African architect Francis Kéré to design 2017 Serpentine Pavilion

Created to resemble the canopy of a large tree, which Burkinabe townspeople gather under, these are the design plans for a new structure to be built in London’s Kensington Gardens this June.

It’s the work of Burkina Faso-born, Berlin based Diébédo Francis Kéré, announced as the Serpentine Gallery’s annual Pavilion designer - the first African architect to do so.

“Growing up in Africa, the tree is the very first gathering space,” he told CNN.

“That is what they use in some region, they use in the countryside as a school, as a meeting point as a political debate point.”

Kéré creates appeal where others find simplicity, preferring economical buildings to lavish skyscrapers.

Serpentine gallery commissions architects each summer to create their first structure in the UK.

Born and raised in Gando, eastern Burkina Faso, he won a scholarship to study in Berlin where he stayed and established his studio.

He’s spent the past 15 years forcefully changing Africa’s architectural landscape with radically ‘green’ buildings often built pro bono on low cost sustainable materials.

Now, he’s turning his attention to Europe, first with the Pavilion and next year a mobile theater in Berlin.

Entirely constructed from wood, his inspiration for the Pavilion stem from the hot climate of his roots, underpinned with a celebration of British weather.

Rainwater is drained through a central opening in the roof to create a ‘waterfall effect’ before passing under a hidden drainage system.

The curved wood walls of the structure painted in indigo blue mimic the festive clothing worn by Burkinabe youths during celebrations.

“I’ve been working for so long in architecture and now suddenly I have a chance to demonstrate my work in London,” says Kéré. “I was said to myself hey you have to wear your best clothes.”

A "new phase of experimentation" with architect Francis Kéré.

As the first joint Pavilion decision between the Serpentine galleries’ newly appointed CEO Yana Peel and artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist, both felt a need for a profound deviation from old ways.

“We wanted to build on the history but instantly also create a new phase of invention and experimentation,” Peel told CNN.

“We were very interested in how his practice has evolved over the past few years into being this socially engaged and ecologically engaged practice,” adds Obrist.

“From our very first meeting he was very interested in thinking about the Royal Park and how you link people to nature, and how you provoke a new way for people to connect with each other,” says Orbrist.

Having made a name for himself in London, Kéré will move onto Berlin.

Tempelhof Interior digital render by Francis Kéré.

He’s been hired by Chris Dercon, director of the Volksbuhne to create a temporary theater space inside Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport -decommissioned in 2008.

The former director of London’s Tate Modern told CNN he was “fascinated” by the architect’s ongoing colossal Opera Village in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou.

Commissioned by the late German theater and film director Christoph Schlingensief, Opera Village combines a first class culture venue enveloped within green energy housing, classrooms, and a medical facility.

When it comes to Tempelhof, Kéré will assemble an interdisciplinary team made up of native and what he refers to as “new coming Berliners” in building the theater – a nod to Germany’s refugee policy.

Tempelhof aerial view, digital render by Francis Kéré.

“The idea we had was why don’t we create a theater that you can roll out from the hanger and if you do so, you open it to a wider audience,” says Kéré.

Dercon sees the satellite theatre as a way of “connecting different institutions but also fostering collaborations between people and this is easily executed by Kéré and the way he works.”

At 51, the architect is gearing up to take on his most ambitious project yet, rebuilding Burkina Faso’s parliament - burnt during a 2014 uprising that ended 31 years of dictatorial rule.

It’s still in its planning stages but the architect sees the new building as a way of unifying a once divided nation.

“I want citizens to take ownership of the building,” says Kéré. His vision is of a sloped garden roof that will provide the public with learning on agriculture, which is around 90% of the country’s employment.

“In Africa what we usually have is a place where people put high walls in a plot of land with lots of security … if you want democracy you have to start at the beginning with an open accessible structure.”

New house of Parliament, Burkina Faso —

Born in one of Africa's poorest countries, architect Diébédo Francis Kéré has been slowly changing its landscape with economical, green architecture that uses local labor and provides much-needed technical training for the community.
He's been tasked with the grandest of projects - rebuilding the country's parliament, after it was set ablaze during a violent 2014 uprising which ousted former president Blaise Compaoré and 31 years of dictatorial rule.

National Assembly & Memorial Park —

Still in the planning stages, the architect's monumental design involve a stepped garden roof where citizens can exchange new learning on agriculture - 90% of the country's labor force. Solar shading allows air to freely circulate the interior, lowering the need for artificial cooling systems.

"I want it to be a transparent space where people can climb to the top of the roof at anytime. A parliament that is a welcoming place," says Kéré. "If people value it they will protect it rather than it be the first thing they burn down."

Lycée Schorge Secondary (High) School —

Despite being based in Berlin, Kéré has designed several schools around his home country often pro bono or for little pay. Unlike their predecessors, which were made of concrete making it difficult for students to concentrate in the heat, Kéré's schools are well ventilated and made with heat-absorbing earthen bricks.

Located in west of the capital in Burkina Faso's third largest city, Koudougou, the Lycée Schorge high school was completed in 2016.

Lycée Schorge Secondary School —

Wrapping around the Lycée Schorge to offer natural shading is a system of screens cut from fast-growing wood. "It can be 40 degrees in the summer [in Burkina Faso] which lasts eight months," says Kéré.

Desert conditions within rural Burkina Faso is taken into account within the architect's daring design with young trees planted as "a barrier against the Sahara winds."

Lycée Schorge Secondary School —

Furniture inside the classrooms are made from local hardwoods and leftover materials from construction such as steel cutaways from the roof.

Dano Secondary School —

Completed in 2007, Dano features Kéré's trademark overhanging raised roof to reduce the amount of sunlight received.
Natural ventilation is achieved by means of slits in the suspended ceiling, again reducing the need for artificial air-conditioning. The building earned the BSI Swiss Architectural Award in 2010.

Opera Village Clinic —

Envisioned by the late German theater and film director Christoph Schlingensief, the Opera Village's aim is to redefine Burkina Faso as an epicenter for arts and performance wrapped around a green energy village with housing, classrooms, and medical facilities.

Schlingensief died in 2010, eight months after construction began. The Centre for Health Care and Social Promotion within the Opera Village opened in 2014 with a budget of 160,000 Euro built by volunteers of the German nonprofit GrünHelme (Green Helmets) as well as locals. Kéré undertook the project pro bono.

Léo Surgical Clinic & Health Center —

Opened in June 2014, the Surgical Clinic and Health Center in Léo serves a population of over 50,000 people. For the construction, characteristic mud bricks were used with a 'flying roof'. The high thermal mass of the bricks "allow them to absorb cool night air and releasing it during the day."

Léo Constructions —

"Every year we are adding additional clinics," says Kéré. It's hoped the center can become a space for German practitioners to collaborate with those within Burkina Faso.

Gando Primary School, Bukina Faso —

His first project, a primary school in his hometown of Gando, was built while still a student in Berlin. To fund it, Kéré created an association, Schulbausteine für Gando.

Frugally created on a budget of less than $30,000 it earned him the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004 and further extensions to the school bagged the 2009 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture.