Biblioteca dos Saberes by Kéré Architecture. Aerial view. Render. Image Courtesy of Kéré Architecture
Amid ongoing global discussions on climate adaptation and resilient urban development brought into sharper focus by the outcomes of COP30, this week's architecture news illustrates how cities worldwide are rethinking their built environments. From Venice, where the 19th Architecture Biennale concluded with debates on material use and long-term cultural impact, to international awards foregrounding regenerative and socially responsive design, the conversation around architecture is increasingly intertwined with planetary priorities. Major urban interventions, from Thessaloniki's seafront redevelopment and Rio de Janeiro's new public library, to Abu Dhabi's Natural History Museum and a civic stadium in Birmingham, demonstrate how multiple cities are addressing mobility, heritage, density, and climate resilience. Additional plans, such as Mantua's ecological urban strategy, Utrecht's elevated landscape above transport networks, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's redesigned landside mobility system, further reflect a transition toward integrated, people-centred urban frameworks that prioritize environmental performance, public space, and long-term territorial stewardship.
Biblioteca dos Saberes by Kéré Architecture. Northern view. Render. Image Courtesy of Kéré Architecture
Kéré Architecture has unveiled its proposal for the 40,000-square-meter Biblioteca dos Saberes (House of Wisdom) in Rio de Janeiro's Cidade Nova neighborhood. Designed by Francis Kéré, Mariona Maeso Deitg, and Juan Carlos Zapata, the cultural complex is commissioned by the Rio de Janeiro City Hall and planned for a site near Valongo Wharf and the Little Africa area. The design was presented to members of the community on November 20, the National Day of Zumbi and Black Consciousness in Brazil. Important features include a perforated façade for sun protection, roof gardens, landscaped terraces, shaded courtyards, open-air areas, a canopied amphitheater, and a pedestrian bridge connecting the building to the nearby monument to Zumbi dos Palmares.
As the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale enters its concluding weeks, the global architecture scene continues to unveil significant projects and recognitions. This week's highlights include Studio Libeskind's residential complex in Prague; sauerbruch hutton's Panorama Constance exhibition building in Germany, and CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati's digitally fabricated bivouac for the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. In New York, Venezuelan artist Miguel Braceli designed a major public artwork for the city's waterfront, addressing themes of migration, diversity, and the complexities of geopolitical identity. The week also brought recognition to sustainable and creative achievements, from the Holcim Foundation's regional awards for sustainable construction to the publication of Tadao Ando. Sketches, Drawings, and Architecture by Taschen, celebrating nearly five decades of the architect's design process.
Museum Erhardt by Kéré Architecture. Exterior garden view. Render . Image Courtesy of Kéré Architecture
Construction has officially begun on the Museum Ehrhardt in Plüschow, northeast Germany, marking the first cultural project in Germany by Francis Kéré and his firm Kéré Architecture, as well as their first museum building in Europe. Developed in cooperation with HK Architekten and Hermann Kaufmann + Partner ZT GmbH, the 1,400-square-meter museum will be dedicated to photography and contemporary art. The initiative was launched by Dr. Jens Ehrhardt, son of the artist Alfred Ehrhardt (1901–1984), together with his wife Elke Weicht-Ehrhardt, to honor the painter, photographer, and filmmaker who was a leading figure of Germany's New Objectivity movement. The museum will stand near the Baltic Sea, adjacent to Schloss Plüschow, an artist residency and gallery.
Kéré Architecture has revealed the design of a masterplan and series of buildings dedicated to the cultural and spiritual heritage of the Ewé people in the town of Notsé, in Togo. Commissioned by the Kothor Foundation, the center incorporates a sanctuary, several temples, a large-scale open-air amphitheater, as well as cultural functions such as exhibition halls, an auditorium, restaurants, and a reconstruction of the ancient royal palace of the Ewé Kingdom. The project, Francis Kéré's first in Togo, started construction in October 2024 and is scheduled for completion in February 2026.
Kéré Architecture has revealed the design for a vertical childcare center at Munich’s Technical University (TUM) in Germany. Named "Ingeborg Pohl Kinderoase an der TUM," the center will be built in wood to the extent allowed by local norms and regulations for energy efficiency, thermal comfort, fire protection, and acoustics. The new building, located between the TUM main campus and the university canteen, broke ground on April 18 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Pritzker Prize winner Diébédo Francis Kéré has been named the 2023 Praemium Imperiale laureate for architecture. The annual award, presented by the Japan Art Association, recognizes and awards 6 artists from different creative fields: architecture, music, painting, sculpture, and theatre or film. Francis Kéré, who leads the Berlin-based office Kéré Architecture, has received the prestigious award for his influence on African and global architecture, engaging local communities and site-specific materials to create innovative design and engineering solutions.
As the new year begins, we look forward to the most exciting projects planned to open in 2023. The world's second-tallest tower is currently under construction in Malaysia; Egypt is almost ready to open its largest archeological museum, while MVRDV is currently renovating a large-scale brutalist landmark in Albania. Featuring internationally renown architectural offices such as Snøhetta, OMA, Studio Gang, Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG, along with the latest winner of the Pritzker Prize, Francis Kéré, the following selection presents projects from all around the world. They also range in scale and program, from international airports to sculptural arts galleries or museum expansions.
Several projects presented here have also featured in the previous year's compilation. Resource availability and labor issues generated by the pandemic have also continued to influence opening schedules, but with a diminishing impact. Following the predicted trends for 2023, more and more projects involve the adaptive reuse of existing structures. An underlying theme is visible in the increased interest in expanding artistic and cultural venues and integrating historical heritage into the expression of contemporary architecture.
Pritzker Prize 2022 Laureate Francis Kéré is known for “empowering and transforming communities through the process of architecture”, as the jury stated in its citation. In this recently published video, Martha Thorne, Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design and former executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, shares some of the reasons why Francis Kéré has won the Pritzker Prize 2022.
Clay walls have a high thermal inertia. This means that they act as a climate buffer that creates a thermal delay in the flow of heat from the outside to the inside, absorbing it during the day and releasing it overnight. The material is especially suitable for hot and dry climates, such as that of Gando, where Francis Kéré built his first school. After years of studying abroad, Kéré returned to his home community with the intention of building this school with the same materials historically used by locals, which many originally viewed as strange, as he said in this lecture. Despite the initial prejudice, it was the combination of local materials and techniques with Kéré’s acquired knowledge that ultimately gave strength to the project.
https://www.archdaily.com/978851/how-does-francis-kere-use-materials-to-respond-to-local-climate-conditionsValeria Montjoy and Eduardo Souza
The election of Kéré is not only symbolic in a time of identity demands, where the institutions that make up the mainstream are required to more faithfully represent the social, cultural, and sexual realities that make up our societies, but it also confirms the recent approach of the Pritzker Prize jury.
"I Draw on Paper, but I Prefer to Draw on the Ground". This phrase caught my eye during Diébédo Francis Kéré's speech at the AAICO (Architecture and Art International Congress), which took place in Porto, Portugal from September 3 to 8, 2018. After being introduced by none other than Eduardo Souto de Moura, Kéré began his speech with the simplicity and humility that guides his work. His best-known works were built in remote places, where materials are scarce and the workforce is of the residents themselves, using local resources and techniques.
African architecture has received deserved international attention in the last decade and one of the main responsible for this is, undoubtedly, Diébédo Francis Kéré, 2022 Pritzker Prize Winner. Born in Gando, Burkina Faso, Kéré graduated in architecture at the Technische Universität Berlin, in Germany. Today, he maintains branches of his firm, Kéré Architecture, in both countries, through which he seeks to develop works in the "intersection of utopia and pragmatism", exploring the border between Western architecture and local practice.
Known for involving community in the construction process of its buildings, Kéré and his office have developed works that go beyond the conventional limits of architecture and touch on themes such as local economy, migration, culture and equity. We had the pleasure and privilege of talking with the architect about some of his projects and his broader vision on architecture. Read the full interview below.
Surgical Clinic and Health Center. Cortesia de Francis Kéré
"I just wanted my community to be a part of this process," Diébédo Francis Kéré said in an ArchDaily interview published last year. It's hard to think of another phrase that so well sums up the modesty and impact caused by the newest winner of the Pritzker Prize of Architecture, whose work gained notoriety precisely for involving the inhabitants of his village in the construction of works that combine ethical commitment, environmental efficiency, and aesthetic quality.
Diébédo Francis Kéré founded his architecture practice Kéré Architecture, in Berlin, Germany in 2005, after a journey in which he started advocating for the building of quality educational architecture in his home country of Burkina Faso. Deprived of proper classrooms and learning conditions as a child, and having faced the same reality as the majority of children in his country, his first works aimed at bringing tangible solutions to the issues faced by the community.
“Through buildings that demonstrate beauty, modesty, boldness, and invention, and by the integrity of his architecture and geste, Kéré gracefully upholds the mission of this Prize,” explains the official statement of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Announced today by Tom Pritzker, Chairman of The Hyatt Foundation, Francis Kéré is the 51st winner of the award founded in 1979, succeeding Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal. Praised “for the gifts he has created through his work, gifts that go beyond the realm of the architecture discipline”, the acclaimed architect is present equally in Burkina Faso and Germany, professionally and personally.
.jpg?1647823485 "Gando Primary School Extension / Kéré Architecture. Image © Erik Jan Ouwerkerk")
.jpg?1647822667 "Serpentine Pavilion / Kéré Architecture. Image")
.jpg?1647822697 "Startup Lions Campus / Kéré Architecture. Image")
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