Internationally renowned Burkinabè architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has been announced as the winner of the Architecture category of the 2023 Praemium Imperiale Awards.
Francis Kéré photographed at Kéré Architecture, Berlin, in May 2023. ©️ The Japan Art Association / The Sankei Shimbun.
Burkinabè architect Francis Kéré – full name Diébédo Francis Kéré – has been announced as the winner of the Architecture category of the 2023 Praemium Imperiale Awards. Recognised for his pioneering approach to design and sustainable modes of construction, Kéré’s vocation to become an architect comes from a personal commitment to serve the community he grew up in, and a belief in the transformative potential of beauty.
By combining local materials and skills with innovative design and smart engineering solutions, while maintaining a focus on working with local communities, Diébédo Francis Kéré has transformed architecture not only in Burkina Faso, but also across Africa and beyond.
Gando Primary School, 2001, Burkina Faso. Photograph by Siméon Duchoud.
Kéré had to leave home when he was only 7 in order to be able to attend school. Studying in dark, hot, unventilated classrooms instilled in him the desire to make better buildings and his career as architect. He studied in Germany and established the Kéré Foundation to raise money for his ambition to design and build a school for his birthplace. In all his projects in Africa, Kéré has focused on providing simple, achievable plans for buildings that utilise the skills and energies of the local community – employing traditional building materials and marrying them with modern design. Kéré’s designs weave together elements of traditional African design, with modern architecture, as revealed in the colours of Coachella’s Sarbalé Ke (2019), the wooden patterns of Xylem (2019) at Tippet’s Rise, USA, and his constant referencing of trees – of their central role in providing shade and a social centre (Serpentine Pavilion 2017).
Lycée Shorge Secondary School, 2016, Burkina Faso. Photograph by Andrea Maretto.
Since 1989, the Praemium Imperiale Awards have been given annually in the categories of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Music and Theatre/Film; covering fields of achievement not represented by the Nobel Prizes. Each Laureate receives an honorarium of 15 million Yen (c. £90,000). The awards are given by the Japan Art Association under the honorary patronage of HIH Prince Hitachi, younger brother of the Emperor Emeritus of Japan. Previous British winners include David Hockney, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, David Chipperfield, Judi Dench, Anthony Caro and Tony Cragg.
Rendering of the facade of Benin National Assembly, courtesy of Kéré Architecture.
