Chad Williams chad.williams@inl.co.za Burkina Faso-born architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has become the first African to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, architecture’s most prestigious honour.
According to various international reports, Kéré was honoured for “pioneering” designs that are “sustainable to the Earth and its inhabitants – in lands of extreme scarcity”.
Kéré is the first African to win the honour in its more than 40-year history.
Kéré, a dual citizen of Burkina Faso and Germany, said he was the “happiest man on this planet” to become the 51st recipient of the illustrious prize since it was first awarded in 1979, AFP reported.
He is renowned for building schools, health facilities, housing, civic buildings and public spaces across Africa, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo, Kenya, Mozambique, Togo and Sudan, according…
