Diébédo Francis Kéré

The second edition of the BSI Swiss Architectural Award, presented every two years to architects under 50 who have “made an important contribution to contemporary architecture and who have shown particular sensitivity to the landscape and environmental context of their designs”, has gone to Diébédo Francis Kéré. The award is promoted by the BSI (Banco della Svizzera Italiana) Architectural Foundation with the support of the Federal Office for Culture in Bern and the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio. Kéré was born in 1965 in Gando, a village of Burkina Faso, and studied at the TU Berlin, where he teaches since 2004. In Berlin he also established his studio in 2005. His work – of which the award jury, presided by Mario Botta, praised “the high exemplary value it reachesin the current historical context” – includes, among others, a primary school and residence for teachers in his native Gando, and a high school in Dano. Kéré was selected among 28 candidates from 15 countries, including Spaniards like Selgas & Cano, Arturo Franco, and the team Carnicero, Vila & Virseda (ICA Arquitectos).