https://www.architecturalrecord.com/rss/2213 en-us http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/18172 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:33 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/18172-kere-architecture-completes-the-goethe-institut-dakar http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17550 Fri, 23 May 2025 10:07:50 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17550-kere-architecturedesigned-thomas-sankara-mausoleum-opens-in-burkina-faso http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16879 Mon, 29 Apr 2024 15:10:54 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16879-work-kicks-off-on-kere-architectures-all-timber-daycare-center-at-munich-technical-university Architectural Record’s Innovation conference, where the 2022 Pritzker Prize winner will give the keynote, his only public presentation in the U.S. this year.]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15875 Tue, 18 Oct 2022 01:01:53 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15875-come-hear-pritzker-laureate-francis-kere-in-person-in-new-york-tomorrow http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15563 Tue, 15 Mar 2022 09:59:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15563-diebedo-francis-kere-named-2022-pritzker-laureate Kere high res.jpg Francis Kéré. Photo @ Lars Borges / Kéré's Surgical Clinic and Health Centre in Léo, Burkina Faso. Photo courtesy Francis Kéré Pritzker-05.jpg Kéré's Lycée Schorge in Koudougou, Burkina Faso. Photo courtesy Francis Kéré Pritzker-04.jpg Kéré's Opera Village in Laongo, Burkina Faso. Photo courtesy Francis Kéré Pritzker-02.jpg Kéré's National Park of Mali in Bamako. Photo courtesy Francis Kéré  Pritzker-03.jpg Kéré's 2017 Serpentine Pavilion in London. Photo courtesy Francis Kéré Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Beartooth Mountains, a surprisingly intimate structure of vertical pine logs offers a serene place of respite for visitors to the arts center.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14171 Fri, 12 Jul 2019 04:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14171-francis-keres-new-pavilion-at-tippet-rise-in-montana Francis-Kere-New-Pavilion-01.jpg Xylem by Francis Kéré is nestled into a stand of aspen and cottonwood trees, close to South Grove Creek and the Tiara Acoustic Shell (seen here in the distance, at left). Photo © Iwan Baan Francis-Kere-New-Pavilion-02.jpg Some 40,000 linear feet of logs were used to create Xylem by Francis Kéré. Photo © Iwan Baan Francis-Kere-New-Pavilion-03.jpg Vertical bundles of ponderosa and lodgepole pine logs step down into the space at different elevations, allowing dappled light to filter through. Photo © Iwan Baan Francis-Kere-New-Pavilion-04.jpg Each hexagon in the canopy contains approximately 280 logs, sourced from eastern Washington, Idaho, and western Montana. Photo © Iwan Baan Francis-Kere-New-Pavilion-05.jpg The circular structure sits atop a slab of poured concrete, secured into the site by helical piers. Photo © Iwan Baan Francis-Kere-New-Pavilion-06.jpg South Grove Creek runs alongside the site. Photo © Iwan Baan Francis-Kere-New-Pavilion-07.jpg The modular honeycomb canopy of CorTen hexagons will weather with time, giving Xylem a dynamic appearance. Photo © Iwan Baan http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14020 Fri, 19 Apr 2019 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14020-sarbal%C3%A9-ke-at-coachella-2019-by-francis-k%C3%A9r%C3%A9 Photo © Iwan Baan Photo © Iwan Baan Photo © Iwan Baan Photo © Iwan Baan The arts center in Montana expects the new structure by Kére to open in time for their summer 2019 season.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13415 Wed, 16 May 2018 15:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13415-tippet-rise-commissions-francis-k%C3%A9r%C3%A9-to-design-pavilion Exterior view of the Pavilion designed by Francis Kéré at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana Rendering courtesy of Kéré Architecture Interior view of Pavilion designed by Francis Kéré at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana Rendering courtesy of Kéré Architecture Circular aerial bridge that is part of the Pavilion designed by Francis Kéré at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana Rendering courtesy of Kéré Architecture Model of the Pavilion designed by Francis Kéré at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana Image courtesy of Kéré Architecture Plan of the Pavilion designed by Francis Kéré at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana Image courtesy of Kéré Architecture Plan of the Pavilion and the bridge, designed by Francis Kéré at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana, situated in the landscape Image courtesy of Kéré Architecture Sketch by Francis Kéré of the Pavilion that he is designing at Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana Sketch courtesy of Kéré Architecture Portrait of Diébédo Francis Kéré Photo by Erik-jan Ouwerkerk, courtesy Kéré Architecture Kéré, the first African architect to win the coveted commission, drew inspiration for his proposal from a tree in his native village.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12295 Wed, 22 Feb 2017 08:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12295-di%C3%A9b%C3%A9do-francis-k%C3%A9r%C3%A9-chosen-to-design-2017-serpentine-pavilion-in-london Serpentine Pavilion 2017, by Francis Kéré Photo © Kéré Architecture Serpentine Pavilion 2017, by Francis Kéré Photo © Kéré Architecture Gando Primary School; Gando, Burkina Faso, 2001. Photo © Simeon Duchoud Gando Primary School; Gando, Burkina Faso, 2001. Photo © Simeon Duchoud Gando Primary School Extension; Gando, Burkina Faso, 2008. Photo © Simeon Duchoud National Park of Mali; Bamako, Mali, 2010. Photo © Kéré Architecture Camper Pop-up Shop at Vitra; Weil am Rhein, Germany, 2015. Photo © Vitra/ Eduardo Perez Camper Pop-up Shop at Vitra; Weil am Rhein, Germany, 2015. Photo © Vitra/ Eduardo Perez Francis Kéré Photo © Erik Jan Ouwerkerk An innovative use of local materials engenders an inspiring setting for learning in Burkina Faso.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12115 Sun, 01 Jan 2017 08:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/12115-lycee-schorge-by-kere-architecture Concrete window towers poke up above the complex’s roof of corrugated steel. Photo © Iwan Baan Architect Diébédo Francis Kéré wrapped the school’s exterior walls in a screen of eucalyptus. Photo © Iwan Baan He designed the Lycée Schorge with an inward-looking circular plan that bears a similarity to clustered settlements nearby. Photo © Iwan Baan Between the eucalyptus-wood screen and the brick walls of the school’s rectangular modules is a sheltered space where students can socialize. Photo © Iwan Baan At one end of the courtyard, meals from a separate kitchen pavilion can be assembled. Undulating classroom ceilings are made of gypsum fiberboard, straw, and cement. Slits in these surfaces admit diffuse daylight. Photo © Iwan Baan At one end of the courtyard, meals from a separate kitchen pavilion can be assembled. Undulating classroom ceilings are made of gypsum fiberboard, straw, and cement. Slits in these surfaces admit diffuse daylight. Photo © Iwan Baan Image courtesy Kéré Architecture Image courtesy Kéré Architecture When the Philadelphia Museum of Art started to plan an exhibition about Africa, it informally surveyed visitors, asking for their general impressions of the continent.

]]> http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/11689 Wed, 18 May 2016 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/11689-exploring-africas-creative-landscape Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Creative Africa Exhibition Photo © Philadelphia Museum of Art Diébédo Francis Kéré's latest project brings much-needed medical care to a remote area in Burkina Faso.

]]> 1508-burkina-faso-clinic.asp Sun, 16 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/5925-center-for-health-care-and-social-promotion Center for Health Care and Social Promotion The outer walls of the double-skin building are made of painted concrete blocks.   Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Center for Health Care and Social Promotion The outer walls of the double-skin building are made of painted concrete blocks.   Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Center for Health Care and Social Promotion The health center is located in an impoverished rural area where motorized vehicles are scarce.   Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Center for Health Care and Social Promotion Square, operable windows aid in natural ventilation and frame views of the landscape for patients.   Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Center for Health Care and Social Promotion Locally produced clay bricks form the inner walls of the building.   Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Center for Health Care and Social Promotion One of the clinic's inpatient rooms.   Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Center for Health Care and Social Promotion Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk It was late morning in Gando, a rural community in the West African country of Burkina Faso, and the fierce sun was beating down on the arid, ochre-colored landscape.

]]> 1406-bringing-it-all-back-home.asp Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/5870-bringing-it-all-back-home-di%C3%A9b%C3%A9do-francis-k%C3%A9r%C3%A9s-atelier The author with the architect in Gando.   Photo © Jamie Keats Rising nearly 22 feet , it will be the tallest clay structure in the area. The goal of the project is to provide a place where local residents and international visitors can work together to develop imaginative building methods using indigenous materials.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Construction is now under way on the Atelier, a training center and dormitory being built in cooperation with the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, Switzerland. The design refers to the traditional round huts found throughout the region.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The 6,000-square-foot building will consist of three circular volumes made of sunbaked mud bricks.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The Center of Health and Social Advancement is a 13,000-square-foot medical clinic in Laongo, a rural town in Burkina Faso. The clinic is part of the Opera Village, a 14-hectare mixed-use complex designed by Kéré for the late German filmmaker Christoph Schlingensief. The infirmary’s outer walls are made of concrete bricks coated in clay, while its inner walls are made of compressed-earth bricks. Windows frame views of the outdoor scenery while ushering in natural light. The area around the clinic was paved with laterite, a local stone.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Kéré is currently constructing a 42,000-square-foot secondary school in Gando. Deeply overhanging roofs shade clay-brick classroom buildings during the day while protecting them from hard summer rains. The facility will also feature a low-cost geothermal cooling system.   Photo © Jamie Keats Kéré is currently constructing a 42,000-square-foot secondary school in Gando. Deeply overhanging roofs shade clay-brick classroom buildings during the day while protecting them from hard summer rains. The facility will also feature a low-cost geothermal cooling system.   Photo © kéré Architecture Kéré is currently constructing a 42,000-square-foot secondary school in Gando. Deeply overhanging roofs shade clay-brick classroom buildings during the day while protecting them from hard summer rains. The facility will also feature a low-cost geothermal cooling system.   Photo © Kéré Architecture Completed in 2001, the Gando Primary School was K'r's first project. Made of clay bricks, the building remains in superb condition.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight K'r' added an extension to the primary school in 2007.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight K'r' is currently nearing completion of a public library at the Gando Primary School. Clay pots were used to form the holes in the concrete ceiling; these oculi will enable hot air to escape. A corrugated metal roof will cover the entire building, protecting the interior from rain.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The elliptical library will feature an external screen made of thin eucalyptus tree trunks'a common material in the region that is rarely used (in fact, it's considered a weed).   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight This is a handmade model of The Atelier, a training center K'r' is building in Gando.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Women of all ages carry sun-baked bricks to the construction site of The Atelier.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Women play an integral role in construction projects in Gando.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight To get water, residents in the region must pump it from a well. This one in Gando is a popular gathering spot.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The president of the Gando Women's Association looks after little children. Given the searing temperatures in the region, villagers often take refuge in the shade.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight A village elder in Gando. The average lifespan for a male in Burkina Faso is 53 years old.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight K'r' poses for a rare photo with his mother.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight These boys loved having their photo taken. They were standing outside the construction site of The Atelier.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Work is progressing on the Gando Women's Association Center, which will provide a place for females in the village to gather for work, education, and caring for children.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Clay pots will be embedded in the walls of the Gando Women's Association Center.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The clay pots are made in a nearby village.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Men sift through straw, which is used in bricks and plaster.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The landscape is Gando is very dry. The region's 8-month dry season runs from October to May.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight K'r' is nearing completion of a health clinic at the Opera Village, a mixed-use, 12-hecatre project in Laongo, Burkina Faso.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight Made of clay bricks, the clinic features beautiful indoor courtyards.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight K'r' has already completed a primary school at the Opera Village site. Hundreds of children now attend school here.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The principal of the Opera Village school.   Photo © Jenna M. McKnight The late German film and theater director Christoph Schlingensief convinced Berlin-based architect and Burkina Faso native Di'b'do Francis K'r' to build the Opera House for Africa, a music-education complex, in the landlocked country known as a center of African film and music.

]]> kere-architecture.asp Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:00:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/5793-opera-house-for-africa Opera House for Africa Image courtesy Kéré Architecture Opera House for Africa Image courtesy Kéré Architecture The village of Gando is more than a three-hour drive from the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, on occasionally unpaved roads that thread through a landscape of scorched orange dust and isolated trees buffeted by sub-Saharan winds.

]]> public-projects.asp Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:30:00 -0400 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/6460-three-public-projects-by-di%C3%A9b%C3%A9do-francis-k%C3%A9r%C3%A9 With a women's center, a library, and a secondary school for his native village in rural Burkina Faso, Di'b'do Francis K'r' (standing, in white) is experimenting materials, finding new ways to mitigate the region's harsh climate, and developing techniques for building much faster.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture Currently under construction, the $46,536 library stands adjacent to K'r's original primary school and its subsequently built expansions and teacher housing. When completed, the library will serve both students and the public.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's library floats an iron roof over an oval structure, creating an enclosed space and a shaded outdoor reading area. Perforations in the ceiling made with traditional clay pots provide ventilation to the interior.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture In a region where some 97 percent of the female population over age 15 is illiterate, the cooperatively run center will provide a space for adult-education programs, as well as classes about health, nutrition, and agriculture for 300 village women. K'r' hopes the completed $66,480 project will attract both governmental and nongovernmental organizations to develop programming for the center.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture With built-in storage for cereal grains, made from clay pots embedded in the walls, the women's center will foster a growing number of women running small businesses in Gando. An iron roof supported by a timber frame rises above clay-brick ceiling vaults. Gaps in the ceiling allow air to circulate through the interior storage and meeting spaces.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture Education at K'r''s already completed primary school will continue at a $46,536 secondary school currently under construction. The plan follows the layout of a traditional Gando compound, with a ring of buildings enclosing an overlapping series of courtyards, some shaded by louvered coverings.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture K'r's plan for a secondary school includes air shafts leading from vents in the floor to beds of vegetation'irrigated by a rainwater cistern and a deep well with a wind-powered pump''located outside. As the roof pulls hot air up through a porous ceiling, cooler air from the beds will replace it from below.   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture In 2001, while still a student at Dano, Burkina Faso the Berlin Technical University, Diébédo Francis Kéré completed his first project: a small primary school in Gando, his native village in Burkina Faso.

]]> dano_secondary_school.asp Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/6600-secondary-school Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Secondary School Dano, Burkina Faso Photo © Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk Photo © David Heerde Diébédo Francis Kéré’s story is remarkable: He grew up in poverty-stricken Burkina Faso, won a scholarship to study carpentry in Germany, and went on to earn an architecture degree from the Berlin Technical University. While still a student, he built his first project: a school in Gando, his native village, which received a 2004 Aga Khan Award and starred in the recent MoMA exhibition Small Scale, Big Change. Today, Kéré lives in Berlin but remains focused on designing (and raising money for) sustainable buildings in Africa. His work isn’t going unnoticed. In addition to receiving the

]]> 1101diebedo_francis_kere.asp Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:00:00 -0500 https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/5674-newsmaker-di%C3%A9b%C3%A9do-francis-k%C3%A9r%C3%A9 Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School   Photo courtesy Sim'on Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School   Photo courtesy Sim'on Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School   Photo courtesy Sim'on Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School   Photo courtesy Sim'on Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School   Photo courtesy Sim'on Duchoud/Aga Khan Trust for Culture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School   Image courtesy Kéré Architecture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School Extension   Photo courtesy Kéré Architecture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School Extension   Photo courtesy Kéré Architecture Newsmaker: Diébédo Francis Kéré Primary School Extension   Photo courtesy Kéré Architecture