Celebrating 25 Years of Kéré Architecture Studio
On Friday, 20 June 2025, Francis Kéré’s Berlin-based architecture office, Kéré Architecture Studio, celebrated its 25th anniversary. What began with a single school in Kéré’s home village of Gando, Burkina Faso has grown into a globally active architecture practice dedicated to creating spaces for education, culture, health care and community empowerment.
In October 2000, while studying architecture in Germany, Francis Kéré, together with the community of the village, broke ground on the Gando Primary School. With limited resources but a strong belief that architecture should serve people first, he mobilized local knowledge and the support of his community in Berlin and Gando to realize the project. The Gando Primary School was completed in 2001 through collective effort and the work of the association that would later become the Kéré Foundation. The foundation continues to support the development of infrastructure in Gando and Burkina Faso.
Since its inception, Kéré Architecture has applied a locally rooted, climate-conscious, and community-driven approach to a wide range of projects worldwide. These include health facilities, educational and cultural buildings across Burkina Faso, such as the recently completed Thomas Sankara Mausoleum, Ouagadougou (2025), as well as the Kamwokya Community Center, Kampala (2022), Serpentine Pavilion in London (2017). Other current projects include the National Assembly in Benin, the Goethe-Institute in Dakar, a kindergarden in Munich, and the Las Vegas Museum of Art.
In 2022, Francis Kéré became the first African laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, followed by the Praemium Imperiale in 2023. These recognitions reflect not only the impact of his design philosophy but also the strength of the collective journey that began in Gando. Francis Kéré holds a chair at the Technical University of Munich and has served as a visiting professor at institutions including the Yale School of Architecture, the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio, and Harvard GSD.
From a village dream to a global vision, the story of Kéré Architecture Studio is rooted in people, place, and purpose. And it continues to grow.
On Friday, 20 June 2025, Francis Kéré’s Berlin-based architecture office, Kéré Architecture Studio, celebrated its 25th anniversary. What began with a single school in Kéré’s home village of Gando, Burkina Faso has grown into a globally active architecture practice dedicated to creating spaces for education, culture, health care and community empowerment.
In October 2000, while studying architecture in Germany, Francis Kéré, together with the community of the village, broke ground on the Gando Primary School. With limited resources but a strong belief that architecture should serve people first, he mobilized local knowledge and the support of his community in Berlin and Gando to realize the project. The Gando Primary School was completed in 2001 through collective effort and the work of the association that would later become the Kéré Foundation. The foundation continues to support the development of infrastructure in Gando and Burkina Faso.
Since its inception, Kéré Architecture has applied a locally rooted, climate-conscious, and community-driven approach to a wide range of projects worldwide. These include health facilities, educational and cultural buildings across Burkina Faso, such as the recently completed Thomas Sankara Mausoleum, Ouagadougou (2025), as well as the Kamwokya Community Center, Kampala (2022), Serpentine Pavilion in London (2017). Other current projects include the National Assembly in Benin, the Goethe-Institute in Dakar, a kindergarden in Munich, and the Las Vegas Museum of Art.
In 2022, Francis Kéré became the first African laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, followed by the Praemium Imperiale in 2023. These recognitions reflect not only the impact of his design philosophy but also the strength of the collective journey that began in Gando. Francis Kéré holds a chair at the Technical University of Munich and has served as a visiting professor at institutions including the Yale School of Architecture, the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio, and Harvard GSD.
From a village dream to a global vision, the story of Kéré Architecture Studio is rooted in people, place, and purpose. And it continues to grow.
