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Francis Kéré

Diébédo Francis Kéré
Francis Kéré.jpg
Born 1965 (age 51–52)
Gando, Burkina Faso
Nationality Burkinabè
Alma mater Technical University of Berlin
Occupation Architect
Awards Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Global Award for Sustainable Architecture
Global Holcim Award Gold
Practice Kéré Architecture
Buildings Gando Primary School
Gando School Extension
Projects Gando Secondary School
Opera Village

Diébédo Francis Kéré (born 1965) is an award-winning architect based in Berlin, Germany at Kéré Architecture. Born in the village of Gando in Burkina Faso, he was the first child in the village to be sent to school. Since qualifying as an architect at the Technical University of Berlin he has designed award-winning projects in Burkina Faso, Mali, Yemen and China, including the construction of a number of school buildings in the village of his birth. He is a tenured professor at Harvard University and founder of the Association Schulbausteine für Gando.

Kéré was born in the village of Gando. He was the first child in the village to be sent to school as his father, the village chief, wanted his eldest son to learn how to read and translate his letters. Since no school existed in Gando, Kéré had to leave his family when he was 7 years old to live with his uncle in the city. After finishing his education, he became a carpenter and received a scholarship from the Carl Duisberg Society to do an apprenticeship in Germany as a supervisor in development aid. After completing the apprenticeship, he went on to study architecture at the Technical University of Berlin, graduating in 2004.

During his studies he felt it was his duty to contribute to his family and to the community which had supported him, and to give the next generation the opportunity to follow in his footsteps. In 1998, with the help of his friends, Kéré set up the association Schulbausteine für Gando, which loosely translates as "Building Blocks for Gando", to fund the construction of a primary school for his village. His objective was to combine the knowledge he had gained in Europe, with traditional building methods from Burkina Faso. He completed his studies and built the first school in Gando as his diploma project in 2004, while also opening his own architectural office Kéré Architecture.


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