Pritzker Prize 2022: Congratulations to Francis Kéré!

According to the jury's statement from Chicago, "He intuitively knows that architecture is not about the object, but about the goal; not about the product, but about the process. His buildings, for and with communities, are directly of those communities - in their creation, their materials, their programs, and their unique characters." For this reason, in addition to the Pritzker Prize, he has already received almost all the major awards, his work is shown in the most prestigious museums in the world, and he teaches at the most important architecture faculties.

The beginning of an impressive career
 

Francis Kéré was born the eldest son of the chief of Gando, a village in Burkina Faso. When he was seven years old, his father sent him to the city to be the first villager to learn to read and write. An abrupt end to his childhood, because Kéré had to do heavy work for his host family, including carting in building materials with the help of a donkey. "In the process, I noticed that we had to repair the clay plaster of the houses after every rainy season. That's why at that time I thought about how to do things better so that a child wouldn't have to do this hard work." The idea to modernize the local huts was born. In realizing this idea, he became one of the most innovative builders in the world, a pioneer in social architecture. His focus is on the needs of people and nature, regional materials and traditions.

The most important project of his life

Kéré's professional life began with an apprenticeship as a carpenter. He then received a scholarship and went to study architecture at the TU Berlin. At that time, he already began building a school that would bring him worldwide fame, the Aga Khan Award-winning elementary school in Gando. Today he says: "My most important achievement in my life is that I had the courage to say: Let's build a school out of clay.” After all, with this project he has demonstrated how the oldest and most ecological building material can be made more resistant to contemporary demands - with the addition of a small quantity of cement. Moreover, the building does not need air conditioning, which is how Kéré made a name for himself as an expert in air circulation.