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https://theconversation.com/diebedo-francis-kere-how-first-black-winner-of-architectures-top-prize-is-committed-to-building-peaceful-cities-179483>
"Burkina Faso’s Diébédo Francis Kéré has become the first African and the first
Black person to win the Pritzker prize, architecture’s equivalent of the Nobel.
Kéré’s work has consistently highlighted the role of design in creating what he
calls “coherent and peaceful cities”. When Burkina Faso’s National Assembly
building in Ouagadougou was burned down during the country’s 2014 uprising,
Kéré put forward a proposal for the new complex. It was to be a symbol of the
transparency and inclusiveness that the protestors demanded of the new
government.
For the central building (still under construction), he envisaged a stepped
pyramid, whose façade would double up as a public space, accessible to citizens
day and night. It featured planted terraces which would celebrate, and
demonstrate, the country’s agricultural achievements. As he explained in a 2017
interview:
My naive idea was, the next time that there is a revolt, they will care for
the building, and they will not burn it down, because they use it.
Kéré’s first building was a primary school in his home village of Gando. It saw
him revising and modernising – but not eschewing – traditional techniques,
using local clay (because it is abundant) and, crucially, involving the entire
community. Children gathered stones for the foundations. Women brought water to
make bricks. “The more local materials you use,” he has said, “the better you
can promote the local economy and (build) local knowledge, which also makes
people proud.”"
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
