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So do you need a lot of patience to be an architect, would you say?

My goodness, honestly, so much patience.

Because being an architect means anywhere between four to ten years on a project.

It's a very emotional process also.

There are so many ups and downs.

There are so many things.

Because as a field, everything affects us.

If any other industry sneezes, we catch a cold.

Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

We're in the studio with the world leading architect, Mariam Isifu.

Seeing a project, especially a logical project to fruition, is a Herculean task. You need a very strong, you know, core, I think, to survive it.

I'm Olivia Humphreys, and I've been following Mariam all through 2025,

which she's hoping will end with the grand opening of her latest commission,

the brand new museum called the Betby in eastern Senegal.

When it opens, it will be the only major museum for hundreds of miles.

Mariam has worked on many ambitious projects, including a presidential centre in Liberia

and a vast mudbrick housing complex in Niger where she grew up.

But the betby has been particularly tricky.

Mariam designed it back in 2021, but four years later, they haven't yet broken ground.

I'm interested in how architects maintain their enthusiasm and hope over the years,

knowing there's always a chance big projects like this will get cancelled.

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