An Afrofuturist Architect Builds for a Better Future

Diébédo Francis Kéré is the first African architect to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize, and his work has been celebrated for its deep connection to community and sustainability. From his earliest days as an architecture student, he has focused on a respect for traditions, whether they be building or cultural, and how to honor them in his work. Growing up rural West Africa, Diébédo Francis Kéré and his friends would build makeshift shelters from clay, tree branches, and leaves when they got caught in the rain away from home. Kéré combines traditions of African architecture with influences from pre-industrial Europe to create buildings that value natural elements, from a kindergarten in Munich and Kensington Gardens in London to houses of parliament in West Africa and towers inspired by baobab trees at Coachella in California.

WIRED