Who Has Won the Pritzker Prize?

Ceremonia del Premio Pritzker 2017: Ryue Nishizawa (izquierda), Tadao Ando, Kazuyo Sejima, Rafael Aranda, Glenn Murcutt, Carme Pigem, Ramon Vilalta, Toyo Ito, Shigeru Ban. Image Cortesía de Pritzker Architecture Prize

The Pritzker Prize is the most important award in the field of architecture, awarded to a living architect whose built work "has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture." The Prize rewards individuals, not entire offices, as took place in 2000 (when the jury selected Rem Koolhaas instead of his firm OMA) or in 2016 (with Alejandro Aravena selected instead of Elemental); however, the prize can also be awarded to multiple individuals working together, as took place in 2001 (Herzog & de Meuron), 2010 (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA), and 2017 (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta of RCR Arquitectes).

The award is an initiative funded by Jay Pritzker through the Hyatt Foundation, an organization associated with the hotel company of the same name that Jay founded with his brother Donald in 1957. The award was first given in 1979, when the American architect Philip Johnson, was awarded for his iconic works such as the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut.

The Pritzker Prize has been awarded for forty two straight editions without interruption, and there are now 22 countries with at least one winning architect. To date, half of the winners are European; while the Americas, Asia, and Oceania share the other editions. So far, no African architect has been awarded, making it the only continent without a winner.

In terms of gender, five women have won the award: Zaha Hadid (2004), Kazuyo Sejima (2010, together with Ryue Nishizawa), Carme Pigem (2017, together with Ramón Vilalta and Rafael Aranda), and Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara (2020). While in 2012, Lu Wenyu, partner and wife of Wang Shu, rejected the proposal to share the award, saying that "I never wanted a Pritzker."

However, this has not been the case for Denise Scott Brown, who did not receive the award in 1991 alongside her partner and husband Robert Venturi. In 2013, organizations and personalities demanded to give the prize retroactively to Scott Brown, a request that was rejected by Peter Palumbo—then president of the jury—who closed down the discussion by explaining that "a jury can not reopen or criticize the work of a previous jury."

These are the Pritzker Prize winners since 1979:

1979. Philip Johnson, United States

© City of Boston Archives vía West Roxbury, USA, license under CC BY 2.0. Philip Johnson, Pritzker Prize 1979

1980. Luis Barragán, Mexico

© Tomjc.55, under license CC BY-SA 4.0. Luis Barragán, Pritzker Prize 1980

1981. James Stirling, United Kingdom

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1982. Kevin Roche, United States

Kevin Roche, Pritzker Prize 1982. Image © Balthazar Korab

1983. I. M. Pei, United States

© RIBA via The Telegraph. I. M. Pei, Pritzker Prize 1983

1984. Richard Meier, United States

Richard Meier, Premio Pritzker 1984. Image Cortesía de Silja Magg

1985. Hans Hollein, Austria

© 準建築人手札網站 Forgemind ArchiMedia, under license CC BY 2.0. Hans Hollein, Pritzker Prize 1985

1986. Gottfried Böhm, Germany

Gottfried Böhm, Premio Pritzker 1986. Image Cortesía de AFFR

1987. Kenzo Tange, Japan

© Dijk, Hans van / Anefo, via Wikipedia under license CC BY-SA 3.0 nl. Kenzo Tange, Pritzker Prize 1987

1988. Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil and Gordon Bunshaft, United States

Oscar Niemeyer, Premio Pritzker 1988. Image Cortesía de Fundação Oscar Niemeyer Gordon Bunshaft, Premio Pritzker 1988. Image Cortesía de SOM / © Alburtus – Yale News Bureau

1989. Frank Gehry, Canada—United States

Frank Gehry, Pritzker Prize 1989. Image © Alexandra Cabri

1990. Aldo Rossi, Italy

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1991. Robert Venturi, United States

© George Widman/AP Photo. Robert Venturi, Pritzker Prize 1991

1992. Álvaro Siza, Portugal

© Manuel de Sousa , bajo licencia CC BY-SA 3.0. Álvaro Siza, Pritzker Prize 1992

1993. Fumihiko Maki, Japan

By jeanbaptisteparis - flickr: Fumihiko Maki, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link. Fumihiko Maki, Pritzker Prize 1993

1994. Christian de Portzamparc, France

By Jacques-Franck Degioanni - www.christiandeportzamparc.com/fr/contact/, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link. Christian de Portzamparc, Pritzker Prize 1994

1995. Tadao Ando, Japan

By Christopher Schriner from Köln, Deutschland - flickr: Tadao Ando, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link. Tadao Ando, Pritzker Prize 1995

1996. Rafael Moneo, Spain

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1997. Sverre Fehn, Norway

© Stina Glømmi. Image Sverre Fehn, Pritzker Prize 1997

1998. Renzo Piano, Italy

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1999. Norman Foster, United Kingdom

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2000. Rem Koolhaas, Netherlands

Rem Koolhaas, Pritzker Prize 2000. Image © Miguel de Guzmán

2001. Jacques Herzog + Pierre de Meuron, Switzerland

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2002. Glenn Murcutt, Australia

Glenn Murcutt (center), Pritzker Prize 2002. Image © The Glenn Murcutt Masterclass

2003. Jørn Utzon, Denmark

Jørn Utzon, Pritzker Prize 2003. Image © 準建築人手札網站 Forgemind ArchiMedia

2004. Zaha Hadid, Iraq-United Kingdom

Zaha Hadid, Pritzker Prize 2004. Image © Mary McCartney

2005. Thom Mayne, United States

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2006. Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Brazil

Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Premio Pritzker 2006. Image Cortesía de Paulo Mendes da Rocha Archive

2007. Richard Rogers, United Kingdom

Richard Rogers, Pritzker Prize 2007. Image © Andrew Zuckermann / RSHP

2008. Jean Nouvel, France

© Christopher Ohmeyer from vienna, AUT - flickr: jean-nouvelle-0300 copy, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link. Jean Nouvel, Pritzker Prize 2008

2009. Peter Zumthor, Switzerland

Peter Zumthor, Pritzker Prize 2009. Image © Yael Engelhart for Ha'aretz

2010. Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa, Japan

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2011. Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portugal

Eduardo Souto de Moura, Pritzker Prize 2011. Image © Yusuke Suzuki

2012. Wang Shu, China

Wang Shu, Pritzker Prize 2012. Image © Zhu Chenzhou

2013. Toyo Ito, Japan

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2014. Shigeru Ban, Japan

Shigeru Ban, Pritzker Prize 2014. Image © Shigeru Ban Architects

2015. Frei Otto, Germany

Frei Otto, Pritzker Prize 2015. Image © Ingenhoven und Partner Architekten

2016. Alejandro Aravena, Chile

Alejandro Aravena, Pritzker Prize 2016. Image © Manuel Albornoz

2017. Ramón Vilalta + Carme Pigem + Rafael Aranda, Spain

Rafael Aranda (left), Carme Pigem and Ramón Vilalta, Pritzker Prize 2017. Image © Javier Lorenzo Domínguez

2018. Balkrishna Doshi, India

Balkrishna Doshi, Premio Pritzker 2018. Image © VSF

2019. Arata Isozaki, Japan

Arata Isozaki, Premio Pritzker 2019. Image Cortesía de Pritzker Architecture Prize

2020. Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Ireland.

Yvonne Farrell y Shelley Mcnamara, Premio Pritzker 2020. Image © Alice Clancy

Original author: Nicolás Valencia