Francis Kéré
THE NATURAL, HUMBLE AND INSPIRATIONAL ARCHITECTURE OF DIÉBÉDO FRANCIS KÉRÉ
JOANNA HELM
Interview
URBAN ZINTEL
Photography
OVER THE LAST DECADE, AFRICAN ARCHITECTURE HAS RECEIVED DESERVED INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION, MUCH OF IT FOCUSSED ON DIÉBÉDO FRANCIS KÉRÉ. ORIGINALLY BORN IN THE VILLAGE OF GANDO, IN BURKINA FASO, HE TRAINED AS AN ARCHITECT AT THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN. HIS WORK INCLUDES THE GANDO PRIMARY SCHOOL, WHICH WAS BUILT IN 2004 AND LATER RECEIVED RECOGNITION WITH THE PRESTIGIOUS AGA KHAN AWARD FOR ARCHITECTURE. IN 2022, KÉRÉ RECEIVED THE PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE, BECOMING THE FIRST AFRICAN ARCHITECT TO DO SO.
Based in both Germany and Burkina Faso, he explores the boundaries between Western architecture and local practice. Recognised for “empowering and transforming communities through the process of architecture”, Francis Kéré received the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize, becoming the first African architect to do so.
In addition to being an architect, he is also an educator, social activist and winner of various awards. He works in regions known for their adversities, using local materials and constructing contemporary buildings, whose value surpasses the structure itself, serving the future of entire communities, as well as involving them in the process. Kéré goes beyond the conventional limits of architecture and touches on assorted topics, such as the local economy, migrations, culture and equity. Recently, he visited Portugal, where he will be working on a project in the Comporta region.
© Erik Jan Ouwerkerk
SCHOOL LIBRARY, RECEPTION HALL, 2010
© Francis Kéré
TEACHER’S HOUSING GANDO, BURKINA FASO, 2004
© Erik Jan Ouwerkerk
PRIMARY SCHOOL EXTENSION, GANDO, BURKINA FASO, 2008
© Erik Jan Ouwerkerk
When did you first discover and become interested in the world of architecture?
I was interested in architecture a long time before I discovered that there was a “world of architecture”. As a young child, I enjoyed watching how light and shadow created patterns in rooms made by humans.
As a student, I found myself disliking the classrooms where I was supposed to learn. They were dark, hot, and crammed. I was already wondering if there was a way to change things. To make space more comfortable, like my childhood homes were comfortable. So, I understood early on that buildings could be great or not so great. My simple wish to make better classrooms led me to carpentry and construction sites, and eventually to the study of architecture.
In addition to your concern for education, environment and health, your work often inspires people because of your use of materials associated with vernacular techniques and innovative forms (e.g., soil
and wood). With that in mind, what can you tell us about your first projects in Gando?
I was never interested in the materials because of what people associated with them. I worked with them due to limitations. We had very limited financial resources for those buildings, and Gando is quite remote. So, I decided to be innovative within these constraints, making use of materials that were cheap, available and familiar to local workers.
This approach has served me well throughout the world. The reason certain materials are used in the vernacular or traditional architecture of a certain region is often because they’re available. And if that’s still the case, then that is what I use.
PRIMARY SCHOOL, GANDO, BURKINA FASO, 2001
© Enrico Cano
Nowadays, everything seems to be touted as sustainable. What does ‘sustainable’ mean to you and how do your projects address it?
That term has been stretched to its limit. Much lip service is paid, but little effort made to look at it in detail. Because of this, you can easily use it to greenwash certain efforts, but it’s also easy to criticise something if you have a limited idea of the meaning.
I try to use it with care. And I’m also quite pragmatic, so I always weigh my options. For example, I used a little bit of concrete to strengthen the clay bricks in Burkina Faso. This way I was able to revive a material that many didn’t want to use anymore. I did this by using concrete but in a much smaller amount than if it was used on its own.
Then I think about maintenance. How long will a building be around? Who can take care of it? How easily can it be fixed?
Rather than just a label or certificate, you could say sustainability is a continuous conversation. One of the most important ones!
You recently visited to Comporta, in Portugal, where you’re involved in a project. What were your impressions of the place?
For me, the most important aspect of the Comporta project is stakeholders following a fully integrated sustainable way of working. To be part of such a collaboration, working with inspiring experts in their respective fields, is incredible.
This is especially important, as the landscape itself calls for extreme care, in terms of what is built and how. Those beautiful sand dunes and surrounding pine forest, with the sea so close by, are a joy to wander through. It’s an honour and dream to imagine what a respectful human presence can look like here.
In what way do you feel inspired by this project? What kind of approach and vision do you plan to take?
Of course, the area is one of the few remaining protected nature zones that can be developed. That said, there are immense restrictions designed to ensure the ecological impact is kept to a bare minimum. It’s the kind of framework that lets my imagination soar. I believe that the creativity we unleash when working within restrictions, especially those that are environmentally friendly, has a better chance of lasting.
I intend to let the sensitivity and fragility of the landscape act as guides. Just like finding the right spots for acupuncture needles, I want to place buildings that will merge into these unbelievable surroundings. Nature shouldn’t have to make way for human intervention, but rather our design should find the spots where it can slot it without disruption.
For the project, we will be working with wood, which is a resource that can be replenished. I love working with it. To explore on this scale, in a country that means so much to me, a place with so many innovative architects, is one of the most exciting prospects. I aim to bring my own vision of what we can do with wood and to work within this team, so that together we can create something truly incredible that shows what sustainability can and should be today.
The more I think about it, the more I realise its potential and how much I want to get going.
SERPENTINE PAVILION, LONDON, UK, 2017
© Iwan Baan
Looking back on all these years producing architectural solutions, is there any project or moment that you would like to highlight, something that made you feel particularly proud? Also, is there any dream project you’d like to do?
Too many to count. Both big and small. Maybe nothing will ever top opening the Gando Primary School in the presence of my father. And then of course there is the recognition and awards. What still makes me the proudest are the schools. We’ve seen children graduate for 20 years now!
The fact that I was entrusted with the National Assembly in Benin is also unbelievable, and to see my work recognised this year with the Pritzker Prize is something I may never be able to put into words.
A big dream of mine is to build a museum, while continuing to expand the educational infrastructure in Gando. Both are possible, I’m sure!
Education has obviously played a significant role in your career, whether building schools or with your teaching. What is the power of education for you?
The same as for everyone who is privileged, or lucky enough, to receive an education: opportunity. I’m one of those who believes that talent is equally distributed across the globe. However, what isn’t equally available is access to education and opportunities. School is the first step towards changing that.
I know this through personal experience and I will continue pushing for this, both to provide education and to remind those who take it for granted that it’s a precious gift.
SARBALÉ KE PAVILION, «THE HOUSE OF CELEBRATION», INDIO, USA, 2019
© Iwan Baan
© Francis Kéré
In terms of African architecture, how significant is your Pritzker Prize? What is your view of the new generation of talented architects emerging in Africa?
It’s certainly motivating, not only for up-and-coming architects, but also for the people who commission architecture across the world. I’m not the first and, luckily, I won’t be the last. However, just like with education, we need opportunities and visibility. So, hopefully, this will also make people look for talent where before they didn’t.
Could you tell us how the Kéré Foundation came about and how it works?
I created the Kéré Foundation because it was necessary to raise money to build Gando Primary School and develop the structure over time.
Today, we still raise funds that allow us to continue expanding the educational infrastructure in Gando. My architecture studio provides the planning service for free, and we always have projects waiting to be built. In return, the work we do with the foundation allows us to try out new architectural innovations, like the clay walls for the High School. Like this, it’s also a terrific way of pushing architectural practice further. And finally, the building sites employ many workers who are trained in the construction techniques we have developed. In this way, it has become a bespoke operation that offers multiple benefits.
LYCÉE SCHORGE, KOUDOUGOU, BURKINA FASO, 2016
© Iwan Baan
