“Through his commitment to social justice and the intelligent use of local materials to adapt and respond to the natural climate, he works in marginalized countries, where constraints and difficulties are numerous and where architecture and infrastructure are absent”, they explain the Pritzker organizers. Award in press release. It's the first sometimes for a citizen of an African country to receive the distinction that has crowned the greatest names in architecture such as Frank Gehry, Tadao Andō, Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid or Jean Nouvel.
Many of Diébédo Francis Kéré's works are located on the African continent, namely in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Kenya and Mozambique, but they have also been commissioned for pavilions and installations in Europe and the USA. He is particularly known for his involvement in projects with high potential for public use.
“Vital fraternity”
“He developed contemporary educational institutions, healthcare facilities, professional housing, civic buildings and public spaces, often in to do countries where resources are fragile and fraternity is vital”, adds the Pritzker Prize committee.
Among his main achievements is the primary school in Gando, the Burkinabe village where he was born and where he led other projects. For the organizers of the Pritzker Prize, this school “lays the foundations of its ideology: building a source with and for a community, in order to satisfy an essential need and correct social inequalities”. The facility was designed to withstand heat and operate with limited resources, and its success led to its expansion, the construction of faculty housing, and a new library.
(With AFP)
