Architect · Burkina Faso · Born 1965
Francis Kéré Biography, Buildings and Best Books
Burkinabé-German architect (born 1965) whose schools in his home village of Gando turned local clay, shade and community building into internationally celebrated architecture.
Photo: Astrid Eckert, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Biography
Diébédo Francis Kéré (born 1965) is an architect from Burkina Faso, based in Berlin, whose buildings combine local materials such as compressed earth with simple, climate-responsive ideas like raised roofs and natural ventilation. Beginning with a primary school in his home village of Gando, his work has grown to include schools, health centres, parliaments and pavilions across Africa, Europe and the United States. In 2022 he became the first African architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Gando and a scholarship to Berlin
Kéré was born in 1965 in Gando, a village without electricity or running water, the eldest son of the village chief and the first child there to attend school. He trained as a carpenter, and in 1985 a scholarship took him to Germany for vocational training. He later studied architecture at the Technical University of Berlin, graduating in 2004, and while still a student founded an association to raise funds for a school in Gando.
The Gando Primary School
The Gando Primary School, completed in 2001 with villagers working on the site, used compressed clay bricks made by hand and a lightweight metal roof lifted above the classrooms so that hot air could escape. The project won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004. Kéré founded his practice, Kéré Architecture, in Berlin in 2005 and continued to build in Gando, adding a school extension (2008), teachers’ housing, a library and a secondary school.
Schools, health and public buildings
From Gando his work expanded to the Lycée Schorge in Koudougou (2016), the Burkina Institute of Technology, the Centre for Health and Social Welfare in Laongo, the Startup Lions Campus in Turkana, Kenya (2021), and a design for the National Assembly of Burkina Faso. In each, local labour, earth and stone and passive cooling are central to the architecture.
Pavilions and the Pritzker Prize
Kéré’s architecture has also travelled. He designed the Serpentine Pavilion in London in 2017, with a canopy inspired by the tree under which people gather in Gando, as well as installations for festivals and museums in Europe and the United States. In 2022 he received the Pritzker Prize, the first African-born laureate.
Francis Kéré: Building Stories
TASCHEN’s 444-page monograph tells the stories behind Kéré’s buildings, from the first school in Gando to his recent public projects, in his own words.
View on Amazon
Timeline
- 1965Born on 10 April in Gando, Burkina Faso.
- 1985Moves to Germany on a scholarship.
- 2001Completes the Gando Primary School.
- 2004Graduates from TU Berlin; the Gando school wins the Aga Khan Award.
- 2005Founds Kéré Architecture in Berlin.
- 2008Completes the Gando School extension.
- 2016Completes the Lycée Schorge in Koudougou.
- 2017Designs the Serpentine Pavilion in London.
- 2021Completes the Startup Lions Campus in Kenya.
- 2022Receives the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Best Books on Francis Kéré
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Francis Kéré known for?
Francis Kéré is known for schools and community buildings in Burkina Faso and across Africa that use local materials such as compressed earth and simple climate strategies such as raised roofs and natural ventilation, beginning with the Gando Primary School. In 2022 he became the first African architect to receive the Pritzker Prize.
What are Francis Kéré’s most famous buildings?
His best-known works include the Gando Primary School and its extensions, the Lycée Schorge in Koudougou, the Centre for Health and Social Welfare in Laongo, the Startup Lions Campus in Kenya and the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion in London.
What is the best book on Francis Kéré?
Francis Kéré: Building Stories (TASCHEN) is the most complete book on his work. Radically Simple, published with the Architekturmuseum der TU München, is a strong introduction.
What is Francis Kéré’s architectural style?
Kéré’s architecture is grounded in place. It uses earth, stone and timber, often made with the community, with large overhanging roofs, shaded spaces and ventilation that respond to the hot climate.
Where can I see Francis Kéré’s architecture?
Most of his buildings are in Burkina Faso, including the schools in Gando and the Lycée Schorge in Koudougou. His Startup Lions Campus is in Turkana, Kenya, and his pavilions and installations have appeared in London, Venice and other cities.
