Since winning an Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004, Diébédo Francis Kéré has continued to garner accolades for his simple yet elegant work in his native country, Burkina Faso. One such honor—the BSI Swiss Architectural Award, given biennially by the BSI Architectural Foundation (a philanthropic arm of BSI Bank), with support from the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio and the Federal Office for Culture in Bern—led to the publication of this engaging book. The international award recognizes architects age 50 or younger who create sustainable architecture with aesthetic merit. Paraguay’s Solano Benitez was the first laureate, in 2008. Two years later, Kéré won the coveted 100,000-Swiss-franc prize, beating 27 other finalists, including Bjarke Ingels and Sou Fujimoto.
Kéré’s work is closely and fondly examined in this book, edited by architectural historian Nicola Navone. It features essays (in Italian and English) about Kéré by Mario Botta and Navone, supplemented by striking photographs of the people, landscapes, and buildings of Burkina Faso.
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