In news–Diébédo Francis Kéré became the first architect from Africa to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in its over four-decade history.
About the Pritzker Architecture Prize-
- It is the international prize, which is awarded each year to a living architect/s for significant achievement.
- The award was founded in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy.
- It is often referred to as “the Nobel Prize of Architecture” and “the profession’s highest honor.”
- The purpose of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of talent, vision, and commitment; and has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.
- It is awarded to a living architect or architects, but not to an architectural firm.
- It is not linked to a type of architecture or for a specific building, but rather for a body of built work.
- The award is funded by the Pritzker family and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation.
- It is awarded “irrespective of nationality, race, creed, or ideology”.
- The recipients receive US$100,000, a citation certificate, and since 1987, a bronze medallion.
Who is Diébédo Francis Kéré ?
- Diébédo Francis Kéré a Burkinabé architect was born in 1965 in Burkina Faso – one of the world’s least educated and most impoverished nations.
- Educated at the Technical University of Berlin, he has lived in Berlin since 1985.
- Parallel to his studies, he established the Kéré Foundation (formerly Schulbausteine für Gando) an NGO dedicated to building projects in Gando and in 2005 he founded Kéré Architecture in Berlin.
- His pioneering architecture – sustainable to the earth and its inhabitants in lands of extreme scarcity.
- His architectural practice has been recognized internationally with awards including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2004) for his first building, the Gando Primary School in Burkina Faso, and the Global Holcim Award 2012 Gold.
- Kéré has undertaken projects in various countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Germany, the United States, Kenya, and Uganda.
Source: The Indian Express
