Diebedo Francis Kere, a Burkinabe architect, was awarded the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize for his phenomenal architectural purposes. Kere grew up in Burkina Faso, one of the world’s least educated countries and impoverished areas. With his early experience of deprivation in a variety of resources, Kere participated “in securing food and water, but also simply being together, talking together, building houses together.”(Kere) 

Kere emphasized that his affection for architecture was influenced mainly by his family. Every night, Kere and his younger siblings huddled around their grandmother and listened to her absorbing stories, summoning them closely into the small light. Thus, The feeling of protection, from encompassing with his siblings, was his first impression of architecture. 

<The Pritzker Architecture Prize> https://www.pritzkerprize.com/laureates/diebedo-francis-kere

Recalling the architectural characteristics of his elementary school, Kere stressed the school’s lack of light and ventilation in the classrooms. Considering the extreme temperature and number of students exceeding over a hundred, concrete walls functioned as nothing but an insulated capsule. Kere ruminated on the ways to construct a climate-conditioned classroom to maximize the students’ learning and enjoyment during class. To this end, Kere finished his studies abroad and returned to his native homeland for full-fledged dedication to building his ideal school. The Gando Primary School, his first construction, was created by and for the residents of Gando in 2001. The community contributed ideas, labor, and materials from design to construction. Nearly every component of the school was made by hand, guided by the architect's innovative uses of local resources and cutting-edge engineering. 

The success of Gando Elementary School not only awarded him Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004 but also catalyzed his further education in architecture. Furthermore, Kere’s constructions in Africa have yielded significant results. Kere has brought useful concepts, technological knowledge, environmental appreciation, and aesthetic solutions to Gando with each visit, but his contribution to mankind through cultural sensitivity, the process of engagement, and devotion prove to be a consistent example of his fondness for contributing as a global citizen. His thoughtful built works provided education to children, medical treatments, and even opened business opportunities for adults, therefore creating a sustainable future for the entire community. 

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