Moleskine ® - Legendary notebook - Francis D. Kéré

Diébédo Francis Kéré born in 1965, is an Architect from Gando and graduated at the Technical University of Berlin. He founded the association "Schulbausteine fur Gando", that has as its core purpose that of promoting education, health, and development in his hometown Gando. This organization creates buildings that are compatible with the climate and the development of the Burkinabe people. Kéré has given lectures in various European Universities, teaching subjects on urban development, sustainable utilization of materials, and strategies of climatically advantageous building.

In 2009 Francis Kéré was elected the winner of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. As an Architect, he seeks sustainable ways to build infrastructures in regions that suffer from great economic and humanitarian issues, keeping in mind the climatic conditions of the area and the value of the construction materials.

One of Kéré's most famous projects is the construction of a Primary School in his hometown Gando, which represents the role of architecture in social development.

The architect's philosophy and motto is help to self-help, a philosophy that has initiated projects similar to that of the Primary School also in India and Yemen. Kéré believes that by using simple materials and manual labour, communities and their villagers can be involved first hand in the building and creation of their own development.

Website: www.kere-architecture.com