This talk features Syracuse University Humphrey Fellow Mireille Laurentine Tchakounte Tchatat discussing the Bamileke, Cameroon’s largest ethnic group. Their traditions are comprised of initiation practice and meditation, characterized by rituals emblematic of great spiritual complexity.About the speaker: Mireille Laurentine Tchakounte Tchatat is a Humphrey Fellow at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University. She was most recently Cooperation Department Assistant at the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) in Cameroon; here she initiates and develops relationships between national and international entities and promotes existing bilateral agreements with international development agencies. Mireille has also served as the Executive Secretary and as the Head of the Office for Civil Service. She earned her license in Human Resource Management from the University of Dschang in Cameroon.

Construire la communauté : de nouvelles traditions
Building community : new traditions

Lauréat du Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2009

D’abord charpentier, Francis Kéré a pu quitter le village de Gando pour étudier l’architecture à l’Université de Berlin grâce à l’ONG allemande BMZ. Il y enseigne maintenant, selon les règles d’un rationalisme régénéré par l’écologie. À Gando, il construit une architecture tout aussi rationnelle et inventive, nourrie de culture globale et d’intelligence des situations.
Car de Berlin à Gando, il n’importe plus rien sans raison. Il utilise lucidement la mondialisation et place désormais sa culture sur le même plan que celle de l’Occident en puisant dans l’expérience africaine enfin reconnue, comme dans l’écologie européenne. Il assemble, tamise ces ressources pour chaque projet, cherche la juste réponse. Cette critique globale des savoirs est neuve. Elle produit une architecture enracinée dans son microcosme et universelle par son message.

Trained as a carpenter, Francis Kéré obtained with the help of BMZ, a German NGO, a scholar ship to study architecture at T.U. in Berlin. He lives between Burkina Faso and Germany.
In Berlin, he teaches his students green architecture. In his village of Gando, he builds amenities and schools, all with the same rationality, economy and sober lines, reflecting the truth of the process and of the resources, considering African knowledge on building as valuable as those coming from Europe.
He doesn’t import eco-construction but transpose the principles: a clever use of globalization. The skills of local masons and metalworkers are employed. Materials found all over Africa are transformed into strong structures, with fine shapes. Francis Kéré believes that stakeholders need to be involved in the development process so that they can appreciate its advantages and drive it forward. “And that is equally true for architecture.”

Diébédo Francis Kéré, Architect from Burkina Faso, studied at the „Technische Universität Berlin". He focuses on education as the developing concept for his country, in which he has already built an essential infrastructure.In the focus of Kéré's drafts are the climatic adaptation, low building costs and the self building: "The community needs to be educated how to monitor the climatic circumstances and to use local materials. Only people who take part in the building process can maintain and spread the word about these architectural projects." (1)While he was studying, he founded the association "Schulbausteine für Gando e. V." for the funding of his first project, a Primary School in his native village. The building was finished in 2001 and received the Aga -- Khan -- Award for its exemplarity as well as its concise and elegant architecture using basic, constructive instruments. The school is the result of a vision, initially verbalized by the architect and realised by the community. The jury valued especially the great potential of a project which helps the community to develop a healthy pride and hope and creates at the same time a solid base for its development. The fact that Kéré built a Primary School for Gando exemplifies his commitment for education. To him, education is the foundation for every social, technical and economical development.Meanwhile the Primary School was completed with the Teachers Housing, another school building and a library, so that 900 children can go to school in Gando. Many young men were trained through construction and are now able to find qualified paied work far beyond the region. Diébédo Francis Kéré connects research and experience as a lecturer at the "Technische Universität Berlin" and as an architect in his own office. His research is contributed to the impartial development of strategies for architecture with local character. As an architect he defines himself as "a bridge between cultures, between the technically and economically developed countries of "the north" and the less developed African countries (the south)" (2)(Excerpt from biographical materials provided by the architect.) (1) Kéré, Diébédo Francis: "Todos construimos", in Arquitectura Viva No. 117, supplement ZaragozaKioto -- Arquitecturas para un planeta sostenible, p. 10-11. (2) Kéré, Diébédo Francis: "Todos construimos", in Arquitectura Viva No. 117, supplement ZaragozaKioto -- Arquitecturas para un planeta sostenible, p. 10-11.

African architecture should stop copying the West, engage the real needs of the people and regard the environment, says Diébédo Francis Kéré.

Looking at the housing situation in West Africa, architect Diébédo Francis Kéré (Kéré Architecture) says that Africans should stop imitating the Western way of building and rather adapt it to their own needs – and the needs of the community – in order to cope better with the weather patterns in the region.

Due to the lack of a secure income, people build their houses themselves... and as models, they just copy the neighbouring house. In this part of the world, we only have one school for architecture, says Kéré.

Kéré believes the built environment in Africa should adapt to nature, while maintaining the cultural richness of the people.

He talks about his dream to make things better in his home country of Burkina Faso and tells how he has been introducing traditional building techniques that allow for natural ventilation to the communities in West Africa. By giving the community a framework within which to work, he encouraged the people of Burkina Faso to build houses that breathe.

Looking at various architectural projects in West Africa, Kéré points to the merits of clay building techniques.

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