In this series of interviews, we meet the shortlisted candidates for the 2026 Women in Architecture and Construction Award. These women have made outstanding contributions to architecture and the built environment across the Near East and North Africa. The award features two categories: Rising Star and Woman of Outstanding Achievements.
This interview features Saliha Benmessaoud, head and founder of Atelier3 Architecture, an experienced Conservation Architect with 23 years of dedicated practice, specialising in earthen architecture. She has a proven track record of restoring earthen monuments, often in challenging environments, blending traditional techniques with modern expertise to preserve our shared cultural heritage.
In this interview, Saliha discusses her professional background and the founding of Atelier3 Architecture, exploring her approach to earthen architecture and conservation, her work with UNESCO following the destruction of Timbuktu’s heritage, and her experience training local masons and apprentices.
Tell us about your background, and what led you to found Atelier3 Architecture in Algeria twenty-three years ago.
From an early age, I was surrounded by architects from different parts of the world through my parents’ circle of friends. This exposure, combined with my passion for art, I practiced painting for several years, naturally led me towards architecture and developed my sensitivity to space, light, material, and composition.
My connection with earthen architecture is deeply rooted in my childhood. I was born and raised in Tamanrasset, in the Algerian Sahara, where earthen construction was an integral part of the landscape and local culture. From a young age, I was fascinated by its materials, textures, and remarkable adaptation to the desert climate.
This early curiosity gradually became a professional commitment to the conservation and contemporary development of earthen architecture. Twenty three years ago, I founded Atelier3 Architecture in Algeria with the ambition of bringing together architectural practice, heritage conservation, traditional knowledge, and the sustainable potential of earth as a building material.
What are the visions, goals or principles behind your practice? How do projects like the Great Mosque of Djenné or the Djingarey Ber Mosque reflect them?
The central vision behind my practice has always been to ensure not only the longevity of heritage buildings, but also the continuity of the knowledge and communities that have preserved them for generations.
My work in Mali, particularly in Djenné and Timbuktu, taught me that conservation is not simply about restoring monuments. It is also about helping communities reclaim their own heritage and traditional knowledge. In some contexts, earth had increasingly been perceived as a material of poverty, causing people to distance themselves from it, but working closely with local craftsmen and knowledge holders revealed to me the extraordinary richness of their knowledges in earthen construction. Projects such as the Great Mosque of Djenné and Djingarey Ber therefore reflected an approach that combined conservation, transmission, and the restoration of confidence in local craftsmanship.
For me, preserving heritage also means keeping the knowledge, skills, and cultural identity behind it alive.
Tell us about your role as UNESCO’s own conservation consultant after Timbuktu’s heritage was destroyed in the 2012 conflict.
Returning to Timbuktu in 2015, after working on Djingarey Ber Mosque in 2007, was deeply emotional. I witnessed the severe damage caused to the city’s heritage during the 2012 conflict.
UNESCO appointed me, alongside Malian architect and earthen architecture specialist Mariam Sy, to assess the Sidi Yahia and Sankoré Mosques and develop conservation and intervention plans, in close collaboration with local masons, mosque committees, Imams, and craftsmen.
I was also entrusted with organizing and supervising the architectural competition for the reconstruction of the Al Farouk Monument and the Place de l’Indépendance, including coordinating the selection process and ensuring the involvement of local sculptors, craftsmen, and artists.
My role combined conservation expertise, project coordination, and community engagement, placing local knowledge and craftsmanship at the heart of the recovery process.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced training more than 270 local masons and apprentices in earthen conservation, and how have you worked through them?
The 270 masons trained through restoration projects in Mali were initially surprised to see a woman arriving from abroad with such a strong interest in a building tradition some had begun to regard as outdated.
I quickly understood that my role was not simply to teach, but to lead a process of recovering and restoring confidence in knowledge that was at risk of disappearing. I worked closely with the oldest master masons, questioning, listening, testing, and creating workshops where forgotten techniques could be brought back into practice.
In Djenné, we initiated a workshop to recreate traditional cylindrical bricks, a technique that had disappeared for at least sixty years. By bringing the city’s oldest master mason, then over eighty, back into the process, we helped turn his knowledge into a collective learning experience.
For me, leadership meant creating the conditions for local expertise to re-emerge, be recognized, and be transmitted to the next generation.
Tell us about your approach to earthen architecture, and why you’ve built a career on a material the profession has often dismissed.
Growing up in Tamanrasset, in the Algerian Sahara, I was surrounded by earthen buildings and the knowledge of the people who built and maintained them. I learned very early that earth is not simply a traditional material, it is a sophisticated response to climate, resources, culture, and ways of living.
What has driven my career is the desire to reveal earth technical and aesthetical value and to bridge vernacular knowledge with contemporary architectural practice. My goal is not to romanticize traditional architecture, but to understand it through conservation projects, document and preserve its knowledge, and reinterpret it for the future.
While the profession has sometimes dismissed earth as a material of the past or of poverty, I see it as a material with remarkable contemporary potential, particularly in the context of climate change, local resources, and sustainable construction.
What are you working on now?
At Atelier3, we have recently begun the renovation of a five century old earthen ksar in Timimoun, southern Algeria. The project aims to transform this emblematic heritage site into a unique lifestyle destination, combining its historic authenticity with contemporary comfort through a boutique hotel, art and craft galleries, dining spaces, and cultural event venues. Rooted in the rich earthen heritage of Timimoun -the “Red Oasis”- the project seeks to preserve and reinterpret the ksar’s unique identity, while celebrating the local knowledge, craftsmanship, and climate responsive architecture that have shaped it for centuries.
Training more than 270 masons in a craft often passed from father to son, what was it like to earn the trust and authority to teach that skill for the first time, and how did you earn it?
Training more than 270 local masons and apprentices was both a technical and leadership challenge. As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated profession, I initially faced some hesitation. I understood that trust had to be earned, not imposed.
I chose to lead by listening first, respecting the expertise of master masons while creating experimental workshops where we could test and improve techniques together. In Djenné and Timbuktu, where mastery of Arabic and knowledge of the Qur’an command great respect, I also volunteered after working hours to teach Arabic to craftsmen and support students in Qur’anic schools.
These experiences allowed me to become part of the communities rather than simply an external expert. They taught me that leadership in heritage conservation means building trust, empowering others, and bringing different forms of knowledge together around a shared goal.
What’s a piece of advice you’d give a young woman wanting to lead in a craft traditionally taught from father to son?
Lead with humility. Listen to the artisans, for they are the living custodians of a human genius passed down through generations.
Which project have you worked on that is the closest to your heart and why?
Restoring the Great Mosque of Djenné, the world’s largest earthen monument, was far more than a conservation project. It was an extraordinary school of knowledge, humility, and transmission.
Working alongside master masons and craftspeople, I discovered remarkable ingenuity and an intimate understanding of earth, materials, climate, and construction. Every architectural and technical detail of the mosque revealed generations of accumulated intelligence.
But the greatest lesson was learning to earn the trust of a community deeply attached to its traditions. In this isolated city, I was gradually welcomed into the community and given the privilege of discovering knowledge and ritual practices closely connected to construction.
Today, many of the masons I trained, proudly share their restoration work, while some are invited across Africa to transmit these skills. I am deeply proud to see this knowledge live on.
Meet the Shortlist series is a compilation of interviews with those who have been shortlisted for our awards. Saliha Benmessaoud is on the shortlist for the Women in Architecture and Construction Award, which recognises women who have made outstanding contributions to architecture and the built environment across the Near East and North Africa.
Tamayouz Excellence Award is sponsored by 99 Properties Development, Coventry University, Dewan Architects + Engineers, the Mohamed Makiya Foundation, Bonair Ltd, Aji Group, and Round City Magazine.