In this episode of Ecogradia, Nirmal Kishnani speaks with Nina Maritz, a maverick architect from Namibia who succeeds in creating efficient and appealing buildings despite tight budgets, difficult-to-reach sites and harsh climates. “Less is more” is her approach to an architecture that, despite these challenges, enhances the human condition without damaging the environment.

She founded her eponymous firm 25 years ago which now has an oeuvre that defies categorisation. Her buildings are sometimes rational vernacular — sensible, rooted in climate and site, striving for passive comfort. Sometimes they are outright idiosyncratic — organic, poetic and deeply personal.