Pritzker Architecture Prize, architecture’s most prestigious honour has been awarded to Burkina Faso-born architect Diebedo Francis Kere. He is the first African and the 51st recipient to win this illustrious award.The first award was given in 1979.
Tom Pritzker, chairman of the Hyatt Foundation that sponsors the award said that the award came as a recognition for Kere’s pioneering” designs. The uniqueness of his designs was that they are “sustainable to the earth and its inhabitants in lands of extreme scarcity.”
The Prize organisers complemented him for working in marginalized countries under constraints and adversity. His commitment to social justice and engagement, and intelligent use of local materials to connect and respond to the natural climate was his unique contribution. His innovative designs were adopted for building schools, health facilities, housing, civic buildings and public spaces across Africa including Burkina Faso, Benin, Mali and Sudan. His 2001 project for a primary school in Gando village, his village in Burkina Faso won him acclaim.
Instead of concrete which is used usually for building school, Kere’s innovative design combined local clay, fortified with cement, to form bricks that helped keep the interior cool. The building was protected from heavy rain by a slanting raised tin roof that also helped air circulation.
In 2017, Kere became the first African architect to design the Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Hyde Park, a prestigious assignment awarded each year to a prominent architect. Kere, 56, is a dual citizen of Burkina Faso and Germany.
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