12 Women in Construction March 2026
PROFILE:
Allison Adamson
Empathy might not be the first word that comes to mind when thinking of architecture, but for Allison Adamson, it’ s a key quality that she brings to her work at Build Health International( BHI).
ARCHITECT
BUILD HEALTH INTERNATIONAL
Allison started at BHI as an intern. Over the past 10 years, she has grown and developed her skills in architecture and medical planning, earning her official architecture license and accompanying stamp in 2023. During her first summer at BHI, she participated in international field work, which has contributed to her designs. She prioritizes learning about the people she is designing with and for and believes in communicating and collaborating extensively with them.
This focus on relationship building and empathy has paid off through her work on a new maternity hospital, the Maternal Center of Excellence, in Sierra Leone. Allison has worked on the project for multiple years, from its conceptual design to tiny details, like figuring out how to procure the most effective hospital door locksets. She’ s further refined her medical planning skills, including determining critical adjacencies – or which rooms in a hospital need to flow into each other to be most effective for patient care.
Allison reflects on the wonder and appreciation she felt visiting the site last year, and the joy of seeing the 2D plans she developed come to life. She is especially proud of the facility’ s courtyard, which was designed as a place of respite for patients and their families. It includes local plants to enhance the sense of calm and beauty. Allison’ s ability to put herself in a patient’ s shoes when they are in a healing state has led to a thoughtfully designed space that will provide compassionate, dignified care for moms and babies.
One unique aspect of the Maternal Center of Excellence is the large percentage of women working on its construction. Allison has forged strong friendships with them, and they still keep in touch.“ I have been honored to build friendships with some of them,” she says.“ I always get excited when they text me about their day on site, and they often lift me up when I’ m stressed, which I think goes back to how strong and powerful they are.”
During a particularly busy week, Hawa Baryoh, who served as facilities manager for the site, said to Allison:“ You need to be busy, because it’ s the job. So I’ m happy for you. It’ s because you’ re capable [ of doing ] it; that’ s why they choose you.”
In addition to her work in Sierra Leone, Allison is now working on a set of healthcare guidelines for Rwanda. Her extensive research has allowed her to become a stronger medical planner.
Allison is thankful to those who have supported her journey including her parents, teachers, husband, and coworkers. Her advice to younger architects?“ Trust yourself and be confident! Find the people who are going to support and champion you and let you make a few mistakes, figure out what you really want to do, and allow you to excel in it.”
Allison and Hawa Baryoh assessing, organizing, and prepping doors for installation.
In 2020, Allison led workshops with community members in Kono, Sierra Leone, which informed the final design of the maternal health facility.
Allison( left) with several members of the women-led construction team at the site of the Maternal Center of Excellence in Kono, Sierra Leone. She has overseen the project for multiple years. www. high-profile. com