Francis Keré is the first African architect to receive the Pritzker Prize for Architecture,
Architect Diébidou Francis Keré, from Burkina Faso, received the Pritzker Prize for Engineering,
as one of the pioneers of sustainable buildings linked to serving the population.
Keré is the first African to receive this award. The Pritzker Prize organizers saw that Keré,
“through his commitment to social justice and the intelligent use of local materials to adapt to the natural climate,
works in marginalized countries where restrictions and difficulties abound and lack architecture and infrastructure.” .
Kyrie’s fame is due to the fact that he designed projects related to daily life, such as schools,
and many of the facilities bearing his signature may be located on the African continent,
especially in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Kenya and Mozambique.
Kyrie’s fame is due to the fact that he designed projects related to daily life, such as schools,
and many of the facilities bearing his signature may be located on the African continent, especially in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Kenya and Mozambique.
Kerih has designed contemporary educational institutions, health facilities,
corporate and civic residential buildings, and public spaces.
They are often located in countries where resources are fragile,
according to the organizers of the Hyatt Foundation’s Pritzker Prize.
Francis Keré is the first African architect to receive the Pritzker Prize for Architecture
The 57-year-old architect, Kerih, who also holds German citizenship, has not only been in Africa,
but his work has also spread to other regions of the world.
His international fame expanded, with projects assigned to him in Europe and the United States.
In 2004 he was previously awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
The Pritzker Prize was awarded last year to the French “Jean-Philippe Vassal” and “Anne Lacaton”.
And his decades-long journey to the top of his field was far from straightforward, with limited opportunities in his village.
“I grew up in a community where there was no kindergarten,
but the whole community was your family,” Kereh said while receiving the Pritzker Prize.
At the age of seven, Kerry found himself crammed into a sweltering classroom with more than 100 other students, as the first child in his community to attend school.
This experience in a dilapidated school was his first inspiration to improve the educational lives of Burkina Faso children, using architecture.
The dream became a reality after years and after studying in Germany,
where Mr. Kerry designed a primary school in his village of Gando as his first building in 2001.
It was built with a large contribution from local residents, who contributed manpower and resources,
according to the award’s website.
The Pritzker Prize is the most important award in the profession, and is equivalent to the Nobel Prize in engineering.
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