Francis Kéré (Architect, Founder of Kéré Architecture) is an internationally acclaimed architect known for his community-focused and sustainable approach. He won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2004 for his first project, a primary school in his native Gando, Burkina Faso. In 2022, he became the first African architect to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Kéré’s work has been exhibited worldwide, and he currently holds professorships at TU München and Yale University. Kéré Architecture works globally. Kéré has gone on to become one of the most distinguished contemporary architects, thanks to his pioneering of a communal approach to design and his commitment to sustainable materials, as well as modes of construction. Most prominently these include his design for the Benin National Parliament (under construction), the Goethe Institut in Dakar (under construction), the Léo Surgical Clinic & Health Centre (2014), the Lycée Schorge Secondary School (2016), the Serpentine Pavilion (2017) and Xylem (2019), a gathering pavilion for the Tippet Rise Art Center.

Kazuyo Sejima （Architect, Founder of SANAA）was born in 1956 in Ibaraki and studied architecture at Japan Women’s University. In 1987, she opened her own studio, Kazuyo Sejima & Associates, and in 1995, together with Ryue Nishizawa, founded SANAA. She is currently a professor at the Polytechnic University of Milan, a visiting professor at Japan Women’s University and the Osaka University of Arts, an emeritus professor at Yokohama National University, and director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. Major works include Saishunkan Seiyaku Women’s Dormitory, House in a Plum Grove, the Inujima Art House Project, the Sumida Hokusai Museum, and Japan Women’s University Mejiro Campus.