ARCHITECTURE
ground
WHAT THE
already knows
- a book review
Saint Gobain Jame Wang, Maurice Ascani, and Saint Gobain
He told his village he would build their school from mud. They laughed. What followed would quietly reshape the global architectural conversation.
Today, Francis Kéré is celebrated as one of the most important architects of our time, becoming the first African to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is often described as architecture’ s Nobel Prize. But long before global recognition, his work was rooted in something far simpler: the earth beneath his feet.
Earth Building Identity in Africa is not a technical document but rather a cultural exploration. Drawing on voices from across the continent, it captures a living architectural tradition that has, for generations, existed quietly in villages, landscapes, and inherited knowledge systems.
“ True innovation can only thrive when it is rooted in the recognition of our heritage,” writes Melissa Nsabimana, Marketing and Communications Director at Saint-Gobain Africa, which authored Earth Building Identity in Africa.
Across Africa, earth has shaped homes, communities, and ways of life often without formal recognition. Passed down through practice rather than textbooks, these building methods reflect an intuitive understanding of climate, material, and place. Yet for decades, this knowledge has been marginalised.
Faced with climate change, rising construction costs, and the environmental toll of industrial materials, architects and designers are looking again at what has always been available.
34 winter 2026 | www. tobuild. co. za