Kéré Architecture Designs Maternal Health Clinic in Rural Burundi Using Local Materials

Kéré Architecture, led by Francis Kéré, has designed a new health clinic in Bubanza, Burundi, approximately 40 kilometers north of the capital Bujumbura. Commissioned by the NGO Clínica Ineza, the facility focuses on maternal care and surgical services for rural communities. Construction has already begun, with the first phase expected to be completed in summer 2026, when the clinic will become operational, and the remaining structures to be finished in 2027. The design draws inspiration from Kéré Architecture's earlier Surgical Clinic and Health Center Léo in Burkina Faso (2014), applying lessons learned to improve healthcare access. Burundi faces significant poverty, with nearly 90% of its population living below the poverty line, and high fuel prices complicate transportation. To address these constraints, the design team visited local brick factories, welding workshops, and wood processing plants to identify available resources and techniques. The clinic is being constructed primarily with regional materials: foundations and retaining walls use locally quarried white and red granite, while walls and perforated screens employ clay bricks fired within 30 kilometers of the site. This approach reduces transport costs and gives the building a distinctive regional character. Local builders and masons are collaborating with Kéré Architecture to refine construction methods developed by the studio over many years. The complex consists of ten pavilions connected by a winding path along a hillside, culminating in a visitor center at the summit. The road serves as an organizing axis, separating public functions from clinical and medical spaces. The elongated building forms minimize excavation costs and preserve the surrounding landscape. Orientation aligns with prevailing winds to maximize natural cross-ventilation, creating comfortable environments without mechanical systems. Maternity and outpatient areas share similar floor plans with irregular profiles that create shaded waiting zones and niches with integrated benches in their facades. The ventilated roof system is adapted from previous Kéré Architecture projects and tailored to Burundi's climate and seasonal rains. In the surgery wing, all patient rooms offer views of nature, while chimneys provide natural stack ventilation throughout the building. Eva Weissman, founder of Clínica Ineza, emphasized the urgent need for medical facilities in Burundi, where women face a 1 in 57 risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth. The clinic aims to provide affordable, high-quality obstetric and surgical care otherwise inaccessible to rural populations. Francis Kéré highlighted the critical importance of local healthcare access, noting that traveling less than 40 kilometers can take up to three hours due to poor road conditions. The project builds on Kéré Architecture's extensive experience in healthcare facility design, including centers in Burkina Faso.