The Burkinabe has become the first African to have his name inscribed on the list of winners of the Pritzker Prize, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in architecture created in 1979.
This is history. This Tuesday, the jury of the Pritzker Prize has chosen Francis Kéré. According to the organisers, the Burkinabe is being rewarded “for his commitment to social justice and the intelligent use of local materials to adapt and respond to the natural climate”.
Kéré is considered a pioneer of sustainable architecture with environmentally friendly buildings that are recognised as socially useful. In 2001, the 50-year-old winner built a school in his home village of Gando based on this concept.
In addition to Burkina Faso, the winner of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004 is also active in Benin, Mali, Togo, Kenya and Mozambique, designing schools, health structures, public buildings and housing.
The members of the jury particularly appreciated the artist’s ability to create wonders “in marginalised countries where constraints and difficulties are numerous and where architecture and infrastructure are absent”.
Kéré, who is also a German citizen, designed the summer pavilion at the Serpentine Galleries in London, England. His talent is now being exported to the United States and China.
The Pritzker Prize, awarded by the Hyatt Foundation, is the highest distinction in architecture. Last year, Frenchmen Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal were the lucky winners.
ID/lb/abj/APA