Projects discussed are in Burkina Faso, including Léo and Koudougou.
About this story
ArchDaily’s article, written by Agustina Iñiguez and published September 24, 2026, uses Kéré’s statement that time is a key ingredient of his profession to examine the evolving design and construction of projects in Burkina Faso. At the Surgical Clinic and Health Center in Léo, the article describes modular construction, compressed-earth blocks, local labor and knowledge exchange, and later additions responding to community needs. Its discussion of projects in Koudougou includes the Palogo school, organized around a courtyard with shaded transitional spaces and landscape measures to limit erosion, and the Burkina Institute of Technology, where locally quarried laterite was cut into regular blocks and classrooms were built progressively. Francis Kéré is the architect discussed; Kéré Architecture is the credited practice. The piece is editorial coverage, not an announcement of a new commission or development.
Status and timeline
This is a retrospective essay about built projects and their development; it does not announce a new project or provide a new project timeline.
Design highlights
Time and use treated as part of the design process; incremental, modular expansion; community participation and knowledge transfer; locally sourced compressed-earth blocks, laterite and clay; thermal mass and shaded transitional spaces; landscape planting to reduce wind and erosion; adapting programs and construction as needs evolve.
