{"id":219944,"date":"2022-03-21T18:36:02","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T16:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/the-inspiring-architect-from-burkina-faso-who-lifted-worlds-biggest-prize\/"},"modified":"2022-03-21T18:36:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T16:36:02","slug":"the-inspiring-architect-from-burkina-faso-who-lifted-worlds-biggest-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/the-inspiring-architect-from-burkina-faso-who-lifted-worlds-biggest-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"The inspiring architect from Burkina Faso who lifted world’s biggest prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

Di\u00e9b\u00e9do Francis K\u00e9r\u00e9<\/a> has become the first African<\/a> and the first black person to be awarded<\/a> architecture\u2019s highest international honour, the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize<\/a>. K\u00e9r\u00e9 was born in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and built his architectural practice<\/a> designing schools and medical facilities that were most often built by local communities with minimal resources and a very careful selection of affordable and sustainable materials. It was this approach that led to his architecture firm<\/a> receiving global recognition. We asked architect and African architecture researcher Paulo Moreia to tell us more about K\u00e9r\u00e9 and his win.<\/em><\/p>\n

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An introduction to Francis K\u00e9r\u00e9<\/h2>\n

Francis K\u00e9r\u00e9<\/a> is a 56-year-old internationally renowned architect. He was born in Gando, a small village in Burkina Faso. He turned his destiny around through education, becoming one of the most representative figures in the African diaspora. <\/p>\n

As a child, Francis had to leave his family to attend school in the nearest town. Driven by his own optimism, and by the awareness that in his home country only education could make a difference, K\u00e9r\u00e9 moved to Berlin on a carpentry scholarship and to study architecture. Even before he finished his studies, he designed a primary school in Gando. <\/p>\n

In Germany he founded an association to raise funds to build the school, translated as \u2018Bricks for Gando\u2019, it was later renamed the K\u00e9r\u00e9 Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What kind of architecture is he known for?<\/h2>\n

The Gando school<\/a> is a model of sustainable building. Its features include allowing cooling air to pass through and around the building. Another is its innovative use of widely available local resources \u2013 both materials and unskilled labour.<\/p>\n

It has become an example of the power of architecture to uplift and inspire.<\/p>\n

The first school<\/a> built using this model \u2013 in Gando in 2001 \u2013 encouraged the implementation of further projects: another school, then a library. These buildings, in turn, have attracted other buildings around them \u2013 and even the neighbouring villages have built their own schools following Gando\u2019s cooperative approach. <\/p>\n

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The Village-Opera school designed by K\u00e9r\u00e9, in Laongo in Gabon.<\/span> OLYMPIA DE MAISMONT\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When architecture has such an impact in the context where it operates, it can only be described as a powerful type of architecture. The impact extended to the whole nation. Less than 15 years after building his first school, K\u00e9r\u00e9 was invited to design Burkina Faso\u2019s national parliament<\/a>. It also extended beyond the country\u2019s borders \u2013 across the continent and then further afield. In Africa there have been projects in Benin, Kenya, Mali and Mozambique. Worldwide there have been projects in Europe, America and Asia. K\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s school inspired my own work<\/a> as an architect in Angola.<\/p>\n

What is the Pritzker Prize?<\/h2>\n

It is architecture\u2019s highest honour. It\u2019s granted each year to architects whose work has achieved excellence. This year it is in its 45th edition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Read more: Homage to the forest tree: Architect Francis K\u00e9r\u00e9 pays tribute to his African roots<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Historically, the prize honoured the designers of iconic buildings, but in the last few years this seems to have changed. In 2021 a French duo Lacaton & Vassal<\/a> were recognised for their advocacy of social justice and sustainability. In 2016 the Chilean Alejandro Aravena<\/a> won the award for his design of several social housing projects and in 2014 it was awarded to<\/a> Japanese architect Shigeu Ban. Besides creating architecture, Shigeu Ban also volunteers for disaster relief.<\/p>\n

Why does K\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s win matter?<\/h2>\n

In these convoluted times, K\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s work is a magnificent example of the potential of architecture to provide a better future and to catalyse progress on a local scale. His projects<\/a> show how the architect\u2019s role is not just to design walls, doors, windows and roofs \u2013 although he does all of those too, with great quality, elegance, rigour and beauty. His work shows strong climate and budget concerns, along with the will to engage local communities in the design and construction of the buildings themselves.<\/p>\n

K\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s work suggests that only once buildings are inhabited can we know if their architecture truly suits them. For instance, an oversailing metal roof which provides shade from the brutal sun and protects the walls from the rain might become an unintended playground for children, who like to climb roofs as if they were trees. <\/p>\n

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The design of London\u2019s 2017 Serpentine Pavilion was commissioned from K\u00e9r\u00e9.<\/span> Shutterstock<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His sensibility for using local resources and adapting buildings to their surroundings has become an inspiration for many other architects.<\/p>\n

How could K\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s work make the world a better place?<\/h2>\n

K\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s work resonates on a global scale. His buildings are acts of social transformation. Above and beyond any architectural discourse, they create the conditions for cultivating civic responsibility and promoting self-empowerment.<\/p>\n

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Read more: Young female South African architect reinvents Serpentine Pavilion in London<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Once again, looking back to the beginning of his career, which set the basis for his approach to architecture, K\u00e9r\u00e9\u2019s decision to compensate the support for his childhood studies with a school building was not coincidental. He knew that as a first public institution, the school would enable the population to begin to acquire a proper civic voice \u2013 eventually becoming participants in the destiny of their village and country, instead of merely being affected by it.<\/p>\n

If this vision was applied elsewhere, the world would definitely be a better place.<\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Di\u00e9b\u00e9do Francis K\u00e9r\u00e9 has become the first African and the first black person to be awarded architecture\u2019s highest international honour, the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize. K\u00e9r\u00e9 was born in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and built his architectural practice designing schools and medical facilities that were most often built by local communities with minimal resources and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219945,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-219944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/the-inspiring-architect-from-burkina-faso-who-lifted-worlds-biggest-prize.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}