2022 Pritzker Prize Winner: Diébédo Francis Kéré

[View it in your browser]( [ArchDaily logo] Breaking News 15 March, 2022 Diébédo Francis Kéré Receives the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize The 2022 laureate of architecture’s highest honor, the [Pritzker Architecture Prize]( is Diébédo Francis Kéré, known as [Francis Kéré]( Burkina Faso-born architect, educator, social activist, receiver of the [2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture]( and designer of the [2017 Serpentine Pavilion](. Recognized for “empowering and transforming communities through the process of architecture”, Kéré, the first black architect to ever obtain this award, works mostly in areas charged with constraints and adversity, using [local materials and building contemporary facilities]( whose value exceeds the structure itself, serving and stabilizing the future of entire communities. “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,” explains the official statement of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Announced today by Tom Pritzker, Chairman of The Hyatt Foundation, Francis Kéré is the 51st winner of the award founded in 1979, succeeding [Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal](. Praised “for the gifts he has created through his work, gifts that go beyond the realm of the architecture discipline”, the [acclaimed architect is present equally in Burkina Faso and Germany]( professionally and personally. [SEE MORE »]( “I grew up in a community where there was no kindergarten, but where the community was your family. Everyone took care of you and the entire village was your playground. My days were filled with securing food and water, but also simply being together, talking together, building houses together. I remember the room where my grandmother would sit and tell stories with a little light, while we would huddle close to each other and her voice inside the room enclosed us, summoning us to come closer and form a safe place. This was my first sense of architecture.” – Francis Kéré, 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize Winner. With an architectural expression deeply rooted in his upbringing and experiences in Gando, Kéré communicated to the world West African tradition, especially the practice of “communing under a sacred tree to exchange ideas, narrate stories, celebrate and assemble”. In fact, for the 2[017 Serpentine Pavilion]( the architect imagined a structure that takes its shape from a tree, with a detached roof and disconnected yet curved walls formed by triangular indigo modules, the color representing strength in his culture and more personally, a blue boubou garment worn by the architect as a child. Inside the pavilion, rainwater is funneled into the center, highlighting water scarcity that is experienced worldwide. Beyond creating for the African continent, his built works also include structures in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some of his significant works are [Xylem at Tippet Rise Art Centre]( (2019, Montana, United States), [Léo Doctors’ Housing]( (2019, Léo, Burkina Faso), [Lycée Schorge Secondary School]( Koudougou, Burkina Faso), the [National Park of Mali]( (2010, Bamako, Mali) and [Opera Village]( (Phase I, 2010, Laongo, Burkina Faso). Stay tuned to ArchDaily’s coverage of the Pritzker Prize: [Read More »]( Follow Us: [ArchDaily Twitter]( [ArchDaily Instagram]( [ArchDaily Pinterest]( [ArchDaily Youtube]( [ArchDaily Facebook]( [Unsubscribe / Update Preferences]( [Privacy Policy]( [Contact us](mailto:support@archdaily.com) [Unsubscribe / Update Preferences]( [Privacy Policy]( [Contact us](mailto:support@archdaily.com) [ArchDaily logo] © All rights reserved. ArchDaily 2008-2022. Monseñor Carlos Casanueva 237, Providencia, Santiago 7510131, Chile. This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( ArchDaily · Monseñor Carlos Casanueva 0237 · Providencia · Santiago 7520253 · Chile