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.
Born in 1965 in the town of Gando, Burkina Faso, Diébédo Francis Kéré had to leave his home at only 7 years old to be able to attend school. Later he moved to Germany to complete his studies. Here he established the Kéré Foundation to raise money to return to his birthplace to build a school to provide better learning conditions for those in Gando.
As the jury citation describes, Kéré continued to work in West Africa, focusing on finding innovative yet simple and achievable designs for the buildings. By engaging the local community, relying on their skills and traditions, and promoting the use of locally available materials, Kéré manages to create modern architecture rooted in traditional African design. The resulting buildings are functional, responding to the needs and the limited budget of their communities without sacrificing the beauty of architecture.
After gaining initial recognition with the Gando Primary School, which earned him the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004, Kéré went on to design the Centre for Earth Architecture in Mali, Gando Teachers' Housing in Burkina Faso, the Startup Lions Campus in Kenya and the Kamwokya Community Center in Uganda. In Europe, Kéré's design of pavilions, including the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion, showcased his ability to create architectural works that respond sensitively to climate and space. In 2022, he became the laureate of architecture’s highest honor, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, further highlighting not only his global recognition but also the significance of adapting local techniques to address the climate crisis and resource scarcity.
Annually, the imperial family of Japan awards the Praemium Imperiale awards, each granting laureates a sum of 15 million Yen, roughly equivalent to £90,000. Other laureates of the 2023 Praemium Imperiale are Vija Celmins for the Painting section, Olafur Eliasson for Sculpture, Wynton Marsalis for Music, and Robert Wilson for Theatre / Film. Previous editions of the award have selected architecture laureates such as Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA in 2022, Glenn Murcutt in 2021, Tod Williams & Billie Tsien in 2019, and Christian de Portzamparc in 2018.
