BRIDGING THE GAP: Francis Kéré, Kéré Architecture

On Thursday, February 9th world-renowned architect Francis Kéré will give a lecture at Cooper Union. The lecture, titled "Bridging the Gap," is a collaborative effort between the Architectural League of New York City and the Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design. Kéré is known for his philosophy of “self-building,” in which he works with communities to develop capacity to monitor climactic circumstances and to use local materials. In a discussion of his recent and current projects, Kéré will consider new ways architects can exchange knowledge with communities and will propose new models for practice. Diébédo Francis Kéré, from Burkina Faso, studied architecture at the Technische Universität Berlin, where he is now based. As an architect he defines himself as “a bridge between cultures, between the technically and economically developed countries of ‘the north’ and the less developed African countries (of the south)” His projects have focused on education as “the developing concept for his country.” While a student, he founded the association Schulbausteine für Gando e. V, for the funding of his first project, a Primary School in his native village. The building, completed in 2001, received the Aga Khan Award. The school’s construction is “the result of a vision, initially verbalized by the architect and realized by the community.” Subsequently, Kéré has built teachers’ housing for the school in Gando, as well as another school building and a library, enabling 900 children to go to school in the village. He has also completed work on Mali’s National Park in Bamako and the Museum for Earth Architecture in Mopti. In all of his projects, Kéré notes that workers trained through the construction have found work far beyond the region. Since 2005, Kéré has worked internationally, with projects completed or under construction in Spain, China, Switzerland, and Yemen, among others. Kéré has lectured or taught at a variety of institutions, including the Berlin University of Technology, the Harvard GSD, the Oslo National Academy of Arts, and the University of Venice. Recognized internationally, Kéré has most recently received the 2011 Regional Holcim Award for Africa and Middle East (previously on Bustler), for his work in Morocco. The lecture will be held at the Great Hall and will begin at 7:00 PM. Admission is free for members of the Architectural League. Admission is also free to any Cooper Union faculty member, staff member or student with a Cooper ID. Members may reserve a ticket by e-mailing The Architectural League. Member tickets will be held at the check-in desk; unclaimed tickets will be released fifteen minutes after the start of the program. Tickets for the general public are $15.00. www.cooper.edu/isd Co-sponsored by The Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design and the Architectural League of New York