Join us in celebrating our CityscapeWIRE October Community Spotlight winner through this exclusive interview
As part of the CityscapeWIRE Community Spotlight series, we invited the real estate sector to nominate female professionals shaping the future of the industry in the region. This month, we’re excited to recognise Soumia Masmoudi, architect, urbanist, and founder of ellearchitecture, as the October Spotlight winner.
From Vietnam and Japan to Qatar and Senegal, Soumia tells CityscapeWIRE about her two-decades’ long career that has allowed her to explore different cultures and its influence on her approach to architecture. Driven by her motto, design to care, Soumia reveals why this was her eureka moment and how it continues to guide her and effect the projects she undertakes.
Join us in celebrating Soumia's inspiring journey and her vision for a more thoughtful, culturally attuned approach to architecture.
Tell us some of your career highlights to date.
The privilege of living and practicing in many cultures has helped me slow down and explore other ways of living, which deeply influences my approach as an architect.
After gaining experience with architectural firms in France, I founded my own studio, Ellearchitecture, in 2010. My career took a significant turn when my family and I relocated to Asia in 2012. In Bhutan, one of the most self-sufficient countries in the Himalayas. Particularly in Paro, I experienced harmonious landscapes with human-scale architecture, some of them built by women. I connected deeply with local women, often farming or building homes with our babies on our backs—an experience that profoundly shaped my understanding of community and the role of the home as a shared space. In Bhutan, streets are multifunctional , they can host religious ceremonies, laundry stations, drying areas, and places to meet and play.
We then moved to the bustling modern city of Bangkok, where my way of regenerating was by returning often to nature or creating crafts. However, it was in Vietnam where my practice truly evolved. Saigon’s streets, with their street food, micro-edible gardens and the strong connection to the street, taught me how deeply culture shapes a city. During this time, I also witnessed the urban flooding and disasters caused by rapid urbanization.
Later, in Qatar, I focused on designing for one of the world’s most extreme climates. Studying traditional systems like Oasis farming and understanding resilience in such conditions became pivotal learning experiences. I realized the importance of spirituality, particularly in this area —no action would succeed without a blessing.
Every project felt like an initiation, pushing my boundaries and beliefs. As an architect, the project became an opportunity honoring the land and its people. This emboldened me to propose solutions that challenged modern ideas of comfort and reshaped our relationship with nature.
You're passionate about sustainable and eco-friendly architecture and raising awareness through design education. Tell us why this is so important to you, and when did this passion start?
Growing up in a Mediterranean climate, with my grandmother nearby—a modest fashion designer and avid plant collector—instilled in me an appreciation for beauty, simplicity, and craftsmanship. Although we didn’t use the term sustainability, it was woven into the way we lived. What was natural, durable, and handmade had inherent value. It wasn’t until my 20s, when I moved to France and encountered a consumer-driven society, that I realized how deeply rooted these values were in me. The importance of sustainability then become a choice for me as a mother.
I’m someone who never stops learning when I am passionate about a subject and I like sharing when I feel it is important. I had the opportunity to offer an introductory training on permaculture for architecture students in Saigon the same summer I participated in a student summer camp in Thailand.
During the pandemic, we were in Qatar, living in both urban and desert environments. I always kept a garden and plants in my home. I was approached for a collaboration with Hadiqa Middle East, and I began sharing my permaculture knowledge online, encouraging others to explore it together. This led to more workshop requests. Later, I joined Heenat Salma Farm and the Caravan Earth Foundation as Head of Agri-Education. This allowed me to combine my passion for design and education. I proposed and designed the first pedagogical garden in the Middle East to host schools and communities, aligning with the foundation’s vision.
Education leverages my goal of connecting people with nature and offering them an immersive experience. So, today I can design a passive education garden using interactive and sensory experience without involving any teacher or program. This is what I like about design, it's limitless.
Design to care is a philosophy you live by. What does it mean, and how does it guide your projects?
In 2013, while living in Saigon, I was overwhelmed by the rapid urbanization and the impact it was having on the environment. I found myself in the middle of a fast-growing city, surrounded by towers, and I couldn’t shake the feeling of participating in something destructive. Offers for large tower projects kept coming in, but instead of inspiration, I felt a growing sense of discomfort—so much so that I could almost taste the cement in my mouth. I knew I needed to be part of the solution, not the problem.
One night, after months of doubt, I woke up with the words design to care, It was my eureka moment, the spark that revived my passion. This was the door to permaculture. From that day forward, I made the conscious decision to take on only projects that aligned with this principle. Design to care became my mantra, guiding my work and shaping my vision for every project I undertake.
Over the last few years, you've researched culturally diverse architecture practices, from Japanese aesthetics to the African concept of ubuntu in design. Which concepts have resonated with you, and how do you incorporate them into your designs today?
Early in my studies, I was introduced to the concept of no architect architecture. This approach emphasizes ways of building that go beyond the material, focusing instead on creating spaces that nourish the body, mind, and soul. It became clear that the materialistic approach I learned in Western architecture school was insufficient for the kind of architecture I wanted to pursue.
At ellearchitecture, research is integral to my practice. I continually seek ways to harmony . Over the years, I’ve studied feng shui, permaculture, biophilic design, and, more recently, shinrin-yoku in Japan and I will keep going. This is what helped me get to the essentials and build up a balanced approach.
My time in Japan was transformative. What began as a cultural immersion evolved into long training in shinrin-yoku (translated forest bathing). This experience gave me a deeper, scientific understanding of how forests influence the body and mind. I applied what I learned to the pedagogical garden at Heenat Salma Farm in Qatar. I turned this knowledge to designing environments that invite sensory experiences and improve users mindfulness. For me the key takeaway from Japanese culture is that the most effortless beauty we can bring to any craft or building is to mindfully connect it to nature.
Each place, culture, and context brings its own challenges and opportunities. What excites me about architecture is the responsibility we have to shape humanity’s environement—to create spaces that disturb less and impact more. I don’t aim to replicate styles, cultural symbols or aesthetics; my focus is on designing spaces that honor the essence of the place and help people become more mindful of their environment.
Looking at African architecture specifically and the philosophy of ubuntu, what have you learned, and how can African architecture be incorporated across different cities?
I firmly believe that every culture offers valuable insights into our shared humanity. Each tradition contributes to the universal wisdom that we, as architects, can tap into to build spaces that are not just functional but deeply connected to the human spirit and the land.
Unfortunately, much of the literature on African architecture has been written from an external perspective, often missing the authentic voice of the people. However, being here in Africa and directly interacting with local communities, I’ve had the privilege of learning about ubuntu firsthand, unfiltered and deeply personal.
In the same way that taoism, shintoism, or even capitalism influences the architecture, food, and daily rituals of a society, ubuntu is a guiding philosophy for many African cultures. Ubuntu, meaning together is present in every aspect of life here—in the way meals are shared, in the communal nature of housing, and even in the village walls that bring people together. Ubuntu reflects a deeper social connection, a reminder that individual well-being is tied to the collective good.
In a world increasingly shaped by technology, we risk losing our sense of ubuntu. Our interactions with one another are diminishing, impacting our happiness and sense of belonging. I believe that by embracing ubuntu, we can reshape our modern cities to foster deeper connections among people and with nature. It’s about rescaling and revising modernity to place human relationships at the forefront.
Incorporating ubuntu into architecture means designing spaces that prioritize gathering over separation. For example, one of my recent projects here in Senegal involved designing a home for parents working from home with young children. The layout was crafted around the principle of togetherness, reflecting the core values of ubuntu. This could be apply to different scale, from private to urban scale.
Finally, tell us about some of the projects you're currently working on.
Our studio is fortunate to be involved in a variety of projects across different countries. We’re currently working on residential, commercial, and permaculture garden projects here in mainly, Africa, Midle East and Europe.
But one of the most exciting developments is our Garden Lab project, an initiative designed to engage the creative community in La Petite Côte, Senegal, and beyond. We’re in the early stages, but the project will eventually welcome creatives from different parts of the world to collaborate, experiment, and create in a space dedicated to ecological and sustainable design.
Congratulations to Soumia on being October’s Community Spotlight winner!
Keep an eye out for next month’s reveal as our WIRE community continues to comes together to celebrate exceptional women in the industry.
Teneshia Naidoo | Oct 08, 2024
