Diébédo Francis Kéré becomes first Black and African Pritzker laureate; Met selects Frida Escobedo for new wing

Diébédo Francis Kéré, hailing from Burkina Faso, has been awarded the Pritzker Prize, a historic achievement as he becomes the first Black architect and the first African to earn this prestigious accolade. His work emphasizes educational and healthcare buildings throughout Africa, employing cost-effective local materials such as clay-earth bricks and corrugated iron. After studying in Berlin, Kéré's inaugural project was a school in his native village, leading to further constructions in Mali, Togo, Kenya, Mozambique, and Sudan. He is currently working on the National Assembly of Benin and has plans for a museum in Rwanda, a Goethe Institute in Senegal, and a civic center at Munich's Technical University, where he teaches. In a related announcement, Frida Escobedo, a Mexican architect, has been selected to create the new Modern and Contemporary art wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, making her the first female architect to design a wing there. Initially slated for 2020, this project faced delays due to fundraising issues, but a significant $125 million contribution from financier Oscar L. Tang and his wife Agnes Hsu-Tang in 2021 helped secure naming rights and propel the project forward.