Pritzker Prize Winners
One of the world’s premier architectural awards, the Pritzker Prize is bestowed annually to the most outstanding architect of the year. Take a look as we highlight the revolutionary work of past winners.
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Jean Nouvel, France
Awarded in 2008

Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute). The south side of the building built in 1987 in Paris, France, with its motorized diaphragms, is a contemporary expression of eastern culture. The theme of light is reflected in the southern wall, which consists entirely of camera-like diaphragms, and reappears in reflections and shadows.

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Zaha Hadid, United Kingdom
Awarded in 2004

Vitra Fire Station. A soaring, exposed-concrete “wing” on the angular building, erected in 1993 in Weil Am Rhein, Germany, gives the structure the appearance of being in midflight. (October 2004)

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Sir Norman Foster, United Kingdom
Awarded in 1999

The prolific English architect uses technology with grace and daring, creating visionary designs such as this layered residence in Kamakura, Japan (March 2007).

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Kenzo Tange, Japan
Awarded in 1987

Above the lights of the Shinjuku district, occupying the top 14 floors of a 52-story building, is the Tange-built Park Hyatt Tokyo. The swimming pool—located under an atrium and offering views of Mount Fuji—is part of the recently expanded and renovated 22,600-square-foot spa and fitness center. (March 2005)

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Leoh Ming Pei, United States
Awarded in 1983

Located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, the Pei-designed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1995. It offers educational programs, hosts shows and panel discussions with rock and roll artists and inducts a handful of new artists each year. (May 2008)

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Rem Koolhaas, The Netherlands
Awarded in 2000

The Dutch architect created an extraordinary single-family dwelling to be built in Rotterdam. After firing his clients, he redesigned the structure as Casa da Música, a music facility to be erected in Portugal. (July 2002)

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Álvaro Siza, Portugal
Awarded in 1992

Álvaro designed a house-and-studio compound in Porto, Portugal, for artist Armanda Passos. The front elevation of the main house has deep roof overhangs that both protect the various openings on each level and establish the design’s horizontality. (October 2007)

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Frank O. Gehry, United States
Awarded in 1989

The shapes of the Frank Gehry-designed Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi, were inspired by ceramic artist George Ohr’s freewheeling pieces and elements of the southern vernacular. (May 2003)

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Richard Meier, United States
Awarded in 1984

For the Kuala Lampur House, above, Meier chose the materials with respect for the wet Malaysian climate. A combination of ceramic tile, enameled aluminum and glass form a moisture resistant skin that is easily maintained. The architecture also responds directly to the intense year-round sun by incorporating exterior sunscreens into the façade to protect glass areas from direct sun exposure. (March 2008)

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Philip Johnson, United States
Awarded in 1979

“At this point in my career, I see no reason to do architecture that isn’t sculptural,” says Philip Johnson, inside his 1949 Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut. (March 2001)

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Richard Rogers, United Kingdom
Awaraded in 2007

Rogers designed a house for a hillside site in Los Angeles’s Pacific Palisades area. A perspective sketch, above, shows its unique roof. (March 2007)

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Luis Barragán, Mexico
Awarded in 1980

Barragán conceived a compound near Mexico City in 1968 for a family and their Thoroughbred horses. Above: The horses can enter the open area of the yard through two rectangular openings in a wall that Barragán, a horse lover himself, designed to the scale of a horse’s body. (October 2003)

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Kevin Roche, United States
Awarded in 1982

Renowned for his commercial and public buildings, Connecticut architect Kevin Roche has designed only two residences. His second, an essay in the local materials and vernacular forms of California’s Napa Valley, is for William Hewitt, a long time patron of architecture. Above: “Each side of the courtyard has glass doors that open into the interior, allowing the space to flow from the courtyard to the exterior decks,” Roche explains. (August 1992)

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Renzo Piano, Italy
Awarded in 1998

Piano’s museum for the Foundation Beyeler near Basel, Switzerland, incorporated a glass-and-steel roof canopy that floats above stone walls. (October 1997)

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Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil
Awarded in 1988

Niemeyer, who still works from his native Rio de Janeiro at the age of 100, was a key figure in the design of the city of Brasilia and reigns as one of modern architecture s towering influences. Above: In 1954 he completed his own house in Rio’s São Conrado district. The house’s living/dining room celebrates organic forms, with walls that curve and a playfully encroaching boulder. (May 2003)

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Aldo Rossi, Italy
Awarded in 1990

Incorporating the Romantic-style vernacular of the northern Italian lake region in his work for the first time, Aldo Rossi designed a villa for Alessandra and Stefano Alessi on Lago Maggiore. Hexagonal columns supporting three balconies distinguish the lakefront elevation. (January 1996)

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