INTRODUCTION
With 54 official countries (plus 9 dependent and/or integrated territories, mostly on another continent) and about 17% of the entire world population, the African continent today encompasses hundreds of distinct ethnic groups, which speak more than two thousand languages, between African and non-African, in addition to dialects. Most probably, many other people existed before the historical events that marked Africa as a whole in the last five centuries. Firstly, the trafficking of black men, women, and children, enslaved from the 15th to the 19th century. The second moment to highlight was the Berlin Conference in 1885, which brought together European countries, the Ottoman Empire, and the United States to divide African territories between the powers, without, however, considering the existing separations based on the occupation of the various ethnic groups. Finally, the Decolonization of the African continent, already in the 20th century, generated several political and armed conflicts in the search for the independence of nations. These events, although they have a beginning and end dates, they did not end completely, that is, they reflect in the African territory and in other continents, such as the American, marked by slavery, especially in Brazil and the United States, which have the largest black population outside Africa and who are currently dealing with complex racial issues, in addition to the European continent itself, which has received in the last ten years and which continues to receive hundreds of thousands of immigrants, from Mediterranean Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing wars, armed and political conflicts and the poor quality of life they find in their countries.
As an applied social science, architecture and urbanism play the role of understanding political, economic, social, and cultural contexts, while promoting actions based on the needs and problems identified in society. Within the current context described, involving Africa and countries that share its history, architects and urbanists, for example, the Black Reconstruction Collective, from the United States, which also unites artists, designers, and academics, studies and debates the little-known black American architects, the reconstruction of the city in the search for the insertion of the black individuals in urban spaces, among other actions. In Brazil, the architect Gabriela de Matos created, in 2018, the ‘Arquitetas Negras’ project, which maps the production of these women architects and creates a network for hiring these professionals who, according to the 1st Gender Diagnosis in Architecture and Urbanism, developed by the Temporary Commission of Gender Equity at CAU/Brazil, in 2020, earn approximately 13 times less than white male architects. At the Federal University of Bahia - UFBA -, there is the research ‘Black architects and architects around the world: Mapping the black presence in the field of architecture, urbanism and urban planning’, coordinated by Professor Gabriela Leandro Pereira, which aims to “enable a database of references in which black architects and architects of different nationalities can be represented, places of training and performance, who stand out in different areas, to contribute to the construction of greater representation in the field (of architecture and urbanism)”, in addition to professor Fábio Velame, also from UFBA, who studies Afro-Brazilian architecture, vernacular and contemporary architecture in Africa.
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To contribute to the field of research that involves contemporary architecture on the African continent and, aware of the diversity of architectural proposals that Africa encompasses in its immense physical and cultural dimension, it is proposed a specific analysis of the contribution of the Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Keré. Personally, it is intended to assimilate the use of his philosophy of life aligned with architecture - which is developed together with the community - to apply it in the exercise of the profession, as an architect and urban planner, according to the Brazilian context.
Throughout the first chapter, Francis Kéré’s life is presented, describing how his childhood in Gando and later his youth in Berlin will be responsible for shaping the way the architect understands the role of architecture and the power of collective work, especially in the execution of projects, for example, the Primary School of Gando, described in the work. Some completed works are mentioned, in addition to others in progress (according to the date of publication of this essay). As a basis for the development of this chapter, the book ‘Francis Kéré: Radically Simple’, by Andres Lepik (2016), excerpts and information from the interviews between architect Diébédo and journalist Pedro Bial (2021), and architect and urban planner Miguel Pinto Guimarães are used (2020), to Dezeen Magazine (2017), in addition to excerpts and information extracted from the ‘TED Talk’ lecture given by Francis (2013).
Before analyzing the 2017 Serpentine Pavilion by Diébédo, firstly, in the second chapter, an analysis of the term ‘pavilion’ is made, investigating the etymology of the word, as well as the evolution of architectural typology over the years, since the possible origin before the 16th century, through the Universal Exhibitions, to the proposal to display the Serpentine Pavilions by the Serpentine Gallery in the 20th and 21st centuries, listing the architects responsible for each pavilion implemented in Kensington Gardens to this date. The references used are the master’s thesis by Paola de Oliveira Jaekel, entitled ‘Pavilions and the essayistic field of architecture: the case of the Serpentine Gallery in London’ (2017), and the graduation work by Ana Paula Ribeiro de Santana Silva (2019) and information about the Serpentine Pavilions on the Serpentine Gallery’s official website.
Two perspectives guide the study of Francis Kéré Pavilion in the third chapter. The personal view of the author of this essay analyzes the implementation of the project, the structural, formal, and spatial solutions adopted by the architect, investigating the work directly, without the influence of the narrative created by Diébédo - the second look - in which is detailed why some design choices were made and how they are related to the theoretical and practical learning that he was able to acquire in the social and academic environment in which he lived and lives. The description of the architect’s gaze is based on the Architect’s Declaration written on the Serpentine Gallery’s official website, as well as Francis’ interview also given to the Gallery about the project. Finally, considerations will be made about the work developed.
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CHAPTER 1: LIFE AND FIRST PROJECT OF FRANCIS KÉRÉ
Diébédo Francis Kéré was born in the small village of Gando, in the country Burkina Faso - West Sub-Saharan Africa - in 1965 (opposite page). The village had no electricity, access to clean water, or even a school. To make his eldest son knows how to read and write, to read his letters and write to him, his father, the head of the village, sent him to school (the first child in the village to have access to education). However, near Gando, there were no schools, so at the age of seven, Diébédo went to study in the city of Tenkodogo, 200 kilometers from the country’s capital, Ouagadougou. Later, Francis received a scholarship from the Carl Duisberg Society to undertake a course in carpentry, moving to Germany in 1985. After completing high school, Kéré obtained the academic qualification - Baccalauréatto study architecture at the Berlin Technique university, between 1995 and 2004 (ARCHITECTURAL RECORD, 2014):
[...] a lot of people don’t know, but I came to Germany to take a carpenter training course. That’s why I came to Germany. So I decided to learn something else, instead of continuing in carpentry, because Burkina Faso is a landlocked country. It is located in the Sahel region. There is no wood. (KÉRÉ, 2021)¹
In 1998, while still a student, Diébédo created the now called Kéré Foundation, formerly Schulbausteine für Gando (School Bricks for Gando), with the aim, at the time, of acquiring financial resources for the construction of a school in Gando. At first, Francis was asked to rebuild the only school built in 1984, which was in danger of collapsing, however, it was decided to design a new one. Two years later, he managed to obtain the amount needed to build the Primary School in Gando, which was completed in 2001. In 2004, in addition to obtaining his diploma as an architect and urban planner, Francis received the international Aga Khan Award for the project, for “elegant architectural clarity, achieved with the most humble means and materials, and for the transforming value”, according to those responsible for the award (LEPIK, 2016).
The Primary School of Gando was responsible for a change of thinking in the community, because it was with the efforts of the local population that it could actually be built. Men and women were mobilized and the knowledge necessary to carry out different tasks was transferred to them. The collective awareness that under the guidance of an architect and, above all, a member from the village, it would be possible to continue creating new buildings, meeting the local demands of various functions, made the initial purpose acquire proportions far beyond the expectations outlined by an architecture student in training:
We built a school at that time for 200 children, but before long, more children wanted to go to school, so we had to build an expansion, but we also needed to build housing for the teachers. One thing made another happen, so we started to build a lot in the village, and then people started to discover my work, asking if I could do the same for them, and today, in 2017, 16 years after building the first school, I have a team of maybe 200, 300 builders, welders, carpenters, bricklayers... Countless people are working in different parts of Burkina Faso, this is incredible. (KÉRÉ, 2017)²
¹ Excerpt from the interview shown on the TV show ‘Conversa com Bial’ on Rede Globo on April 5, 2021.
² Excerpt from the interview entitled “Francis Kéré Interview: The Hometown School launched his career” to Dezeen Magazine in 2017. Authorial translation.
(Opposite page) Architect Francis Kéré leaning on the model of the Primary School of Gando. Source: David Heerde. Editing: authorial.
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Convincing the community: building the Gando Primary School
Clay (contained in the reddish clay of the region) is the most accessible raw material in Burkina Faso, but the population associates the material with poverty and ephemerality because, in the period of intense rains, it is easily washed away by water, and the repair of walls settled with the material demands a lot of effort from the population, which has come to value western materials over those available in loco (LEPIK, 2016):
[...] when they (people) realized that I was planning to use clay, they were shocked. “A mud building cannot stand in the rainy season and Francis wants us to use it to build the school. Is that why he spent so much time in Europe studying instead of working in the field with us?” (KÉRÉ, 2013)³
Diébédo would not traditionally use clay, as the people of Gando feared. He had learned in Germany how to create bricks with a small amount of cement - between 8% and 10% - added to clay, to design more durable brick walls that would still be able to maintain performance - low thermal conduction - characteristic of the clay, extremely necessary for the region, as the temperature in Gando can reach over 40º Celsius. With the help of a brick machine operated by two people, the dry mixture of clay and cement is pressed, thus, the brick already acquires the final shape according to the mold used. To reduce cracks during drying, the bricks are covered with a plastic sheet (LEPIK, 2016):
After the rain, everyone came to the complex, as they were sure that the rain had destroyed the wall. But not. The rain had no way of destroying it. It was solid. It was standing. And then everyone believed in that technology. (KÉRÉ, 2020)4
As with the bricks, all other stages of project design and construction involved dialogue with the community. With the help of the Agency of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Transport - LOCOMAT - qualified local professionals instructed people, teaching construction techniques, so they could acquire autonomy. However, there was an effort on the part of men and women in Gando that combined technical learning with traditional cultural aspects, very striking and specific, such as the process of making the clay floor, described by Diébédo:
according to him, younger men beat, standing, on the dry clay, with an instrument made with a wooden handle and a stone base, for many hours, repeatedly; then their mothers, bent over, beat the floor with a smaller wooden instrument, while other women pour water, and the men played drums, helping to create a rhythm for everyone to follow along; finally, other women are responsible for polishing the floor with stones that fit in their hands, rubbing the stone against the floor for hours and hours. In the end, the result is a smooth and well-compacted floor (KÉRÉ, 2013).
The walls were assembled with earth mortar, over the raised shallow foundation composed of stones. The openings in the wall in the north and south directions are more vertical and are sealed by metallic blinds painted in yellow, with the ability to move the “blades”, making it possible to filter the amount of daylight that enters the classrooms, according to the need. Brick pillars projected beyond the wall support the structure of the reinforced concrete beams, responsible for supporting the
³ (KÉRÉ, 2013): excerpt and information extracted from the ‘TED Talk’ given by Francis Kéré in 2013, entitled “Diébédo Francis Kéré: How to build with clay… and with a community”. Authorial translation.
4 Excerpt from the online interview for the 27th World Congress of Architects - UIA2021Rio, made by the architect Miguel Pinto Guimarães. Authorial translation.
(Opposite page) Gando Primary School. Source: Simeon Duchoud. Editing: authorial.
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weight of the roof system. The system has two layers, brick, and metal, and the roof structure is formed by common steel bars, commonly used as reinforcement for concrete structures.5 In classrooms, the ceiling has the two materials used together (brick and bar steel)6 (KÉRÉ, 2013).
In 2001, 120 students attended the school. In 2016, 844 students started to attend the school: “[...] the children, they love it. And for me and my community, this project was a great success (Gando Primary School). It opened several doors to do several projects in Gando” (KÉRÉ, 2013).
Kéré Architecture: other relevant works and current projects
Founded in 2005, the firm ‘Kéré Architecture’ works with a diverse range of projects, “from civic infrastructure to temporary installations”, according to the official website. The office is located in Berlin, Germany, and has projects and proposals in the United States, China, Italy, England, and Germany, among other nations. It operates mainly on the African continent: in Mozambique, Kenya, the Republic of Benin, Nigeria, Uganda, Mali, and Sudan, with emphasis on Burkina Faso, where most of the projects built to date up to the publication of this essay are located, in addition to a team linked to the Berlin office that carries out projects in the region.
In Gando, the Gando Primary School complex was created, comprising the school itself (2001), the Teacher’s Housing (2004), the Primary School Extension (2008) and the School Library (2010 -); the Naaba Belem Goumma Secondary School (2011 -) and the Songtaaba Women’s Center (2011 -) are being built. Also in Burkina Faso, the Dano Secondary School (2007), the Health and Social Promotion Center (2012 - 2014) in Laongo, the Surgical Clinic and Health Center (2014) in Leo, the Lycée Schorge Secondary School ( 2014 - 2016) and the Noomdo Orphanage (20132016) in Koudougou; the Vila Ópera Remdoogo (2010 -) is under construction in Laongo and there is a project for the construction of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso (2015 -)7. In 2010, in Mali, the Center for Earth Architecture and the National Park were built.
The most recent projects are the Burkina Institute of Technology (2020 -), the Exilmuseum (2020 -) in Berlin, and the National Assembly of Benin (2019 -). The most recent completed work is the SKF-RTL Early Childhood Learning Center (2016-2020) in Kenya. In an interview with the journalist Pedro Bial, on Rede Globo’s television program entitled ‘Conversa com Bial’, in 2021, Brazilian architect Miguel Pinto Guimarães talks about the partnership with Diébédo in the construction of a sustainable village near Jericoacoara, on the coast of Ceará. It is still under negotiation, but the project involves the construction of private houses, social housing, schools, and hotels, among other typologies. According to the architect Miguel Pinto, it is based on sustainability, using materials and techniques from local artisans and in dialogue with the two neighboring fishing villages.
5 The steel bars form the space trusses that support the metal tile, purposefully raising the wall covering, allowing air circulation.
6 Mud bricks are structured by steel bars and concrete beams. 10 cm of spacing at the end of each end of the ceiling allows hot air to pass through and be channeled out through the trusses, while windows allow cool air in, cooling the classrooms (LEPIK, 2016, p. 35).
7 The years in parentheses represent the start and end date of the project. The lack of a second date after the hyphen represents the continuity of the construction, that is, it was not finalized until the publication date of this essay.
(Opposite page) National Assembly of Benin (2019 -). Source: Kéré Architecture. Editing: authorial.
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CHAPTER 2: ORIGINS OF THE PAVILION TYPOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE SERPENTINE PAVILIONS
According to the New Aurélio Dictionary of the Portuguese Language (2009), the word Pavilion, from the French Pavillon, is a “detachable construction; barrack, tent.” It can also be a “provisional building, almost always, in fairs or exhibitions, especially international ones, in which the products and/or peculiarities of a country are exhibited”.
In his book, ‘100 Years of Exhibition Pavilions’, Moisés Puente associates the pavilion with a butterfly (the Latin root of the word pavilion - papillio - is very close to the French word butterfly - papillon, which suggests some relationship in the origin of the words): “[...] it flies, landing from time to time: with a life as short as that of this insect and its construction sometimes based on sails and tarpaulins, reminiscent of its wings”, as quoted by Jaekel (2017, p. 16).
It is possible to understand from the origin of the term, as well as from the general meaning, that a pavilion refers to ephemeral spaces, formed by structures that are easier to assemble and dismantle, that is, of less material and formal complexity, in addition to being adapted to the transport of their parts, which can often be reerected in another location, depending on the design conception.
The definition of pavilion described above is, above all, linked to the pavilions of the Universal Exhibitions that began in the 19th century, however, some authors highlight the role of imperial gardens and parks, royal or private from ancient oriental culture as predecessors of the first pavilions in gardens, and in European parks at the end of the 16th century. Information about oriental gardens, mainly Chinese, was sent to Europe by Jesuit missionaries and became references in the creation of western pavilions, especially the English ones (JAEKEL, 2017). This oriental influence allied to European experiments is crucial for the creation of proposals such as the Serpentine Pavilion:
The English landscape project, in which the pavilions assumed the role of shelter for a momentary being, rest, and refuge, inserted with the aim of being a moment of surprise hidden by the vegetation, is a fundamental part of what the Serpentine Gallery and its works will provide once again to the visitors of Kensington Garden in the 21st century, since the pavilions inserted in the gallery’s lawn between the trees are very similar to those of these 18th-century gardens, both in dimensions and in the function of just welcoming people.
(JAEKEL, 2017, p. 26)
(Opposite page) Pavilion of the Federal Republic of Germany – Expo 67, in Montreal, by Frei Otto and Rolf Gutbrod. Source: Frei Otto. Editing: authorial.
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The Universal Expositions and Serpentine Pavilions
In the 19th century, the Universal Exhibitions began to appear, which sought, according to Puente (2000, p. 12), as cited by Jaekel (2017, p. 29), “to stimulate the economic development of the host countries, encouraging the population to create new artifacts to present them to the public”. The pavilions started collectively, that is, a single pavilion housed stands from the other participating countries. This is how the First Universal Exhibition took place, in the symbolic Crystal Palace, created by the architect Joseph Paxton in 1851 and built in Hyde Park, London (the future park dedicated to hosting the Serpentine Pavilions). According to Jaekel (2017, p. 31), the pavilion “remains mountable and demountable, but distances itself from the initial definitions of a small tent and secondary building to gain the protagonism of the main construction”. It is from the 20th century that the protagonism of a single pavilion gives space to “a collection of architectural expressions from around the world, where each pavilion represented its country in miniature”, according to Puente (2000, p. 13), as cited by Jaekel (2017, p. 31)
In addition to representing their respective countries, the pavilions became the means by which great architects such as Le Corbusier (creator of the L’esprit Nouveau Pavilion in 1925 and Philips Pavilion in 1958), Mies van der Rohe (creator of the German Pavilion, in 1929) and Oscar Niemeyer (creator of the Pavilhão do Brasil, in 1939)8, represented their views on Modern Architecture and the future of architecture:
The Modern Movement could at the same time use the pavilion as a place to create the never-before-seen, and to return the pavilion to its origins as a temporary tent, a minimal separation from the outside, and a delicate designation of place. (BERGDOLL, 2009, p.20, as translated and quoted by Jaekel, 2017, p. 34).
Moreover to the Universal and International Exhibitions throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, other displays and smaller expositions have also emerged, involving institutions, architects, and companies with different objectives, be they to exhibit products, promote new materials, create installations with sensory stimuli, and be others. These new pavilions, more correlated with art, such as temporary exhibitions of works in museums and galleries, start to stand out in contemporary times, coexisting with the pavilions of the Universal Exhibitions, however, representing the architect himself and his architectural language and not a whole nation. It is in this context that the Serpentine Gallery’s Summer Pavilions are inserted (JAEKEL, 2017).
Since the year 2000, “[...] an internationally recognized architect has been invited to design and create his first structure built in England: the Serpentine Pavilion”9. Serpentine Gallery of contemporary art, in Hyde Park - the largest park in central London (SILVA, 2018).
It was in 1992 that the Serpentine Gallery began the first exhibition involving art and architecture, with the glass pavilion by American artist Dan Graham. From this first essay, other interventions of the kind were proposed more frequently, until the
8 The L’Esprit Nouveau Pavilion was made in partnership with Le Corbusier’s cousin and architect, Pierre Jeanneret, for the Exhibition of Modern Industrial Decorative Arts in Paris, and the Philips Pavilion was made together with the engineer and architect Iannis Xenakis for the Universal Exhibition of 1958, in Brussels, Belgium. The German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona was made in partnership with the designer Lilly Reich. The Brazil Pavilion was the result of a partnership with the architect and urban planner Lúcio Costa for the 1939 Universal Exhibition in New York (SILVA, 2018).
9 Official description available at: https://www. serpentinegalleries.org/support/private-hire/ serpentine-pavilion/. Authorial translation.
(Opposite page) Crystal Palace, by Joseph Paxton. Source: Philip Henry Delamotte. Editing: authorial.
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first invitation for the construction of a temporary pavilion made to the architect Zaha Hadid. She was asked to design a structure to commemorate the institution’s reopening after a renovation of the Serpentine Gallery10, as a shelter for guests and at a reduced cost, compared to a tent. What was supposed to remain set up for a month, stayed longer in the garden, due to the success that the structure obtained in the perception of the visitors, the beginning of the series of pavilions that would follow (JAEKEL, 2017).
Except for the pavilion made by the South African studio Counterspace, which will be the same in 2020 and 2021, due to the global health crisis of the Coronavirus, which started in 2019, all the other pavilions were installed in a single year, between the months of June and October, mostly taking advantage of the London summer, when the incidence of rain is lower, temperatures are the highest of the year and daylight lasts longer.
Currently, the project is expected to include “a waterproof roof, lighting, power and a built-in bar. As a standard, the standing shelter capacity varies between 200300 people, and the seating capacity for dining can be a maximum of 70 seats”. The possibility of being assembled and dismantled is also recurrent, as the pavilions are usually auctioned at the end of their exhibition and reassembled in “private properties of buyers who prefer to remain anonymous”, according to Jaekel (2017, p. 200).
The next chapter will be dedicated to the analysis of the 2017 Pavilion made by Burkinabe architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, correlating chapter 1 - the architect’s life, his connection with collective work, and the use of local materials -, chapter 2 - the origin of the pavilion concept and how the typology is being developed over the last few years - with the formal, material and architectural language solutions adopted in the London context by the architect.
10 Today there are two galleries, the Serpentine Gallery and the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. The Serpentine Gallery was originally a tea pavilion, built in 1934. The building began to house the contemporary art gallery in 1970 and received the Serpentine Pavilions next to it since the year 2000. The Serpentine Sackler Gallery was a powder magazine, called Magazine, built in 1805. Without this function since 1963, the building underwent a restoration in 2013, becoming a contemporary art gallery, in addition to having a tensioned structure created by Zaha Hadid Architects as a space coexistence with a restaurant.
(Opposite page) Composition with images of the pavilions, from the year 2000 to 2020/2021. (Left to right, top to bottom):
- 2020/2021 | Counterspace Photo: Counterspace
- 2019 | Junya Ishigami | Photo: Norbert Tukaj
- 2018 | Frida Escobedo | Photo: Ste Murray
- *2017 | Diébédo Francis Kéré Photo: Iwan Baan (Shown in Chapter 3)
- 2016 | Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) Photo: Iwan Baan
- 2015 | SelgasCano | Photo: Iwan Baan
- 2014 | Smiljan Radić | Photo: Iwan Baan
- 2013 | Sou Fujimoto | Photo: Ste Murray
- 2012 | Herzog & de Meuron e Ai Weiwei (artista) Photo: John Offenbach
- 2011 | Peter Zumthor e Piet Oudolf (paisagista) Photo: Hufton&Crow
- 2010 | Jean Nouvel | Photo: Jean Nouvel
- 2009 | Kazuyo Sejima e Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA) | Photo: Edmund Sumner
- 2008 | Frank Gehry | Photo: John Offenbach
- 2007 | Olafur Eliasson (artista) e Kjetil Thorsen (Snøhetta) | Photo: John Offenbach
- 2006 | Rem Koolhaas e Cecil Balmond (Arup) Photo: John Offenbach
- 2005 | Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto de Moura e Cecil Balmond (Arup) | Photo: James Winspear
- 2004 (Not executed) | MVRDV | Photo: MVRDV
- 2003 | Oscar Niemeyer | Photo: Sylvain Deleu
- 2002 | Toyo Ito e Cecil Balmond (Arup) Photo: Sylvain Deleu
- 2001 | Daniel Libeskind and Arup (Engineering) Photo: Hélène Binet
- 2000 | Zaha Hadid | Photo: Hélène Binet
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CHAPTER 3: CASE STUDY - SERPENTINE PAVILION 2017
Diébédo Francis Kéré was the 17th architect invited to design the Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London. The choice of the architect responsible for the 2017 pavilion was made by the artistic director of the Serpentine Gallery, Hans Ulrich, the CEO, Yana Peel, together with advisers David Adjaye and Richard Rogers, architects of great worldwide relevance.11
The Pavilion was purchased in 2017 by Galeria Ilham, from Kuala Lumpur. The structure will be located in Malaysia, and according to the gallery director Rahel Joseph, it will be displayed in a public space to encourage many people to visit.
Looks
The study of Francis Kéré’s Pavilion will be divided into two parts: the first with a personal look, that is, supported by the object of study, and what is possible to learn about it directly, in a way that is detached from the architect’s discourse. The second part is the understanding of the architect’s gaze, that is, of his intention behind the design choices.
Personal look
Francis Kéré positioned the pavilion perpendicular to the Serpentine Gallery, establishing a main path connecting the two. This path makes the pavilion the last space to be visited by those who enter through the gallery’s main entrance. He created two more routes to/from the pavilion, one on each side of the main axis, with relatively close distances, serving the public that arrives on ‘West Carriage Drive’ street and through Kensington Garden itself (there are two more entrances to the pavilion internally, created by the arrangement of the walls). Like the architects Toyo Ito, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, and Peter Zumthor, Diébédo chose to create a more compact pavilion, with 330 m², which does not exceed the limit of the lawn adjacent to the gallery, unlike the architects Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura and the Japanese office SANAA.
The translucent polycarbonate roof covering the pavilion area is supported and fixed to the steel space trusses. It has the shape of an ellipse, whose center is dislocated on the horizontal axis (x axis of the Cartesian Plane) to the left, creating two cantilever moments with different sizes - around 8 meters on the left and 14 meters on the right. There is a hole in the center, between the cantilevers, measuring about 5 meters, formed by three rings: the perimeter of the ellipse, the ring that delimits the size of the opening (also responsible for determining the slope of the roof), and the ring that allows the extension of the roof, for about 1.5 meters, as part of the surface of a cone.
11 David Adjaye is an architect, born in Tanzania, naturalized British, known mainly for designing the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016. Richard Rogers is an architect, born in Florence, naturalized British, known mainly for designing the Georges Pompidou Center, alongside the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in 1971.
(Opposite page) Serpentine Pavilion 2017 site plan and roof geometry analysis. Authorial.
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The structural system in steel is formed by hollow pieces, of square sections (with rounded edges), whose junction is made by welding. The elliptical shape of the roof generates a pattern of radial lines that form the design of the space trusses, constituting 28 modules of different sizes, with each module being narrower near the central hole and wider at the end of the roof. 14 modules have pillars and the other 14 do not, so they are interspersed with each other, forming a compression ring around the opening. The pillars are like the continuity of the truss, supported at four points welded on a square steel base. It is anchored in a part of the concrete floor, inside a permeable area in the center, in the open part of the roof.
The steel structure is partially covered by wooden slats at the bottom. The slats are fixed (or are glued or screwed, it is unlikely that they will be fitted) on a wooden support that surrounds each span of the space trusses, which causes the slats to create light and shadow effects, both by the void between them (apparently of the same dimension as the slats themselves) and by the transparency of the polycarbonate roof above them.
In addition, the slats form triangular panels that vary in height in the central part of each truss module. The central pieces follow the height of the truss mullions, like the diagonals between one mullion and another, forming angles that allow different slopes. Being that the closer to the hole in the cover the opening is larger and the further away, that is, closer to the perimeter of the roof, the smaller the angle formed and, consequently, the smaller the opening. Due to the slope of the lower chord of the truss, which reduces the height of the uprights and therefore reduces the diagonals that promote openings in the wooden panels, the last ring of the truss that surrounds the perimeter of the ellipse has no opening, that is, the wooden slats are in the same plane.
The walls are made of a single, prefabricated piece, used as a replicated module. Of solid wood and painted blue, the piece is formed by eight slats that decrease in size in length, creating a pyramidal shape. In addition, each slat has a trapezoidal shape in section, with a right angle on the inside and an angle of inclination of about 30° on the outside.
This angular variation, combined with the arrangement between the piecespositioned one opposite to the other, sometimes with the larger base supported below, sometimes above - creates an optical effect of changing the shade of blue when exposed to the sun or even by artificial night light, on the outside. The inverted pyramid pieces (with the smaller base supported below), appear to be lighter than the others. Each piece is assembled at a small distance from the other, allowing partial visual permeability, in addition to the passage of air. In addition, they are perforated in two vertical points, through which steel bars pass, which guarantees the stability of the five rows that compose the wall, interspersed between horizontal wooden slats.
The four curved fragments that create different passages and visual effectsthe walls - delimit the spaces, providing different functions in the pavilion. The concave walls facing inwards are places that promote the gathering of people, such as near the bar and at the other end, in an even wider area. The other two walls, with their concavities facing outwards, have a more intimate character, with fixed benches designed in line with the walls (solid wood seats painted in blue), which favor permanence and rest. The walls were set up at the same level as the central living area as if they were on small stones such as gravel, but they are actually fixed by a metal bracket anchored to the concrete floor. In the uncovered part, there are cylindrical concrete benches also for permanence. Finally, there is furniture specially created for children - a wooden slide with a conical shape, very similar to the geometry of the roof itself, as an ellipse with an offset center - installed between the outdoor area and the covered area of the pavilion.
(Opposite page) Structural system: space trusses and detail of the connection between the wooden elements of the roof. Authorial.
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We have a big tree in the center of the village that provides shade and during the day multiple activities take place there. It could even be a kindergarten. So adults would be talking and children would be playing, elders would be arguing, but sometimes it can turn into a small hospital when there is a vaccination campaign or it becomes a school. So I wanted to bring that spirit, that element in Burkina Faso culture here, using the tree as a reference and with all the activities happening on it. (KÉRÉ, 2017)12
Francis Kéré reinterpreted a very striking element in his experience in Africa, the tree, and from there he began to develop the components that could represent it. He chose steel as the structure to give the pavilion longevity, “to push this structure to its limit,” he said (the pavilion was made in partnership with Aecom, an American multinational engineering firm). In addition to steel, he also took advantage of the availability of wood in London, both for the roof slats and for the walls.
Diébédo compared the roof to a treetop and attributed another function to it: “in the center of the pavilion, the roof ends as a funnel for collecting water. I wanted with my team to celebrate water as the most important element and a vital asset”. Drinking water proper for consumption is one of the consequences of Diébédo’s work in some regions of Burkina Faso, which is why he opted for the permeability of the central winter garden, which absorbs the water later used for irrigation of the green area around the pavilion (KÉRÉ, 2017).
The walls were assembled in the same way as the buildings proposed by Francis Kéré in Africa, for example, the Primary School of Gando described before, in which there are side openings in the walls and these do not touch the roof, as they allow the passage of hot air from inside to outside. More symbolically, Diébédo proposes the pieces slightly apart from each other and disconnected from the roof as a wall in the pavilion. The indigo blue applied to the wooden modules was a precise choice, as the blue color in the architect’s villa represents celebration, it is used on special occasions: “I wanted to show my building in its best color” (the painting of the pieces also protects against weather). In addition, the blue pieces refer to African fabrics, with vivid colors and striking geometric patterns, such as the triangular one. Diébédo says that “it looks like fabric, but it’s not, it’s wood. Very solid but feels like fabric, almost light and flexible.” (KÉRÉ, 2017)
The vivid night lights applied to the pavilion also carry a purpose linked to Diébédo’s relationship with his roots in Gando. It is common for young people to climb to a higher part of the terrain to look for a source of light and a celebration in the midst of much darkness. That light, according to him, “becomes greater as more and more people arrive to join the event. In this way, the Pavilion will become a landmark of light, a symbol of narrative (storytelling) and union” (KÉRÉ, 2017).
The sense of community is very expressive in Francis Kéré’s speech and architectural language. The study design made by him for the pavilion mentions the word “community” four times, a possible reflection of childhood in Gando, where collective life is not just a factor of subsistence, but a cultural expression and
12 (KÉRÉ, 2017): excerpts from the interview entitled ‘Serpentine Pavilion 2017: Francis Kéré’, promoted by the Serpentine Gallery. Authorial translation.
(Opposite page) Opening changing of the wooden panels and the wall formed by the set of wooden parts.
Architect’s look
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character formation linked to nature and the sense of collectiveness:
I asked my mother one day (at seven years old), - why do these women love me so much? (about the women of Gando who gave him their last coin they had with them, a show of deep affection), she only replied: they are contributing to pay for your education in the hope that one day you will succeed and you will come back and help improve the quality of life in the community. (KÉRÉ, 2017)13
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
“Corona, this crisis, opened our eyes. We have to find local solutions to solve global problems.” This phrase said by Francis Kéré during an online interview, promoted by the International Union of Architects, in 2020, within the context of the worldwide spread of the COVID-19 virus, says a lot about the architect’s vision of the past, present, and future.
The scenario in which we live categorically reveals, both positively and negatively, the power that each individual - citizen - carries with them in their actions. As architects and urban planners, it is no different. Diébédo teaches, through his work, the importance of looking back, understanding shared heritages in a critical way, and apprehending the concepts and practices that have applicability in the present. Thus, he traces a conscious path towards the future, by establishing a dialogue between pre-existence and technology, in the constant improvement of construction techniques, materiality, infrastructure, among others.
Diébédo understood the importance of the profession he chose and the potential that it acquires when it is shared among the people of a community and the extent to which this collective construction can reach, in the case of the village of Gando, going beyond its borders and, little by little, transforming the nation of Burkina Faso. The Serpentine Pavilion 2017 is one of the links between today and yesterday in the architect’s life, in which it personifies the fusion between cultural and social traditions with contemporary technological experimentation, spreading a vision of architecture that combines personal and local contexts in thinking and doing. In an interview with Anna Fixsen and Miriam Sitz of Architectural Record magazine in 2017, Francis Kéré was asked if people from Gando, his hometown, would like to be architects now and attend architecture schools. He replied: “Friends have told me that children say they want to be ‘Francis’. I became a profession. This is wonderful.”
13 Excerpt and information extracted from the ‘TED Talk’ given by Francis Kéré, in 2013, entitled “Diébédo Francis Kéré: How to build with clay… and with a community”.
(Opposite page) Serpentine Pavilion 2017. Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu
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REFERENCES
CONVERSA COM BIAL. “Miguel Pinto Guimarães lança livro ‘44 em Quarentena’ sobre lives com amigos e famosos”. Rede Globo. Available at: https://gshow.globo. com/programas/conversa-com-bial/episodio/2021/04/06/videos-do-episodiode-conversa-com-bial-de-segunda-feira-05-de-abril-de-2021.ghtml. Access on: 10 April, 2021.
DEZEEN. “Francis Kéré interview: The architect’s hometown school launched his career | Architecture | Dezeen”. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=j2zQjZTzpK8. Access in: 19 March, 2021.
JAEKEL, Paola de Oliveira. Pavilhões e o campo ensaístico da arquitetura: o caso da Galeria Serpentine em Londres. Master thesis – FAUUSP. Sao Paulo, 2017.
KÉRÉ ARCHITECTURE. “Serpentine Pavilion”. Kéré Architecture. Available at: https://www.kerearchitecture.com/work/design/serpentine-pavilion. Access in: 05 April, 2021.
LEPIK, Andres. Francis Kéré: Radically Simple. Berlin: Hatje Cantz Verlag; 1st edition, 2016.
MCKNIGHT, J. M. “Bringing It All Back Home Burkina Faso”. Architectural Record. [s. l.], v. 202, n. 6, p. 106, 2014. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp x?direct=true&db=aph&AN=96703742&lang=pt-br&site=eds-live. Access in: 27 February, 2021.
SERPENTINE GALLERIES. “Serpentine Pavilion 2017 by Francis Kéré”. Serpentine Gallery. Available at: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/serpentinepavilion-2017-designed-francis-kere. Access on: 18 April, 2021.
SERPENTINE GALLERIES. “Serpentine Pavilion 2017: Francis Kéré”. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azS1bRSv8PY. Access on: 16 April, 2021.
SILVA, Ana Paula Ribeiro de Santana. Homo Liber: o Pavilhão do Brasil no Serpentine 2019. Final Graduation Project – FAUUnB. Brasília, 2018.
TED. “Diébédo Francis Kéré: Como construir com argila... e com uma comunidade”. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD23gIlr52Y. Access on: 30 March, 2021.
UIA2021RIO. “UIA2021RIO – PARTE 1 – Diébédo Francis Kéré”. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M6bKf4qp8M&t=761s. Access on: 10 April, 2021.
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AND THE SERPENTINE PAVILION: community in shapes and gestures
KÉRÉ
