Pritzker Architecture Prize

About Pritzker Architecture Prize

• It is the highest international award in the field, which is sometimes referred to as the “Architecture Nobel” and “the profession’s highest honor.”
• The prize has been awarded every year since its founding in 1979.
• It is awarded to a living architect/s for significant achievement.
• It was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation.
• Objective: To honour a living architect whose built work demonstrates talent, vision and commitment, who has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture”.
• The laureate receives $100,000 and also a bronze medallion. 

Works of Riken Yamamoto

• Yamamoto is the ninth laureate from Japan.
• His famous works are the Hiroshima Nishi Fire Station (2000) has a transparent façade and glass walls and floors that allow passersby to look inside. 
• The Koyasu Elementary School (2018), spacious, open terraces not only make learning the arts — dance, music, painting but also encourage students to interact.

Q1) What is Architecture?

It is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. The practice of architecture is employed to fulfill both practical and expressive requirements, and thus it serves both utilitarian and aesthetic ends. 

Source: The ‘Architecture Nobel’: Why Pritzker laureate Riken Yamamoto’s work stands out