Gando Primary School in Burkina Faso, designed by Diébédo Francis Kéré. Photo by Erik-Jan Ouwerkerk. How inclusive design is leading the way to better community environments ARCHITECTURE FOR THE PEOPLE If awards are any indication of emerging trends, it is fair to say that this year’s Pritzker Prize, awarded for the first time to a Black, African architect, the social architecture expert Diébédo Francis Kéré, proves how internationally relevant social architecture has become. While the imaginative yet detached works of the so-called “archistars” were taking over the world, social architecture evolved in the opposite direction, developing inclusive, participatory designs. These projects have the potential to make a real difference in terms of economic, social, and environmental sustainability — mediating between the architect’s vision, the needs of citizens, and the demand to build high-quality products on a (sometimes) small budget. Kéré’smost famouswork is apromise hemade, and kept, to his younger self — a primary school in Gando, his home village in Burkina Faso. The building is made of local clay bricks, reinforced with cement to retain fresh air, while the raised roof ensures natural ventilation and heat dispersal; outside, there is a shaded playground and an outdoor classroom. In Africa, Kéré has designed student accommodation, health hubs, schools, and other infrastructure. He is currently working on the Benin National Assembly building, a project inspired by the shape of the palaver tree, traditionally used as a gathering point where people collectively make decisions about their own communities. “It is not because you are rich that you should waste material. It is not because you are poor that you should not try to create quality. We are interlinked and concerns in climate, democra6 EXCERPT
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