Niamey 2000 Niger urban housing building photos, West African residential design images, architect news
Niamey 2000, Niger urban housing, Africa
post updated 25 May 2026
Design: united4design / Yasaman Esmaili, Elizabeth Golden, Mariam Kamara, Philip Straeter
Location: Niamey, Republic of the Niger, West Africa
The design takes a firm position on material selection by using unfired earth masonry and passive cooling techniques:
Photos: Aboubacar Magagi
24 June 2022
Niamey 2000, Niger urban housing in West Africa
Aerial view of the six single-family units corresponding to the first phase of the project:
The Niamey 2000 project is a direct response to the current housing and socio-economic conditions found in the city of Niamey:
Each unit offers a bedroom, living and dining rooms, storage, and indoor and outdoor kitchens on the ground floor. The upper floor contains two bedrooms, an outdoor laundry and a terrace:
The project proposes a new model for urban housing and establishes a model for local development. Living spaces open out onto self-shading courtyards, which are cooled by both cross and stack ventilation.
View of the upstairs terrace:
To combat housing shortage amid rapid urban expansion, this prototype housing seeks to increase density while remaining compatible culturally.
Six family units, each on two floors and provided with outdoor spaces on the ground and upper floors, occupy the same footprint as a conventional single-family compound.
Each family unit contains two floors with outdoor spaces on the ground and upper floors:
Each unit contains a bedroom, living and dining rooms, storage, and indoor and outdoor kitchens on the ground floor; each upper floor contains two bedrooms, an outdoor laundry and a terrace.
Construction employs unfired compressed-earth blocks for the walls and shallow-vault ceilings; limited use of reinforced concrete provides support for the roofs.
Passive cooling is inherent in the earth construction materials and in the organisation of spaces around open areas and shaded terraces.
Ground floor plan:
image courtesy of architects practice
Niamey 2000, Niger urban housing – Property Information
Title: Niamey 2000
Award Cycle: 2020-2022 Cycle
Status: Shortlisted
Location: Niamey, Niger
Client: Retour aux Sources housing collective
Architect: united4design / Yasaman Esmaili, Elizabeth Golden, Mariam Kamara, Philip Straeter
Completed: 2017
Country of origin: Niger
Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Aboubacar Magagi (photographer)
2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture Shortlist
Niamey 2000, Niger urban housing images / information received 020622 from the Aga Khan Award for Architecture – AKAA
Location: Republic of the Niger, West Africa
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Comments / photos for the Niamey 2000, Niger urban housing designed by united4design / Yasaman Esmaili, Elizabeth Golden, Mariam Kamara, Philip Straeter page welcome.
