Diébédo Francis Kéré has been announced the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate. The architect, educator and social activist, who was born in Gando, Burkina Faso and is currently based in Berlin, Germany, has distinguished himself in his field for his sensitive, clever and considered designs that offer inventive and important solutions to key topics dominating current global discourse – from sustainable architecture to social action and equity concerns, housing and more. Works such as the Startup Lions ICT Center, which scooped Best Public Building: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2022, have been instrumental in making him a leading voice in architecture today – leading up to the coveted 2022 Pritzker Prize win, which makes him the first black architect to receive it.
Not that this means that the architect is ready to rest on his laurels. ‘I am hoping to change the paradigm, push people to dream and undergo risk. It is not because you are rich that you should waste material. It is not because you are poor that you should not try to create quality,’ says Kéré. ‘Everyone deserves quality, everyone deserves luxury, and everyone deserves comfort. We are interlinked and concerns in climate, democracy and scarcity are concerns for us all.’
The Pritzker Prize panel praised Kéré’s work for its intelligent use of local materials, site-specific approach, connection with nature and support of marginalised communities.
‘Francis Kéré is pioneering architecture – sustainable to the Earth and its inhabitants – in lands of extreme scarcity. He is equally architect and servant, improving upon the lives and experiences of countless citizens in a region of the world that is at times forgotten,’ said Thomas Pritzker, chairman of The Hyatt Foundation, which supports the award. ‘Through buildings that demonstrate beauty, modesty, boldness and invention, and by the integrity of his architecture and geste, Kéré gracefully upholds the mission of this Prize.’
Xylem by Kéré Architecture, at Tippet Rise in Montana, US. Courtesy of Tippet Rise Art Center
Kéré’s portfolio features globally acclaimed projects – the Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana (USA) and the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion in London (UK) are among them, while his breakthrough work was possibly the Gando Primary School in his native Burkina Faso, completed in 2008 in close collaboration with the local community. More buildings are underway, among them the Benin National Assembly, a typically nature-inspired design that is also intrinsically linked to local culture. His treatment of light was also praised by the jury, and is something Kéré recently explored through a visual series looking at light and architecture, created with photographer Iwan Baan during a trip to Burkina Faso.
Past Pritzker Architecture Prize winners make for a star-studded list, including, over the years, names such as Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Herzog & de Meuron. Last year’s award, the 2021 Pritzker Prize, was presented to French duo Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, for their sustainable and innovative approach, in particular to housing schemes.
Xylem by Kéré Architecture, at Tippet Rise in Montana, US. Courtesy of Tippet Rise Art Center
Serpentine Pavilion 2017 designed by Francis Kéré, was open until 8 October 2017 Copyright: Kéré Architecture
Design for the Benin National Assembly
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