Issa Diabate

Architect, Concerned citizen, Designer, Educator/Teacher, Idea generator, Potential employer

I was born on December 25th of 1969, raised in Abidjan Ivory Coast. After one year spent in Nice, France I completed the French Baccalaureate in 1988 at the French international high school in Bethesda, Maryland before entering George Washington University (BA in finance). Though mistakenly oriented towards finance, I later came back to my main topic of interests: Architecture. I entered the Master of architecture program at Yale in 1992. In 1995, a few months after graduation, I moved back to Abidjan, where my current employer was offering me an internship. I later became his employee, and we are now partners. Our architecture is mainly commercial, with the affirmative agenda to apply modern methods to the design approach as we feel modernity very much fits the current African urban context. Most African cities are in prey to many different influences. Some western, some foreign though non western and some traditional in the local sense... We have done work in many African Capitals (Dakar-Senegal, Bamako-Mali, Cotonou-Benin, Addis Ababa-Ethiopia, Abidjan-Cote d'Ivoire...) ranging from residential private houses to multi storey buildings, interiors and industrial spaces... To complement my architecture, I have participated in many "furniture design" competitions, fairs and exhibitions. In 1998, I received the "Prix du design" at the Dakar't Biennale of contemporary art. Since then, I have exhibited in many international shows including several editions of the "Saint-Etienne Design Biennale-France" and the world travelling exhibition "Made in Africa". My partner and I recently engaged in a new adventure: Change the perception of our profession in the environment we live in. This we believe can be done through showing the example with the quality of our work but also through our direct involvement in the Notional association of Architects in Cote d’Ivoire, which is currently presided by Guillaume Koffi, my partner. In the past year, we’ve made significant progress in bringing some order back in the building permit procedure. Earlier this month, we launched the first major building fair to take place in Cote d’Ivoire. Our main intention being to bring back the architect in the center of the production of the built environment. Early next year, we plan to launch a new project: “the Architect Institute of Cote d’Ivoire” whose main goal is to be closely involved in the production of architecture through the education of the local architect, through urban city planning and through the use of local materials to explore new architectural solutions.

The creative process... Including the one that leads to the creation and the shaping of one's"Life"

Architecture, Design, Urban Planning

Good at meditation