Since the war and the rebirth of Somaliland, the construction industry has seen a boom with more and more development projects pouring into the country; the big construction companies have naturally benefitted from this boom. During the past decade however, a whole new breed of companies within the construction sector have sprung up and one such name is Rio Architects…in their words:
Rio Architects is a full-service architectural and engineering consulting firm skilled in the art and science of designing unique environments for living, learning, working and healing.
The story behind the company is not uncommon and comes from the pattern of Somaliland diaspora going back to their country to start businesses and leverage the skill sets, knowledge and experience they have gained from the outside world. ..
Rio or “Riyo” means dream in the Somali language. Their story began with a dream, a dream shared by a group of architects who made a journey back to their country of birth to start a new Architectural Firm. The founders of Rio Architects Mohamed Bashir and Warfa Mohamoud met in the city of Hargiesa by chance and instantly new that they both shared the same dream. Mohamed Bashir lived and worked in Minneapolis, MN more than half his life. Warfa Mohamoud lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia almost all his life. They then founded the company in 2014 and it has been growing steadily ever since.
Since their inception they have completed some impressive projects such as the below:
They were also behind what we believe to be the most impressive/beautiful Mosque in Hargeisa:
You can read about their past and upcoming projects on their website here:
What’s more, they have recently announced that they will be working on the Somaliland National Museum – the President laid the foundation stone only a few days ago.
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