The 2022 Pritzker Prize Goes to a Visionary Architect From Burkina Faso — Bravo, Says Our Critic

The announcement in March of this year’s Pritzker Prize for architecture makes a star of Francis Kéré, a remarkable visionary from the village of Gando, in Burkina Faso. Bravo, I say. Bravo.Mr. Kéré is the first black winner of the Pritzker. He is the eldest son of his village chieftain and the first to attend school in a nearby village. From his days in a poorly lit, unventilated structure, he vowed to create better schools in the future that his current career in architecture has provided.Gando Primary School. Photo courtesy of Erik-Jan OwerkerkThe dreamer received a scholarship to study carpentry at Berlin and thereafter funding for a degree in architecture at its Technische Universitat. He went back to build in his local village both housing and schools, plus a library funded by his Kéré Foundation.Fluent in five languages, Mr. Kéré is operating now out of the German capital, itself an inspiring city, designing striking structures, including one for the national assembly in Burkina Faso to be built in the months ahead. “Francis Kéré,” Tom Pritzker’s team noted in a press release, “is pioneering architecture — sustainable to the earth and its inhabitants — in lands of extreme scarcity. He is equally architect and servant, improving upon the lives and experiences of countless citizens in a region of the world that is at times forgotten. 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.”Mr. Kéré created a striking set of tents for the 2019 Coachella Arts Festival in the California desert. The tents are made to resemble his native baobab tree, where people often gather to chat under its abundant shade. They reflect his native voice and brilliant colorful imagination. He joins the heralded Pritzker award winners from Philip Johnson to Richard Meier and 40 more architects of worldwide fame.Coachella Arts Festival tents, 2019. Indio, California. Photo courtesy of Iwan BaanMr. Kéré is a beacon in the field of modern architecture as he reflects the use of local materials to meet community needs. “Everyone deserves quality, everyone deserves luxury, and everyone deserves comfort,” Mr. Kéré said. “We are interlinked, and concerns in climate, democracy, and scarcity are concerns for us all.”The jury for the award consists of nine members from diverse backgrounds of design, art history, higher education, diplomacy, and even law, with Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court currently serving in the group. The award is $100,000 plus a bronze medallion. It is inscribed with a Latin motto, Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas, meaning firmness, commodity, and delight as the fundamentals of great architecture. First awarded by Jay and Cindy Pritzker in 1979, the ceremony takes place in a highly visible, architecturally significant location each year.

The 2022 Pritzker Prize Goes to a Visionary Architect From Burkina Faso — Bravo, Says Our Critic

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