spaces in which my life was being lived and constructed. What stood out most to me was the architecture. The container that quietly housed memories in the making and lives in the living,” she said. “I have come to believe that architecture may be one of the greatest orators of the human experience.”

Those early observations sparked a curiosity that eventually led Kah to AUS where she earned her Bachelor of Architecture in 2020 (cum laude). A recipient of both the Chancellor’s List Scholarship Awards and the Dean’s List Scholarship Awards, Kah credits AUS with giving her the technical foundation to become an architect while also encouraging the curiosity and confidence needed to develop her own perspective.

“AUS was the place that laid my foundation and grounded me as a spatial thinker and practitioner,” she said. “It built my capacity and equipped me with the tools and knowledge I needed to enter the field of architecture, and for that I will always be deeply grateful.”

Her journey, however, was not defined only by moments of confidence. During her third year at AUS, she experienced a difficult semester that challenged her understanding of design, mentorship and conviction.

“I found myself at an impasse with the design direction for a studio project. On one hand was the concept I had pursued through my midterm development. On the other was the encouragement to set it aside and pursue an entirely different direction,” she said. “As those conversations progressed, it became clear that continuing with my original concept would mean moving forward without the true support of my instructor.”

Faced with an unforgiving timeline, she soon found herself in an “impossible race” to complete a project she was no longer deeply connected to, with half the time of her peers.

“I finished that studio with a disappointing outcome and, worst of all, a project that did not reflect my truest curiosities, design inquiries or my voice. It was then that I made a promise to myself,” she recalled. “Never again would I abandon the course of action I believed to be true in my work.I learned that listening to guidance is an essential part of growth, but so too is discernment and the ability to stand grounded in your own convictions.”

Rather than allowing the experience to define her, Kah used it as a turning point. The following semester, under the guidance of Faysal Tabbarah, Associate Professor in Architecture, she entered a studio environment that encouraged curiosity and independent thinking with a renewed sense of creative courage.

“That experience fundamentally changed the way I thought about design. It taught me about the importance of seeking out meaningful and un-asked questions as I approach a project, develop a process of engagement and possess the courage to pursue answers with sincerity,” she said.

She also credits Professor of Practice in Architecture Eirik Heintz and other AUS faculty members for encouraging her curiosity and reinforcing the importance of exploration and discovery in her work.

“When an educator believes in your curiosity and supports your pursuits, they open up an entirely new world of confidence, which is vital when pursuing a field where women like myself—African, Black and Muslim—remain deeply underrepresented and missing from the larger architectural discourse,” she noted

She remembers being so motivated by her design mentors as well as parents, that she started an art and design history tutoring series one Spring semester where she provided academic support and mentorship to incoming freshmen who presented with immense design promise but struggled in that area, up until the year before graduation.

“I just wanted to share the growth I was experiencing with others.The ability to share knowledge and broaden a person’s worldview is what continues to inspire and deepen my love of teaching and mentorship today,” she explained.

Looking back, Kah believes the greatest lesson she carried from AUS extends far beyond architecture itself.

“At AUS, I was truly given the space and opportunity to find my voice and, more importantly, to spend the time nurturing it,” she said. “It was in spending painstaking hours in the CAAD building learning the delicate balance, care and attention that even a single line on a sheet of paper deserved in composing a drawing; the time I spent poring over books in the library that were tangentially related to a concept or narratives I was building for my projects and through the elective courses I pursued in history, cinema and creative writing that I found myself able to slowly cultivate something that endures. A process, an attitude, a way of thinking and a perspective that was entirely my own.”

Kah also notes defining moments during her tenure at AUS as key shapers of her journey. From her semester abroad in Spain and the degree requirements that led to her first rounds of professional experience as an intern at Ardh Architects in Dubai and Atelier Masomi (now Mariam Issoufou Architects) in Niamey, AUS opened the door to  global opportunities for Kah to participate in and a view into architecture’s capacity to transform lives.

“No matter what resources or technology you do or do not possess, there is no replacement for developing an authentic point of view," she said. "It is through living a fully engaged life that you discover your voice and find your place in the world to speak into it. That voice is shaped by our values, our contributions and the harms we refuse to accept. It is not a polished destination, but an evolving process of exploration and growth."

After graduating from AUS, Kah was recruited to work as a junior architect at Adjaye Associates in Ghana and found herself on the design teams of a series of national landmarks and iconic buildings across Africa. She was then accepted into the Master of Architecture program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) with a Dean's Merit Scholarship. At Harvard, she graduated with distinction in 2024 and received the James Templeton Kelley Prize for her master’s thesis, “Keur Fàttaliku—The House of Recollection.” This prize offered by the Boston Society of Architects, a chapter of the AIA, recognizes the best design project submitted by a graduating student in the architecture degree programs.

"The GSD was an environment where I tested and sharpened the skills that AUS and my working experiences had instilled in me. I had the privilege of testing my design thinking in studios that explored contexts across the Mississippi, Mumbai and Accra and I continued to pursue opportunities to mentor and teach those curious in the world of design. I was transformed by the relationships and connections made and new knowledge I encountered. In many ways, Harvard was less about changing the foundations that had already been established within me and more about bringing them into sharper focus," she explained.

Today, Kah’s work continues to be guided by the philosophy that first took shape during her years at AUS.

"I genuinely believe that design is a profound act of listening and service. Every site carries memory; every community carries stories. The architect's role is to listen deeply enough for those stories to evolve and find new expression through the spaces we create," she said.

While Kah describes herself as still being at the beginning of her professional journey, she is currently working as a Designer II at Perkins & Will in Boston, Massachusetts, where she already has a clear vision of the architect she hopes to become–one who approaches design with humility, care and responsibility.

“I hope my work and every project that my hand has the privilege to be a part of, can create space that allows people to feel a sense of belonging, dignity and connection. Spaces that hold memory while making room for possibility. Spaces that remind people of where they come from, reflect who they are and inspire who they can become,” she said. “Ultimately, I hope to contribute to an architecture that is not only built upon the ground it occupies, but one that is deeply rooted in the lives, dreams and aspirations of the people it serves.”