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Diébédo Francis Kéré has won this year’s prestigious architecture Pritzker Prize which is regarded as the highest honour in the field.
The Burkina Faso-born architect became the first African to win the award in its more than 40-year history.
In announcing the winner, the jury said the architect whose commissioned works include the national assemblies of Burkina Faso and Benin “raises fundamental questions of the meaning of permanence and durability of construction in a context of constant technological changes”.
Members of the jury praised him for combining his architectural works “with the traditions, needs and customs of his country”.
Kéré, 56, said he was the “happiest man on this planet” to become the 51st recipient of the award.
“I have a feeling of an overwhelming honour but also a sense of responsibility,”he added.
He is a dual citizen of Burkina Faso and Germany.
