Archicad user awarded architecture's highest honor

Diébédo Francis Kéré, Kéré Architects, is 2022 Pritzker Prize winner

BUDAPEST, April 6, 2022 — Graphisoft is proud to announce that Diébédo Francis Kéré, architect and educator, has been awarded the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize. The international prize, which is awarded each year to a living architect for significant achievement, was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979. The annual award is often referred to as "architecture's Nobel" and "the profession's highest honor."

Kéré works to empower and transform the communities he serves through architecture from his base in Berlin, Germany. The architect works tirelessly for social justice and engagement – focusing on the intelligent use of local materials to connect and respond to the natural climate.

His work in marginalized countries demonstrates his commitment to overcoming constraints and adversity, at times pioneering architecture and infrastructure. So too does his dedication to creating pleasing, sustainable spaces for education, much-needed healthcare centers, and other public spaces despite limited resources.

The official Pritzker 2022 Jury Citation states, in part, “He knows, from within, that architecture is not about the object but the objective: not the product, but the process. Francis Kéré’s entire body of work shows us the power of materiality rooted in place. His buildings, for and with communities, are directly of those communities – in their making, their materials, their programs, and their unique characters.”

“I am hoping to change the paradigm, push people to dream and undergo risk. It is not because you are rich that you should waste material. It is not because you are poor that you should not try to create quality,” says Kéré. “Everyone deserves quality, everyone deserves luxury, and everyone deserves comfort. We are interlinked and concerns in climate, democracy, and scarcity are concerns for us all.”

"The body of work Francis Kéré has created, indeed deserves this prestigious recognition," said Huw Roberts, Graphisoft CEO. "His work shows that integrating design and social commitment creates great architecture – and that his chosen tool is Archicad, fills us with gratitude and inspires us to continue to innovate so that we can serve him and architects like him everywhere," he added.

About the Pritzker Architecture Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established in 1979 by the late Jay A. Pritzker and his wife, Cindy. Its purpose is to honor annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.