"Through his commitment to social justice and the intelligent use of local materials to adapt and respond to the natural climate, he works in marginalized countries, where constraints and difficulties are many and where architecture and infrastructure is absent," Pritzker Prize organizers said in a statement.
This is the first time that an architect from an African country has received the distinction that has already crowned the greatest names in architecture such as Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid or Jean Nouvel.
Many of Kéré's works are located on the African continent, notably in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Kenya or Mozambique, but he has also been commissioned pavilions and installations in Europe and the United States.
He is particularly known for his involvement in projects with strong potential for public use.
“He builds contemporary educational institutions, health facilities, professional housing, civic buildings and public spaces, often in countries where resources are fragile and brotherhood is vital,” adds the Pritzker Prize.
Among his flagship achievements is the primary school in Gando, the Burkinabè village where he was born and where he has carried out other projects.
For the organizers of the Pritzker Prize, this school "lays the foundations of its ideology: to build a source with and for a community in order to meet an essential need and correct social inequalities".
The school is designed to withstand the heat and limited resources and its success has led to the construction of teachers' accommodation, the extension of the school and a new library.
© 2022 AFP