Francis Kéré recently won the prestigious Gold Holcim Award for the Secondary School Gando in Burkina Faso.
The design of the school uses a passive ventilation system and is thus easily adaptable to the extreme climatic conditions experienced in this are. Underground tubes and double-skin roofs and facades make air cooling possible. Sustainability is further achieved with the vegetation that has been planted around the facility.
The jury was particularly impressed by the fact that the project is based on “high-tech” ideas that are implemented using “low-tech” means.
The Global Holcim Awards Gold 2012 will receive USD 200 000.
Read more about Kéré's work in our interview with him.
Click here for Kéré's full presentation at Design Indaba 2011.
Short video interview with Kéré:
