2018 Laureate

Balkrishna Doshi
India

Media Kit

Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta

Photo by Javier Lorenzo Domínguez

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Contents Contact
Media Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Eunice Kim
Jury Citation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Director of Communications
Jury Members. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Pritzker Architecture Prize
Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 eunicekim@pritzkerprize.com
Fact Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 +1 240 401 5649
Ceremony Venue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Previous Laureates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
About the Medal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
History of the Prize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Evolution of the Jury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Ceremonies Through the Years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 © 2018 The Hyatt Foundation
 2018 Pritzker Architecture Prize Media Kit

Media Release Announcing the 2018 Laureate

Balkrishna Doshi Receives the 2018 Pritzker Architecture Prize

His work in architecture to affect humanity is deeply personal, responsive, and meaningful.

Chicago, IL (March 7, 2018)—Professor Balkrishna Doshi, of India, has been selected as the 2018
Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, announced Tom Pritzker, Chairman of Hyatt Foundation, which
sponsors the award that is known internationally as architecture’s highest honor.

Architect, urban planner, and educator for the past 70 years, Doshi has been instrumental in shaping
the discourse of architecture throughout India and internationally. Influenced by masters of 20th
century architecture, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, known as Le Corbusier, and Louis Khan, Doshi
has been able to interpret architecture and transform it into built works that respect eastern culture
while enhancing the quality of living in India. His ethical and personal approach to architecture has
touched lives of every socio-economic class across a broad spectrum of genres since the 1950s.

“My works are an extension of my life, philosophy and dreams trying to create treasury of the
architectural spirit. I owe this prestigious prize to my guru, Le Corbusier. His teachings led me to
question identity and compelled me to discover new regionally adopted contemporary expression
for a sustainable holistic habitat,” comments Doshi. He continues, “with all my humility and
gratefulness I want to thank the Pritzker Jury for this deeply touching and rewarding recognition of
my work. This reaffirms my belief that, ‘life celebrates when lifestyle and architecture fuse.’”

Doshi’s architecture explores the relationships between fundamental needs of human life,
connectivity to self and culture, and understanding of social traditions, within the context of a place
and its environment, and through a response to Modernism. Childhood recollections, from the
rhythms of the weather to the ringing of temple bells, inform his designs. He describes architecture
as an extension of the body, and his ability to attentively address function while regarding climate,
landscape, and urbanization is demonstrated through his choice of materials, overlapping spaces,
and utilization of natural and harmonizing elements.

“Professor Doshi has said that ‘Design converts shelters into homes, housing into communities, and
cities into magnets of opportunities,” comments Mr. Pritzker. “The life’s work of Balkrishna Doshi
truly underscores the mission of the Prize—demonstrating the art of architecture and an invaluable
service to humanity. I am honored to present the 40th anniversary of this award to an architect who
has contributed more than 60 years of service to us all.”

The architect designed Aranya Low Cost Housing (Indore, 1989), which presently accommodates
over 80,000 individuals through a system of houses, courtyards and a labyrinth of internal pathways.
Over 6,500 residences range from modest one-room units to spacious homes, accommodating
low and middle-income residents. Overlapping layers and transitional areas encourage fluid and
adaptable living conditions, customary in Indian society.

Doshi´s architecture is both poetic and functional. The Indian Institute of Management (Bangalore,
1977-1992), inspired by traditional maze-like Indian cities and temples, is organized as interlocking
buildings, courts and galleries. It also provides a variety of spaces protected from the hot climate.
The scale of masonry and vast corridors infused with a campus of greenery allow visitors to be
simultaneously indoors and outdoors. As people pass through the buildings and spaces, Doshi
invites them to experience their surroundings and also suggests the possibility of transformation.

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Media Release (continued)

The 2018 Jury Citation states, in part: “Over the years, Balkrishna Doshi has always created an
architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends. With a deep sense of responsibility
and a desire to contribute to his country and its people through high quality, authentic architecture,
he has created projects for public administrations and utilities, educational and cultural institutions,
and residences for private clients, among others.” The Jury continues, “Doshi is acutely aware of the
context in which his buildings are located. His solutions take into account the social, environmental
and economic dimensions, and therefore his architecture is totally engaged with sustainability.”

His studio, Sangath (Ahmedabad, 1980), translates to “moving together.” The placement of
communal spaces, including a garden and outdoor amphitheater, highlights Doshi’s regard for
collaboration and social responsibility. Vaulted roofs, porcelain mosaic tile coverings, grassy areas,
and sunken spaces mitigate extreme heat. The mosaic tile detail is echoed in the tortoise-shell
inspired roof of Amdavad Ni Gufa (Ahmedabad, 1994), an undulating, cave-like, ferro-cement art
gallery, positioned underground, featuring works of Maqbool Fida Husain.

Other notable works include academic institution Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
(CEPT University) (Ahmedabad, 1966-2012); cultural spaces such as Tagore Memorial Hall
(Ahmedabad, 1967), the Institute of Indology (Ahmedabad, 1962), and Premabhai Hall (Ahmedabad,
1976); housing complexes Vidhyadhar Nagar Masterplan and Urban Design (Jaipur, 1984) and Life
Insurance Corporation Housing or “Bima Nagar” (Ahmedabad, 1973); and private residence Kamala
House (Ahmedabad, 1963), among many others.

“Every object around us, and nature itself—lights, sky, water and storm—everything is in a
symphony,” explains Doshi. “And this symphony is what architecture is all about. My work is the
story of my life, continuously evolving, changing and searching…searching to take away the role of
architecture, and look only at life.”

Doshi is the 45th Pritzker Prize Laureate, and the first to hail from India. The 2018 Pritzker
Architecture Prize ceremony commemorates the 40th anniversary of the accolade, and will take
place at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada, this May.

About the Pritzker Architecture Prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize was founded in 1979 by the late Jay A. Pritzker and his wife, Cindy.
Its purpose is to honor annually 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.

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© The Hyatt Foundation / The Pritzker Architecture Prize

Media Contact:
Eunice Kim
Director of Communications
The Pritzker Architecture Prize
Tel: +1 240 401 5649
3 Email: eunicekim@pritzkerprize.com
 2018 Pritzker Architecture Prize Media Kit

Jury Citation
Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi has continually exhibited the objectives of the Pritzker Architecture
Prize to the highest degree. He has been practicing the art of architecture, demonstrating
substantial contributions to humanity, for over 60 years. By granting him the award this year, the
Pritzker Prize jury recognizes his exceptional architecture as reflected in over a hundred buildings he
has realized, his commitment and his dedication to his country and the communities he has served,
his influence as a teacher, and the outstanding example he has set for professionals and students
around the world throughout his long career.

Doshi, as he is fondly called by all who know him, worked with two masters of the 20th century—
Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. Without a doubt, Doshi’s early works were influenced by these
architects as can be seen in the robust forms of concrete which he employed. However, Doshi took
the language of his buildings beyond these early models. With an understanding and appreciation of
the deep traditions of India’s architecture, he united prefabrication and local craft and developed a
vocabulary in harmony with the history, culture, local traditions and the changing times of his home
country India.

Over the years, Balkrishna Doshi has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or
a follower of trends. With a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to his country
and its people through high quality, authentic architecture, he has created projects for public
administrations and utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and residences for private clients,
among others.

He undertook his first project for low-income housing in the 1950s. Doshi stated in 1954, “It seems
I should take an oath and remember it for my lifetime: to provide the lowest class with the proper
dwelling.” He fulfilled this personal oath in projects such as Aranya Low-cost Housing at Indore,
1989, in central-west India and the Co-Operative Middle Income Housing, Ahmedabad, India of 1982,
and many others. Housing as shelter is but one aspect of these projects. The entire planning of the
community, the scale, the creation of public, semi-public and private spaces are a testament to his
understanding of how cities work and the importance of the urban design.

Doshi is acutely aware of the context in which his buildings are located. His solutions take into
account the social, environmental and economic dimensions, and therefore his architecture is
totally engaged with sustainability. Using patios, courtyards, and covered walkways, as in the case
of the School of Architecture (1966, now part of CEPT) or the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board in
Jabalpur (1979) or the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore (1992), Doshi has created spaces
to protect from the sun, catch the breezes and provide comfort and enjoyment in and around
the buildings.

In the architect’s own studio, called Sangath (Ahmedabad, India, 1980), we can see the outstanding
qualities of Balkrishna Doshi’s approach and understanding of architecture. The Sanskrit word
Sangath means to accompany or to move together. As an adjective, it embodies that which is
appropriate or relevant. The structures are semi-underground and totally integrated with the
natural characteristics of the site. There is an easy flow of terraces, reflecting ponds, mounds, and
the curved vaults which are distinguishing formal elements. There is variety and richness in the
interior spaces that have different qualities of light, different shapes as well as different uses, while
unified through the use of concrete. Doshi has created an equilibrium and peace among all the
components—material and immaterial—which result in a whole that is much more than the sum of
the parts.

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Jury Citation (continued)

Balkrishna Doshi constantly demonstrates that all good architecture and urban planning must not
only unite purpose and structure but must take into account climate, site, technique, and craft,
along with a deep understanding and appreciation of the context in the broadest sense. Projects
must go beyond the functional to connect with the human spirit through poetic and philosophical
underpinnings. For his numerous contributions as an architect, urban planner, teacher, for his
steadfast example of integrity and his tireless contributions to India and beyond, the Pritzker
Architecture Prize Jury selects Balkrishna Doshi as the 2018 Pritzker Laureate.

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Jury Members
Glenn Murcutt (Chair)
Architect and 2002 Pritzker Laureate
Sydney, Australia

Stephen Breyer
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Washington, D.C.

André Aranha Corrêa do Lago

Architectural critic, Curator, and Brazilian Ambassador to Japan
Tokyo, Japan

The Lord Palumbo

Architectural patron, Chairman Emeritus of the Trustees, Serpentine Galleries
Former Chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain
London, England

Richard Rogers
Architect and 2007 Pritzker Laureate
London, England

Sejima Kazuyo
Architect and 2010 Pritzker Laureate
Tokyo, Japan

Benedetta Tagliabue
Architect and Educator
Barcelona, Spain

Ratan N. Tata
Chairman of Tata Trusts
Mumbai, India

Wang Shu
Architect, Educator and 2012 Pritzker Laureate
Hangzhou, China

Martha Thorne (Executive Director)

Dean, IE School of Architecture & Design
Madrid, Spain

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Biography
Balkrishna Doshi was born in Pune, India on August 26, 1927, into an extended Hindu family that
had been involved in the furniture industry for two generations. Displaying an aptitude for art and an
understanding of proportion at a young age, he was exposed to architecture by a school teacher. He
began his architecture studies in 1947, the year India gained independence, at the Sir J.J . School of
Architecture Bombay (Mumbai), the oldest and one of the foremost institutions for architecture in India.

Doshi’s ambition and initiative guided many pivotal moments in his life—from boarding a ship from
India to London, where he dreamed of joining the Royal Institute of British Architects; and moving
to Paris—despite his inability to speak French—to work under Le Corbusier; to responding to the
responsibility and opportunity of rebuilding his native country.

He returned to India in 1954 to oversee Le Corbusier’s projects in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad, which
include the Mill Owner’s Association Building (Ahmedabad, 1954) and Shodhan House (Ahmedabad,
1956), among others. Beginning in 1962, Doshi also worked with Louis Kahn as an associate to build
the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and they continued to collaborate for over a decade.

In 1956, Doshi hired two architects and founded his own practice, Vastushilpa, which has since been
renamed Vastushilpa Consultants and grown to employ five partners and sixty employees, and has
completed more than 100 projects since its inception. Infused with lessons from Western architects
before him, he forged his artistic vision with a deep reverence for life, Eastern culture, and forces of
nature to create an architecture that was personal, laced with sights, sounds, and memories from
his past. Alongside a deep respect for Indian history and culture, elements of his youth—memories
of shrines, temples and bustling streets; scents of lacquer and wood from his grandfather’s furniture
workshop—all find a way into his architecture.

Of the tremendous range of completed buildings, which include institutions, mixed-use complexes,
housing projects, public spaces, galleries, and private residences, Doshi recalls one of his most
personal endeavors, Sangath (Ahmedabad, 1980), his architecture studio. “Sangath fuses images
and associations of Indian lifestyles. The campus integrates, and memories of places visited collide,
evoking and connecting forgotten episodes. Sangath is an ongoing school where one learns, unlearns
and relearns. It has become a sanctuary of culture, art and sustainability where research, institutional
facilities and maximum sustainability are emphasized.”

He established Vastushilpa Foundation for Studies and Research in Environmental Design in 1978
to evolve indigenous design and planning standards for built environments appropriate to the socio-
cultural and environmental milieu of India. Today, it serves as an effective link between academics and
professional consultants. Doshi was Founder, former Director and former Chairman of the School of
Architecture and Planning (Ahmedabad, 1966-2012), which was renamed CEPT University in 2002. He is
currently Dean Emeritus and continues to reside in Ahmedabad.

Having been recognized both nationally and internationally, Doshi is the recipient of the Officer of the
Order of Arts and Letters of France (2011); Global Award for Lifetime Achievement for Sustainable
Architecture, Institut Francais d’Architecture, Paris (2007); Prime Minister’s National Award for
Excellence in Urban Planning and Design, India (2000); Aga Khan Award for Architecture (1993-1995) for
Aranya Community Housing; Gold Medal, Academy of Architecture of France (1988); Gold Medal, Indian
Institute of Architects (1988); and Padma Shree National Award, Government of India (1976). Doshi is a
Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Indian Institute of Architects, and an Honorary
Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He served on the Pritzker Prize Jury from 2005-2007, and
on selection committees for the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and the Aga Khan Award
for Architecture.

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Biography (continued)
A retrospective of his works, “Celebrating Habitat: The Real, the Virtual and the Imaginary,” opened
at the National Gallery of Modern Arts, Delhi, India (2014), before traveling to the Power Station of
Art Shanghai, China, (2017). He recently delivered the 27th Annual Architecture lecture at the Royal
Academy of Arts, London, U.K. (2017).

Published texts include Paths Uncharted (Vastushilpa Foundation, 2011); “Community Building in
Indore, India” in Where are the Utopian Visionaries?: Architecture of Social Exchange by Hansy
Better Barraza (Periscope Publishing, 2012); and numerous works in relevant international journals
such as A+U (Japan), Architectural Review (United Kingdom), and Abitare (Italy), among many others.

Doshi was a member of the International Committee for preparing the International Charter on the
Education of Architects, sponsored by International Union of Architects in association with UNESCO
(1995), and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Pennsylvania, United States (1990)
and McGill University, Canada (2005). He has been a visiting professor at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Rice
University, Houston; Washington University in St. Louis; and University of Hong Kong, among others,
and has lectured at prestigious schools and institutions throughout the world.

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Fact Summary
BUILT WORKS

1958 ATIRA Low Cost Housing

Ahmedabad, India

1960 Physical Research Laboratory Low Cost Housing

Ahmedabad, India

1962 Institute of Indology

Ahmedabad, India

1963 Kamala House

Ahmedabad, India (1986 Extension)

1963 Gujarat University Science Building

Ahmedabad, India

1966 School of Architecture, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology

Ahmedabad, India

1967 Tagore Memorial Theatre

Ahmedabad, India

1970 School of Planning, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology

Ahmedabad, India

1972 Electronics Corporation of India, Ltd. Staff Housing

Hyderabad, India

1973 Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Township and Staff Housing

Kalol, India

1973 Life Insurance Corporation Housing

Ahmedabad, India

1974 Life Insurance Corporation Housing

Hyderabad, India

1975 Central Bank of India

Ahmedabad, India

1976 Premabhai Hall

Ahmedabad, India

1977-92 Indian Institute of Management

Bangalore, India

1978 Visual Arts Centre, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
Ahmedabad, India

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Fact Summary (continued)

1979 Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board Office Complex

Jabalpur, India

1980 Sangath
Ahmedabad, India

1982 School of Building Science and Technology, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
Ahmedabad, India

1982 School of Interior Design, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
Ahmedabad, India

1982 Gandhi Labour Institute

Ahmedabad, India

1984 Kanoria Centre for Arts, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
Ahmedabad, India

1984 Vidhyadhar Nagar Masterplan and Urban Design

Jaipur, India

1987 Indian Institute of Management

Lucknow, India

1989 Aranya Low Cost Housing

Indore, India

1994 Amdavad Ni Gufa

Ahmedabad, India

1997 National Institute of Fashion Technology

New Delhi, India

2001 Sawai Gandharva

Pune, India

2009 Maneesha House

Baroda, India

2012 Exhibition Gallery, Kanoria Centre for the Arts, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology
Ahmedabad, India

SELECTED BOOK BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bhatt, Vikram and Peter Scriver. After the Masters: Contemporary Indian Architecture. Ahmedabad:
Mapin Publishing, 1990.

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Fact Summary (continued)

Correa, Charles, Balkrishna Doshi, Muzharul Islam and Achyut Kanvinde. An Architecture of
Independence: The Making of Modern South Asia. Ed. Kazi Khaleen Ashraf and James
Belluardo. New York: Architectural League of New York, 1998.

Curtis, William J.R. Balkrishna Doshi: An Architecture for India. Ed.Carmen Kagal. New York:
Rizzoli, 1988.

Doshi, Balkrishna. “Community Building is Indore, India”. Where are the Utopian Visionaries?:
Architecture of Social Exchange. Ed. Hansy Better Barraza. Pittsburgh and New York:
Periscope Publishing, 2012. 68-77.

Futagawa, Yukio (Ed). Balkrishna V. Doshi. Sarabhai House, Ahmedabad, India, 1955 : Shodhan
House, Ahmedabad, India, 1956. Global Architecture series #32. Tokyo : A.D.A. EDITA
Tokyo, 1956.

Steele, James. Rethinking Modernism for the Developing World: The Complete Architecture of
Balkrishna Doshi. New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1998.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

1965 Blake, P. “Doshi: Architecture for a Time of Change.” Architectural Forum. 123/5 (1965).
52-59.

1968 Doshi, B. V. “The Proliferating City and Communal Life: India.” Ekistics. 25. (1968). 67-69.

1970 Doshi, B. V. “Self Sufficiency and Generative Centers.” Ekistics. 29/172. (1 March 1970).
209-211.

Doshi, B. V. “Human Stake in Environmental Improvement.” Ekistics. 20/180. (1 November

1970). 424-426.

1973 Nicolais, J. “Balkrishna Doshi.” Architectural Forum. 138/4 (1973). 32-41.

1981 Doshi, B. V. “Identity in Architecture; Contemporary Pressures and Tradition in India.”

Architectural Association Quarterly. 13/1 (1981). 19-25.

1983 Doshi, B. V. “Sangath, Atelier Doshi a Ahmedabad, Inde.” Architecture d’Aujourd’Hui.

(1983). 80-83.

----- “India: The -Offices of an Architect who holds to Traditional Values.” Architecture:
The AIA Journal. 72/8 (1983). 169.

1984 Doshi, B. V. Low Cost Housing Township at Indore for the Indore Development Authority.”
Open House International. 9/4 (1984). 34-44.

Rybczynski, W. “The Last Outpost.” Architects’ Journal. 40/180 (1984). 36-39.

1987 Doshi, B. V. “India.” Spazio e Societa. 10/38 (1987). 44-142.

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Fact Summary (continued)

1988 Doshi, B. V. “Aranya Township, Indore.” Mimar: Architecture in Development. (1988). 24-29.

1989 Doshi, B. V. and Varkey, K. “Balkrishna V. Doshi.” Architecture + Design. 5/2 (1989). 20-111.

1992 Caputo, S. “Studio di Architettura Sangath, 1979-1981 (Sangath Architecture Studio,

1979-1981).” Abitare. 308 (1992). 157-163.

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Ceremony Venue
2018 ceremony will be at Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada

The Aga Khan Museum offers visitors a window into the artistic, intellectual, and scientific
contributions of Muslim civilizations to world heritage.It contains artwork and artifacts from the
private collection of His Highness the Aga Khan.

Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Fumihiko Maki, the Museum, clad in white granite, opened in
2014. Maki imagined the building as a composition of a series of folded white surfaces that are in
dialogue with the nearby Ismaili Centre, Toronto, designed by the late Indian architect Charles Correa
who was a member of the Pritzker Prize Jury from 1993 to1998. The two buildings are united by the
Aga Khan Park, designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic and includes a series of reflecting
pools as well as landscaped gardens.

Past Pritzker Architecture Prize ceremonies have been held at France’s Palace of Versailles and
Grand Trianon; Tōdai-ji Buddist Temple in Nara, Japan; Prague Castle in the Czech Republic; Akasaka
Palace in Tokyo, Japan; the White House in Washington, D.C.; Beijing’s Great Hall of the People; as
well as at distinguished art institutions including The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam; The Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City; The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia; the Altes
Museum in Berlin, Germany; and the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Previous Laureates
Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta, 2017 Laureates
Spain
Presented at the State Guest House, Akasaka Palace, Tokyo, Japan

Alejandro Aravena, 2016 Laureate

Chile
Presented at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, New York

Frei Otto, 2015 Laureate

Germany
Presented at the New World Center, Miami Beach, Florida

Shigeru Ban, 2014 Laureate

Japan
Presented at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Toyo Ito, 2013 Laureate

Japan
Presented at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, Massachusetts

Wang Shu, 2012 Laureate

The People’s Republic of China
Presented at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, The People’s Republic of China

Eduardo Souto de Moura, 2011 Laureate

Portugal
Presented at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Washington, D.C.

Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, 2010 Laureates

Japan
Presented at the Immigration Museum, Ellis Island, New York Bay

Peter Zumthor, 2009 Laureate

Switzerland
Presented at the Palace of the Buenos Aires City Legislature, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Jean Nouvel, 2008 Laureate

France
Presented at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Richard Rogers, 2007 Laureate

United Kingdom
Presented at the Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace, London, United Kingdom

Paulo Mendes da Rocha, 2006 Laureate

Brazil
Presented at the Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

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Previous Laureates (continued)

Thom Mayne, 2005 Laureate
United States of America
Presented at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois

Zaha Hadid, 2004 Laureate

United Kingdom
Presented at the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia

Jørn Utzon, 2003 Laureate

Denmark
Presented at Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Madrid, Spain

Glenn Murcutt, 2002 Laureate

Australia
Presented at Michelangelo’s Campidoglio in Rome, Italy

Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, 2001 Laureates

Switzerland
Presented at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia

Rem Koolhaas, 2000 Laureate

Netherlands
Presented at the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, Israel

Norman Foster, 1999 Laureate

United Kingdom
Presented at the Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany

Renzo Piano, 1998 Laureate

Italy
Presented at the White House, Washington, D.C.

Sverre Fehn, 1997 Laureate

Norway
Presented at the construction site of the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

Rafael Moneo, 1996 Laureate

Spain
Presented at the construction site of the Getty Center, Los Angeles, California

Tadao Ando, 1995 Laureate

Japan
Presented at the Grand Trianon and the Palace of Versailles, France

Christian de Portzamparc, 1994 Laureate

France
Presented at The Commons, Columbus, Indiana

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Previous Laureates (continued)

Fumihiko Maki, 1993 Laureate
Japan
Presented at Prague Castle, Czech Republic

Alvaro Siza, 1992 Laureate

Portugal
Presented at the Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago, Illinois

Robert Venturi, 1991 Laureate

United States of America
Presented at Palacio de Iturbide, Mexico City, Mexico

Aldo Rossi, 1990 Laureate

Italy
Presented at Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy

Frank O. Gehry, 1989 Laureate

United States of America
Presented at Todai-ji Buddhist Temple, Nara, Japan

Oscar Niemeyer, 1988 Laureate

Brazil
Presented at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

Gordon Bunshaft, 1988 Laureate

United States of America
Presented at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

Kenzo Tange, 1987 Laureate

Japan
Presented at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

Gottfried Böhm, 1986 Laureate

Germany
Presented at Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, United Kingdom

Hans Hollein, 1985 Laureate

Austria
Presented at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California

Richard Meier, 1984 Laureate

United States of America
Presented at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Ieoh Ming Pei, 1983 Laureate

United States of America
Presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

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Previous Laureates (continued)

Kevin Roche, 1982 Laureate
United States of America
Presented at the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

James Stirling, 1981 Laureate

United Kingdom
Presented at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C.

Luis Barragán, 1980 Laureate

Mexico
Presented at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

Philip Johnson, 1979 Laureate

United States of America
Presented at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

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About the Medal

The bronze medallion awarded to each Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is based on designs of
Louis Sullivan, 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.” These are the three conditions referred to by Henry Wotton in his 1624 treatise, The Elements
of Architecture, which was a translation of thoughts originally set down nearly 2000 years ago by
Marcus Vitruvius in his Ten Books on Architecture, dedicated to the Roman Emperor Augustus. Wotton,
who did the translation when he was England’s first ambassador to Venice, used the complete quote
as: “The end is to build well. Well-building hath three conditions: commodity, firmness and delight.”

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History of the Prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established by The Hyatt Foundation in 1979 to annually honor
a living architect 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. It has often been described as “architecture’s most
prestigious award” or as “the Nobel of architecture.”

The prize takes its name from the Pritzker family, whose international business interests, which
include the Hyatt Hotels, are headquartered in Chicago. They have long been known for their support
of educational, social welfare, scientific, medical and cultural activities. Jay A. Pritzker, who founded
the prize with his wife, Cindy, died on January 23, 1999. His eldest son, Thomas J. Pritzker, has
become chairman of The Hyatt Foundation. In 2004, Chicago celebrated the opening of Millennium
Park, in which a music pavilion designed by Pritzker Laureate Frank Gehry was dedicated and named
for the founder of the prize. It was in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion that the 2005 awarding ceremony
took place.

Tom Pritzker explains, “As native Chicagoans, it’s not surprising that we are keenly aware of
architecture, living in the birthplace of the skyscraper, a city filled with buildings designed by
architectural legends such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and many others.”

He continues, “In 1967, our company acquired an unfinished building which was to become the
Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Its soaring atrium was wildly successful and became the signature piece of
our hotels around the world. It was immediately apparent that this design had a pronounced effect
on the mood of our guests and attitude of our employes. While the architecture of Chicago made us
cognizant of the art of architecture, our work with designing and building hotels made us aware of the
impact architecture could have on human behavior.”

And he elaborates further, “So in 1978, when the family was approached with the idea of honoring
living architects, we were responsive. Mom and Dad (Cindy and the late Jay A. Pritzker) believed that
a meaningful prize would encourage and stimulate not only a greater public awareness of buildings,
but also would inspire greater creativity within the architectural profession.” He went on to add that
he is extremely proud to carry on that effort on behalf of his family.

Many of the procedures and rewards of the Pritzker Prize are modeled after the Nobel Prize.
Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize receive a $100,000 grant, a formal citation certificate, and
since 1987, a bronze medal. Prior to that year, a limited edition Henry Moore sculpture was presented
to each Laureate.

Nominations are accepted from all nations; from government officials, writers, critics, academicians,
fellow architects, architectural societies, or industrialists, virtually anyone who might have an interest
in advancing great architecture. The prize is awarded irrespective of nationality, race, creed, gender
or ideology.

The nominating procedure is continuous from year to year, closing each November. Nominations
received after the closing are automatically considered in the following calendar year. The final
selection is made by an international jury through undisclosed deliberations and voting.

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The Evolution of the Jury

The first jury assembled in 1979 consisted of the late J. Carter Brown, then director of the National
Gallery of Art in Washington, D C; the late J. Irwin Miller, then chairman of the executive and
finance committees of Cummins Engine Company; Cesar Pelli, architect and at the time, dean of the
Yale University School of Architecture; Arata Isozaki, architect from Japan; and the late Kenneth Clark
(Lord Clark of Saltwood), noted English author and art historian.

Jury members are invited to serve for a minimum three-year tenure. The gradual changes over
time in the jury composition allow for a balance between stability and new perspectives on the
committee. Lord Rothschild of the UK was chair of the jury form 2002-2004. Lord Palumbo, well-
known architectural patron and former chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain, former trustee
of the Mies van der Rohe Archives of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, former chairman of
the trustees, Serpentine Galleries, served as Chair of the Pritzker Prize Jury from 2005-2016 and
continues as a member.

Glenn Murcutt, 2002 Pritzker Prize Laureate and architect, has served as Jury Chair since 2017. Jury
members are assembled from around the world and reflect a variety of professions and points of
view. The current jury also includes Justice Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court; André Aranha
Corrêa do Lago, architectural critic, curator, and Brazilian Ambassador to Japan; 2007 Pritzker Prize
Laureate and British architect, Richard Rogers; Sejima Kazuyo, 2010 Pritzker Prize Laureate and
Japanese architect; Benedetta Tagliabue, architect and educator from Italy who has her practice
EMBT in Barcelona, Spain; Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, Mumbai, India; and Wang Shu,
2012 Pritzker Prize Laureate, Chinese architect and educator.

Always seeking multiple points of view and independence of the jury, others who have served
include people from the world of business such as the late Thomas J. Watson, Jr., former chairman
of IBM the late Giovanni Agnelli, former chairman of Fiat and Rolf Fehlbaum, then Chairman of Vitra,
Basel, Switzerland.

Critics, journalists and curators include the late Toshio Nakamura, former editor of A+U in Japan; the
late Ada Louise Huxtable, author and architecture critic and the longest serving juror to date; Victoria
Newhouse, architectural historian and author; Karen Stein, writer, editor and architectural consultant
in New York; and Kristin Feireiss, architecture curator, writer and editor based in Berlin, Germany.

Numerous architects from around the world have served including Americans the late Philip
Johnson, Frank Gehry and Kevin Roche; as well as the late Ricardo Legorreta of Mexico, Fumihiko
Maki of Japan, and the late Charles Correa of India; Jorge Silvetti, architect and professor of
architecture at Harvard University; Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, architect, planner and professor of
architecture from Ahmedabad, India. Since 2000, there have been many outstanding architects
associated with the Pritzker Prize Jury, including Juhani Pallasmaa, architect, professor and author,
Helsinki, Finland; Shigeru Ban, architect, and professor at Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; Alejandro
Aravena, architect and executive director of Elemental, Santiago, Chile; Carlos Jimenez, a principal
of Carlos Jimenez professor at the Rice University School of Architecture in Houston, Texas; the late
Zaha Hadid, architect and 2004 Pritzker Prize Laureate, Renzo Piano, architect and 1998 Pritzker Prize
Laureate, of Paris, France and Genoa, Italy; Karen Stein, writer, editor and architectural consultant in
New York; Yung Ho Chang, architect and educator of Beijing, The People’s Republic of China.

Martha Thorne became the executive director of the Pritzker Prize in 2005. Currently, she is Dean of
IE School of Architecture and Design, Madrid/Segovia, Spain, part of an innovative private university.
Prior to joining IE and academia, she was associate curator of architecture at the Art Institute of
Chicago for ten years Author of numerous books and articles on contemporary architecture, she

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The Evolution of the Jury (continued)

also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Graham Foundation and the board of
the International Archive of Women in Architecture. Currently she assists with competitions and
architect selection processes.

Executive Director from 1998 to 2005 was Bill Lacy, architect and advisor to the J. Paul Getty Trust
and many other foundations, as well as president of the State University of New York at Purchase.
Previous secretaries to the jury were the late Brendan Gill, who was architecture critic of The New
Yorker magazine; and the late Carleton Smith. The late Arthur Drexler, who was the director of
the department of architecture and design at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, was a
consultant to the jury for many years.

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Pritzker Ceremonies Through the Years

Soon after establishing the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1979, the Pritzker family began a tradition
of moving the award ceremonies to architecturally and historically significant venues throughout the
world. Befitting a truly international prize, the ceremony has been held in fourteen countries on four
continents spanning from North and South America to Europe to the Middle East to Far East Asia.

For the first two years of the Prize, the ceremony was held at historic Dumbarton Oaks in the
Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. where the first Laureate Philip Johnson designed
a major addition to the estate. Indeed, for six of its first seven years, the prize was awarded in the
District of Columbia. Its fourth year, the ceremony traveled for the first time — to the Art Institute
of Chicago — but it wasn’t until 1986 that the Pritzker was awarded internationally. That year, the
ceremony was held in London.

Since then, the Pritzker Prize ceremony has been held at international venues more often than in
the United States. Europe has hosted the ceremony eleven times in eight countries, twice each
in the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. The Pritzker ceremony has visited some of the Old World’s
most beautiful and historic locales, old and new, from the 9th century Prague Castle in the Czech
Republic; to Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1997; and the 2013 reopened Rijksmuseum
in Amsterdam.

Beyond Europe and the U.S., the prize has traveled twice each to the Middle East, East Asia and
Latin America. In 2012, the Prize ceremony was held for the first time in China. Coincidentally,
Chinese architect Wang Shu was the Laureate and received the award in Beijing’s Great Hall of
the People. Shu was not the first architect to be so honored in his home country but as ceremony
locations are usually chosen each year long before the laureate is selected, there is no direct
relationship between the honoree and the ceremony venue.

As architecture is as much art as design, the Pritzker Prize ceremony has been held in numerous
museums especially in the United States. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fort Worth’s
Kimball Museum and Washington D.C.’s National Gallery of Art have hosted the Pritzker. Libraries
too, have been a popular venue choice, including 2013’s site, the John F. Kennedy Presidential
Library and Museum. Other examples include the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, the Library
of Congress and the Huntington Library, Arts Collections and Botanical Gardens near Los Angeles.
The other ceremony held in Los Angeles took place at the Getty Center in 1996, which was designed
by Pritzker Laureate Richard Meier. At the time, the museum was only partially completed.

The Prize ceremony often visits newly opened or unfinished buildings. In 2005, the ceremony
was held at the new Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Chicago’s Millennium Park, which was designed by
Laureate Frank Gehry. It was the second Gehry-designed building that hosted the ceremony, the
first being the Guggenheim Museum in Spain. Frank Gehry himself was awarded the Prize in 1989
at Todai-ji in Nara, Japan. Along with Monticello in Virginia and the Palace of Versailles in France, this
8th century Buddhist temple is one of three UNESCO World Heritage sites to host the ceremony.
Other historically-important venues for the Pritzker include the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. With
the ceremony at the foot of the Temple Mount, it was the Pritzker’s oldest venue. The Hermitage
Museum in St. Petersburg, comprised of palaces of the Russian czars, hosted the 2004 ceremony
that honored the first female winner of the Award, Zaha Hadid. For the Pritzker Prize’s first visit to
Latin America in 1991, the ceremony was held at the Palace of Iturbide in Mexico City where the
first Emperor of Mexico was crowned.

Modern-day heads of state have been among the many dignitaries to attend Pritzker ceremonies.
U.S. Presidents Clinton and Obama attended ceremonies in Washington in 1998 and 2011
respectively. The former ceremony was held at the White House. The King of Spain attended the
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Pritzker Ceremonies Through the Years (continued)

2003 ceremony at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid. Their Majesties, the
Emperor and Empress of Japan, attended the 2017 ceremony at the Akasaka Palace, Tokyo, which was
originally built as the residence for the Crown Prince in 1909. The Prime Minister of Turkey and the
President of Czech Republic also each attended ceremonies when held in their respective countries.

Like the architects it honors, the Pritzker Prize has often bucked convention, holding its ceremonies
in unique spaces. In 1994, when French architect Christian de Portzamparc received the prize, the
community of Columbus, Indiana was honored. Because of the support of then-Pritzker juror J.
Irwin Miller, numerous notable architects designed buildings in the small Midwest city. In 2010 the
ceremony was held in the middle of New York Harbor at Ellis Island’s Immigration Museum. Eight
years before, the ceremony took place on one of the seven traditional hills of Rome in Michaelangelo’s
monumental Piazza di Campidoglio.

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