Francis Kéré. Building Stories. Art Edition No. 1–100, ‘Building Brick’
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Experience Francis Kéré’s inspiring, first-hand perspective on his creative world. A rich selection of unseen sketches, photos, and architectural drawings accompanies original stories of 26 projects, from his renowned schools in Africa to his newest designs across the globe, revealing Kéré’s experimental, communal, and inventive approach.
Signed Art Edition (No. 1–100), each with a custom-made, unfired compressed earth block (CEB), made with a blend of clays and sand sourced between Germany and Belgium, and stabilized with 8% cement. Each Building Brick is signed and numbered by the architect.
Francis Kéré. Building Stories. Art Edition No. 1–100, ‘Building Brick’
1500Architecture that Speaks
A first-person account of Kéré’s most influential works, presented with a handcrafted brick signed by the architect
Francis Kéré’s riveting first-person account reveals the ideas that drive his architectural practice through 26 key projects, illustrated with unseen sketches, photographs, and drawings in a volume beautifully crafted by the Amsterdam-based graphic design studio of Irma Boom. Featured works of the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate include his Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, the Gando school projects, national assembly designs for Burkina Faso and Benin, and the recently revealed Las Vegas Museum of Art.
In Kéré’s homeland of Burkina Faso, dwellings are traditionally made of unfired clay, a locally sourced material that is abundant and natural, but subject to erosion. For his first project, the Primary School in Gando, Kéré has reinterpreted the use of clay by adopting the method of compressed earth blocks (CEBs) to make the building durable and resistant. He has since used CEBs in many projects across his country, developing the technique further and engaging the community in the brick-making process. His architecture is an engine of shared learning and exchange, made collectively rather than imposed from above. A brick is the basic unit of construction. On their own, they can’t form a structure, but when multitudes come together, they create something meaningful and lasting. To symbolize his communal approach, Kéré has created the Building Brick for this Art Edition, sharing a physical piece of his architectural credo.
Produced in an edition of 100 by the firm BC Materials, the bricks follow Kéré’s site-specific approach and are made with blended clays and sand sourced between Germany and Belgium, carrying time, place, and purpose, and stabilized with a small percentage of cement. Due to their hand-made nature, no two bricks are alike. Each one is signed and numbered by Kéré and features a smiling sun stamp that represents his commitment to the environment. Over time, each brick will change—rubbing off on and absorbing traces from its environs.
At the start of Kéré’s career, donors to the Gando Primary School received a brick as thanks: with the Building Brick, he comes full circle. Restating a meaning that’s never been lost: the importance of community, of building together, of giving back.
Signed Art Edition (No. 1–100), each with a custom-made, unfired compressed earth block (CEB), made with a blend of clays and sand sourced between Germany and Belgium, and stabilized with 8% cement. Each Building Brick is signed and numbered by the architect.
The author
Francis Kéré is a Burkinabè architect and the 2022 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. He is recognized for his pioneering approach to design and sustainable modes of construction. His vocation to become an architect stems from his personal commitment to serving the community in which he grew up, and his belief in the transformative potential of beauty. Inspired by the particularities of each project’s locality and its social tapestry, he and his team work on projects across four continents. His past and present teaching engagements at TU München, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio and Yale University underpin his architectural work.
Francis Kéré. Building Stories. Art Edition No. 1–100, ‘Building Brick’
Edition of 100Softcover, 19 x 25.5 cm, 1.17 kg, 444 pages; unfired compressed earth block (CEB), 25.5 x 12 x 8 cm, made with a blend of clays, sand, and stabilized with 8% cement, one side sanded, surface treated with water resistant Galtane Fix Syl gel, 8kg.ISBN 978-3-7544-0666-3
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