UO architecture students with building models for Koutiala, Mali artisan center.

UO Architecture Alumnae Establish Connection in Koutiala, Mali

Architectural design, technology, and an interest in helping others brought students from the University of Oregon together with artisans in a city in southeastern Mali this summer. Peace Corps volunteers, Karmen Unterwegner and Maridee BonaDea, reached across the continents to bring architectural design assistance to an artisan center in Koutiala, Mali.

Unterwegner received her bachelor’s degree in architecture in 2008 and posed a design opportunity on email to her former instructors in Eugene. When the department received word of this opportunity, Naoto Sekiguchi, adjunct instructor, seized the idea for his summer course. He contacted BonaDea to start up this cultural exchange project.

Sekiguchi and 12 students developed design concepts for a new facility for the Union of Associations of Artisans of Koutiala (UAAK). Koutiala, population of 110,000, has the largest cotton mill in Mali and cotton is the country’s biggest export. The intended uses of this center are to support a diverse group of craftspeople to make and sell their work, to have a meeting place for business development trainings, and to provide a daycare center. Craftspeople who are members of the union include tailors, Bogolan mud cloth makers, weavers, metal smiths and members of the building trades.

The students have used the Internet to post their ideas, models, designs and sketches. They have also added profiles and photos or sketches of themselves, as well as background research on the art and craft of Mali. They conducted studies on available building materials, climate and other details pertinent to building design. The studio website is uoarchkoutiala.com.

During the summer session course, students conducted a Skype conference with BonaDea and others involved with UAAK. Subsequently, the presidents of the different artisans’ associations began discussions about the possibilities for the building.

“The designs have stimulated the artisans of Koutiala to dream of possibilities,” said BonaDea. “This project brings that dream a bit closer.”