Founder, Kéré Architecture
Internationally acclaimed architect Francis Kéré garnered critical praise from the beginning of his architectural practice when awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004 for his first ever building – a primary school he designed, raised the funds for and realized in collaboration with the residents of his native Gando, Burkina Faso. In 2022, he became the first African architect to receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Kéré has gone on to become one of the most distinguished contemporary architects, thanks to his pioneering of a communal approach to design and his commitment to sustainable materials, as well as modes of construction. Inspired by a curiosity for the particularities of any given locality and its social tapestry, he has gathered a diverse, agile team at his Berlin-based Kéré Architecture offices, ready to take on projects across five continents. These include the Léo Surgical Clinic & Health Center (2014); the Lycée Schorge Secondary School (2016); the Serpentine Pavilion, London (2017); Xylem, a gathering pavilion for the Tippet Rise Art Center, Montana (2019); the Startup Lions Campus, Kenya (2021); the Thomas Sankara Mausoleum (2025), Kinderoase an der TUM, Munich (2026); the Goethe-Institut Dakar (2026); and the Benin National Assembly (under construction). The team is also working on the Las Vegas Museum of Art and Rio de Janeiro's Biblioteca dos Saberes (both in development).
Underpinning his architectural practice are his past and current teaching engagements at TU München, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio and Yale University, as well as his participation in solo and group exhibitions, including the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Museo ICO in Madrid, the Architekturmuseum in Munich, MoMA in New York, the Royal Academy in London and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Portrait photo by Lars Borges
