The Pritzker Prize is the most prestigious architectural award in the world; it is often called the “Nobel Prize” in architecture. The founders of the award are Jay and Cindy Pritzker, owners of the Hyatt hotel chain. The prize was first awarded in 1979, and it very quickly became the most prestigious among architects all over the world. Landing this award means gaining a completely new unique status in the architectural community.

In this article, you will learn about:

  • Why famous hotel chain owners decided to create an award for architects;
  • laureate selection procedure;
  • several winners and their best projects;
  • Interesting facts about the Pritzker Prize;
  • Pritzker Prize laureates in Vancouver.

Foundation of the award 

In 1967, the Pritzker family built the Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta. It became the first hotel in the world with an atrium and a glazed transparent elevator. This innovation showed that the Pritzkers are interested in architecture and they understand its significance as a separate form of art. Later, Jay Carter Brown, director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, came to them and proposed the idea of ​​creating a prize that would be awarded to living architects. Jay and Cindy Pritzker immediately agreed with Brown’s proposal and in 1979 awarded the first winner, American architect Philip Johnson, the founder of the “international style.” Spouses believed that the award would not only make architecture more popular among a wide audience but also inspire the masters themselves to be more inventive. 

Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta

Source: https://officiel-online.com/heroes/great-settlers-family-pritzker/

 

Source: https://officiel-online.com/heroes/great-settlers-family-pritzker/

Laureate selection procedure

The Pritzker Prize is awarded to honor a living architect whose built work combines talent, commitment and professionalism which has produced consistent and significant contributions to society and the built environment through the art of architecture. 

To select nominees, representatives of the award send letters to the authorities in the architectural field. They are asked to tell which of the living artists is worthy of receiving the highest award or which of the young architects should they take a closer look at. The jury incognito comes to the cities where the architectural creations of the nominees are presented, and lively study the buildings in the context of the environment. 

The laureate receives $100,000 and also a bronze medallion. The bronze medallion awarded to each Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is based on designs of Louis Sullivan, a famed Chicago architect generally acknowledged as the father of the skyscraper. On one side is the name of the prize.

On the reverse, three words are inscribed, “firmness, commodity and delight,” recalling Roman architect Vitruvius’ fundamental principles of architecture of firmitas, utilitas, venustas.

Source: https://losko.ru/pritzker-prize/

The Jury 

The jury is constantly changing but always consists of 5-9 people, each of whom is a recognized professional not only in the field of architecture but also in the fields of business, education, journalism or culture. The Jury includes the Pritzker Prize winners themselves. The members are independent of anyone’s opinion, including the Pritzker family, and usually participate in the selection of laureates for several years, connecting the old and new members.

Interesting facts

– The founder of the Pritzker dynasty, Nikolai Yakovlevich Pritzker, immigrated from Kiev to Chicago at the end of the 19th century and became rich in a short period of time. He is a cousin of the Russian philosopher-existentialist L. I. Shestov.

– Jay Carter Brown, before coming to the Pritzkers with the idea of an architectural “Nobel” prize, offered it to Paul Getty, an oil magnate and industrialist, but he refused.

– Any architect can participate in the competition, and even friends and relatives of the Jury can be nominated. Or you can nominate yourself, as Gordon Bunshaft did and in 1988 he received a prize.

– In the same year (1988), Oscar Niemeyer became the winner. This was the only year when two independent architects were awarded at once. This decision was made due to the 10th anniversary of the Pritzker Prize.

– The 2015 laureate, Fry Otto, did not live to see the ceremony, so he was awarded posthumously. He died at 89 years old.

– The youngest laureate is the Japanese architect Rue Nishizawa. When he received the award with Kazuyu Sejima, he was 44 years old. The oldest is the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi. At the time of presentation in 2018, he was 90 years old.

– Zaha Hadid became the first woman to receive the Pritzker Prize.

Pritzker Prize laureates in Vancouver

We are very pleased to see our reader reviews on the blog. In one of the comments, there was an offer to tell more about the sights of Vancouver and its famous authors. Unfortunately, in Vancouver, not a single building has won the Pritzker Prize yet, but the buildings of its laureates adorn the streets of this beautiful city.

For example, the Jameson House Skyscraper, a unique building, was the creation of Norman Foster, the prominent architect of the 1999 Pritzker Prize winner. We would like to tell you more about the building and its author.

Baron Norman Foster is a well-known British architect, a prominent high-tech representative, philanthropist, and the most productive architect of his generation. His work is characterized by large-scale open spaces, an abundance of glass and metal, and multi-functionality. At the same time, his projects are distinguished by exquisite attention to detail.

Jameson House Tower is a 35-story building with a unique structure and recognizable facade in Downtown Vancouver. The master literally squeezed his creation (the area of the plot is only 1158 sq.M) between the historical facades of two famous buildings: the 1921 Ceperley Rounsfell and the 1929 Hamber of Mines. Such a “meeting of eras” looks a lot like the situation on the streets of Manhattan.

Twenty-three floors in the building are reserved for housing, eleven for business and trade. At the very top there is a two-story penthouse and a roof with a green terrace, which offers stunning views of the bay. Of course, the building also provides underground parking.

Source:https://www.archplatforma.ru/index.php?act=1&nwid=1354

Norman Foster’s most recognizable work is the Mary Ex skyscraper in London – the main London attraction of the 21st century.

Source:http://architime.ru/specarch/foster_and_partners/30_st_mary_axe.htm#1.jpg

Author: Master’s in Architectural Science Anastasia Rudenko