Diébédo Francis Kéré received a Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2022

On March 15, the jury of the American Pritzker Prize announced the 2022 laureate. They became Diébédo Francis Kere, a native of the African country of Burkina Faso. As noted by the jury, this architect received a prestigious award not only for designing buildings but also for the way his projects unite local communities in the different African countries where he works. Previously, many star architects from different countries have received the award, this year for the first time an African became the Pritzker laureate.

"Kere raises fundamental questions about the value of the durability of architecture in the context of constant technological change and the use and reuse of building structures. At the same time, he develops a modern humanism that expresses deep respect for history, tradition, craftsmanship, written and unwritten rules of architecture,” - said the Jury of the Award, justifying their choice.

Star of Africa and Pritzker laureate. Who is Diebedu Kere

Diébédo Francis Kere was born in 1965 in the village of Gando in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the west of the equatorial belt of Africa. In 2014 and 2022 Burkina Faso has experienced humanitarian upheavals, the country is in a humanitarian crisis with 1.7 million displaced people and 3.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN High Commissioner for Relief.

Kere was born in a village where there was no school, so his father sent him to the city to study. In 1985, Kere moved to Germany, where he studied as a carpenter during the day and took a high school course. After that, he received higher architectural education at the Technical University of Berlin and opened his practice.

Push people to dream - Architecture of Diebedu Kere

Living in Europe, Diébédo Francis Kéré is actively building in his homeland and in other African countries. One of his most popular projects is the elementary school in his native village. To build it, he uses local materials and attracts residents, thus contributing to the cohesion of local communities. A challenge for African architecture is the heat, so in their projects, Managers use techniques such as double roofs, closed towers, and rooms indicating the location of the openings of ordinary doors and windows for ventilation, as well as techniques for indirect rather than direct lighting of rooms.

Francis Kéré formulates his credo of Diebedou as follows: “I dream of changing the paradigm, pushing people towards dreams, and overcoming risks. These are universal desires, as we are all concerned with climate, availability, and scarcity."