The creativity and creations that led to the Pritzker Prize

Publicado el 4 sept 2015

Norman Foster said: “Architecture is an expression of values.” Architects are in permanent dialogue with nature, society and humanity and project their own values through their works. To this point, a great architect is one that leads the world’s advancement, be it social, technical or artistic.

Often called the Nobel Prize of architecture, the Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture." Here is a list of Pritzker Prize Laureates since 2000 and quotes of the Jury Citation.

2015: Frei Otto, Germany

For his visionary ideas, inquiring mind, belief in freely sharing knowledge and inventions, his collaborative spirit and concern for the careful use of resources

“Throughout his life, Frei Otto has produced imaginative, fresh, unprecedented spaces and constructions. He has also created knowledge. Herein resides his deep influence: not in forms to be copied, but through the paths that have been opened by his research and discoveries. His contributions to the field of architecture are not only skilled and talented, but also generous.”

2014: Shigeru Ban, Japan

"Shigeru Ban is a tireless architect whose work exudes optimism. Where others may see insurmountable challenges, Ban sees a call to action. Where others might take a tested path, he sees the opportunity to innovate. He is a committed teacher who is not only a role model for younger generations, but also an inspiration.”

2013: Toyo Ito, Japan

For his synthesis of structure, space and form that creates inviting places, for his sensitivity to landscape, for infusing his designs with a spiritual dimension and for the poetics that transcend all his works

“Throughout his career, Toyo Ito has been able to produce a body of work that combines conceptual innovation with superbly executed buildings. He is a creator of timeless buildings, who at the same time boldly charts new paths. His architecture projects an air of optimism, lightness and joy, and is infused with both a sense of uniqueness and universality.”

2012: Wang Shu, China

For the exceptional nature and quality of his executed work, and also for his ongoing commitment to pursuing an uncompromising, responsible architecture arising from a sense of specific culture and place

“His buildings have the unique ability to evoke the past, without making direct references to history. The question of the proper relation of present to past is particularly timely, for the recent process of urbanization in China invites debate as to whether architecture should be anchored in tradition or should look only toward the future. As with any great architecture, Wang Shu´s work is able to transcend that debate, producing an architecture that is timeless, deeply rooted in its context and yet universal.”

2011: Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portugal

For architecture that appears effortless, serene, and simple, and for the care and poetry that permeates each project

“Eduardo Souto de Moura’s architecture it is not obvious, frivolous, or picturesque. It is imbued with intelligence and seriousness. His work requires an intense encounter not a quick glance. And like poetry, it is able to communicate emotionally to those who take the time to listen. His buildings have a unique ability to convey seemingly conflicting characteristics—power and modesty, bravado and subtlety, bold public authority and sense of intimacy—at the same time.”

2010: Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, Japan

For architecture that is simultaneously delicate and powerful, precise and fluid, ingenious but not overly or overtly clever; for the creation of buildings that successfully interact with their contexts and the activities they contain, creating a sense of fullness and experiential richness; for a singular architectural language that springs from a collaborative process that is both unique and inspirational; for their notable completed buildings and the promise of new projects together

“The architects hold a vision of a building as a seamless whole, where the physical presence retreats and forms a sensuous background for people, objects, activities, and landscapes. They explore like few others the phenomenal properties of continuous space, lightness, transparency, and materiality to create a subtle synthesis.”

2009: Peter Zumthor, Switzerland

“In Zumthor’s skillful hands, like those of the consummate craftsman, materials from cedar shingles to sandblasted glass are used in a way that celebrates their own unique qualities, all in the service of an architecture of permanence. The same penetrating vision and subtle poetry are evident in his writings as well, which, like his portfolio of buildings, have inspired generations of students. In paring down architecture to its barest yet most sumptuous essentials, he has reaffirmed architecture’s indispensable place in a fragile world.”

2008: Jean Nouvel, France

For his spirit of the journey – persistence, imagination, exuberance, and, above all, an insatiable urge for creative experimentation

“Of the many phrases that might be used to describe the career of architect Jean Nouvel, foremost are those that emphasize his courageous pursuit of new ideas and his challenge of accepted norms in order to stretch the boundaries of the field. For over 30 years, Jean Nouvel has pushed architecture’s discourse and praxis to new limits. His inquisitive and agile mind propels him to take risks in each of his projects, which, regardless of varying degrees of success, have greatly expanded the vocabulary of contemporary architecture.”

2007: Richard Rogers, United Kingdom

“We know that architecture is a discipline of enormous political and social consequence. And today we celebrate Richard Rogers, a humanist, who reminds us that architecture is the most social of arts. Throughout his long, innovative career, Rogers shows us that perhaps the architect’s most lasting role is that of a good citizen of the world.”

2006: Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Brazil

“Paulo Mendes da Rocha of Sao Paulo, Brazil, inspired by the principles and language of modernism, as well as through his bold use of simple materials, has over the past six decades produced buildings with a deep understanding of the poetics of space. He modifies the landscape and space with his architecture, striving to meet both social and aesthetic human needs.”

2005: Thom Mayne, United States

For his talent, vision, and commitment to furthering the art of architecture, and for an outstanding body of work and future promise

“Mayne’s approach toward architecture and his philosophy is not derived from European modernism, Asian influences, or even from American precedents of the last century. He has sought throughout his career to create an original architecture, one that is truly representative of the unique, somewhat rootless, culture of Southern California, especially the architecturally rich city of Los Angeles.”

2004: Zaha Hadid, Iraq & United Kingdom

“Her path to worldwide recognition has been a heroic struggle as she inexorably rose to the highest ranks of the profession. Clients, journalists, fellow professionals are mesmerized by her dynamic forms and strategies for achieving a truly distinctive approach to architecture and its settings. Each new project is more audacious than the last and the sources of her originality seem endless.”

2003: Jørn Utzon, Denmark

“Jørn Utzon is an architect whose roots extend back into history—touching on the Mayan, Chinese and Japanese, Islamic cultures, and many others, including his own Scandinavian legacies. He combines these more ancient heritages with his own balanced discipline, a sense of architecture as art, and natural instinct for organic structures related to site conditions.”

2002: Glenn Murcutt, Australia

“Glenn Murcutt is a modernist, a naturalist, an environmentalist, a humanist, an economist and ecologist encompassing all of these distinguished qualities in his practice as a dedicated architect who works alone from concept to realization of his projects in his native Australia.”

2001: Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron, Switzerland

For advancing the art of architecture, a significant contribution to furthering the definition of architecture as one of the premier art forms in this new century and millennium

“The architecture of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron combines the artistry of an age-old profession with the fresh approach of a new century’s technical capabilities. Both architects' roots in European tradition are combined with current technology in extraordinarily inventive architectural solutions to their clients' needs that range from a modest switching station for trains to an entirely new approach to the design of a winery.”

2000: Rem Koolhaas, Netherlands

For just over twenty years of accomplishing his objectives—defining new types of relationships, both theoretical and practical, between architecture and the cultural situation, and for his contributions to the built environment, as well as for his ideas

“Rem Koolhaas is that rare combination of visionary and implementer—philosopher and pragmatist—theorist and prophet—an architect whose ideas about buildings and urban planning made him one of the most discussed contemporary architects in the world even before any of his design projects came to fruition.”

Special acknowledge to pritzkerprize.com for granting the permission in writing to spread this list of creative leaders.

Jeanne Yizhen Yin

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