Architecture can play a catalytic role in strategies to improve living conditions and to increase human dignity around the world.

Bethel Abate

Design Director
Kigali, Rwanda

Bethel is a Design Director at MASS, where she works with multidisciplinary teams to deliver projects that advance research and education across different African communities. 

Since joining MASS in 2015, she has worked with various teams across the organization, from research and exhibition design to architecture and construction. She has focused on projects such as the Purpose Built publication, the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), the African Leadership University (ALU), Western Serengeti Research Facility, and the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

Bethel received her Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Tech. Her senior thesis examined contemporary African architecture through the archeological remains of a 13th-century ruin in her native country of Ethiopia. While at Tech, she also worked with the design/build Lab where she played a role in the design and construction of the Smith Creek Park - a former tire factory, turned into a public amphitheater and recreational area, that is playing a key role in the revitalization of Clifton Forge, one of Virginia’s historic towns. Bethel was drawn to MASS's model of architectural practice out of an interest in understanding the significance of the built environment within economic, social, and cultural contexts.