Archinect - News

Kéré Architecture breaks ground on new timber childcare center at the Technical University of Munich

2024-04-24T15:45:00-04:00

Kéré Architecture has broken ground on a new all-wood childcare facility at the Technical University Munich (TUM). The design of the Ingeborg Pohl Kinderoase an der TUM is 700 square meters (7,500 square feet) in total and will hold space for 60 children in service to faculty members and their families.

Image copyright Kéré Architecture

The building, made possible through a donation from philanthropist Ingeborg Pohl, is defined by its playful interior, which incorporates a variety of scales and unique circulatory features, such as slides that connect each of its five floors.

Image copyright Kéré Architecture

Administrative suites are placed at the ground level, with three floors dedicated to children and divided by age group. A green roof play area called the Himmelswiese (German for “field of the heavens”) completes the program above. The firm has emphasized its use of timber throughout is meant to “take the sustainability of the building to the extreme.”

Image copyright Kéré Archi...

Francis Kéré’s Kamwokya Community Centre debuts in Uganda

2022-11-02T10:00:00-04:00

Pritzker Prize winner Francis Kéré’s firm has shared photos of their just-completed Kamwokya Community Centre project in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

Designed for the city’s informal settlement of Kamwokya, the center hosts a variety of activities and educational resources for residents in partnership with its clients, the Ameropa Foundation and Kamwokya Christian Caring Community (KCCC).

Image by Jaime Herraiz. Copyright Kéré Architecture

“We wanted to give a place of quality and beauty to the people of Kamwokya,” Ameropa’s founder Nicole Miesche said. “A place where they could sit down, take a rest from their daily struggle and dream, a place also where the children could play in a safe and clean environment.”

Photo by Iwan Baan

Image by Jaime Herraiz. Copyright Kéré Architecture

Set on a raised platform to protect against flooding, the program includes two well-ventilated, spatially-flexible buildings, a sports field, and separate sanitary facilities. The build...

Kéré Architecture's Benin National Assembly is inspired by the West African palaver tree

2021-02-09T14:58:00-05:00

Kéré Architecture has revealed its design for the parliament of the Republic of Benin's new national assembly building. According to the architects, "the project takes inspiration from the palaver tree, the age-old West African tradition of meeting under a tree to make consensual decisions in the interest of a community."

The assembly hall is located on the ground level. The "crown" holds the offices and auxiliary spaces, which are set back from the deep facade to filter sunlight. The "trunk" is hollow and creates a central courtyard that facilitates circulation and natural ventilation throughout the space. A central spiral staircase connects the ground and upper levels, and the top-level roof terrace offers panoramic views of the surrounding cityscape.

A large portion of the site will be dedicated to a public park that will display Benin's native flora in addition to providing new recreation space. Moreover, new government service facilities will be integrated into the park's top...

Diébédo Francis Kéré announced as Serpentine Pavilion 2017 designer

2017-02-21T11:36:00-05:00

" Diébédo Francis Kéré, the award-winning architect from Gando, Burkino Faso, has been commissioned to design the Serpentine Pavilion 2017, responding to the brief with a bold, innovative structure that brings his characteristic sense of light and life to the lawns of Kensington Gardens. "

Diébédo Francis Kéré, Photo by Erik Jan OuwerkerkSerpentine Galleries have revealed that this year's pavilion will be designed by Diébédo Francis Kéré. The pavilion's design responds to the changeable British climate, whilst being influenced Kéré's ecological design ethos which drives his Berlin-based practice.

Last year's design by BIG drew in huge crowds, and acted as a discussion piece throughout the summer.

Diébédo Francis Kéré, Photo by Erik Jan Ouwerkerk