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Prize-winning architects.
Reaching an agreement on who is the best at something can be a difficult task. Particularly when involving an activity that is half way between technique and art. The pattern, insofar as distinguished architects are concerned, can be found in different international prizes.
If there is one award that says everything about an architect, it is the Pritzker prize. It is the closest thing to a Nobel prize for Architecture (if it were to exist) and its prestige is similar: being one of the best architects in modern history.
All the professionals included in our Architecture 'Top 10' have received the prize, which has been the main criterion in drawing up the list, in addition to other recognitions, such as the social and media impact of their projects.
The prize was founded in 1979 by the Hyatt Foundation, an institution established by one of the richest families in the USA which, among other businesses, owns the Hyatt hotel chain.
The award is given in recognition of a lifetime’s work to a living architect who combines talent, vision and commitment and has contributed in a consistent and significant manner to humanity and the environment with his or her architectural skills.
Preludes and epilogues of the Pritzker prize
There are other awards which also entail worldwide recognition of architects. Some are either the prelude to the Pritzker medal or its epilogue.
Two of the major ones are: the Royal Gold Medal awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) since 1848, and the Praemium Imperiale awarded by the Japan Art Association.
Both are given in recognition of a professional career, although it may sometimes be the subject of controversy, such as in the case of the last Royal Gold Medal awarded by RIBA to Ieoh Ming Pei, the architect of the admired and reviled –practically in the measure– glass pyramid of the Louvre museum. Other Royal Gold Medal winners in our 'Top 10' include: Gehry, Herzog & de Meuron, Ando, Koolhaas, Moneo, Piano, Rogers and Foster.
Nearly the same list of those included in our 'Top 10' have received the Praemium Imperiale: Gehry, Herzog & de Meuron, Ando, Koolhaas, Piano, Rogers and Foster, to which we must add Zumthor.
Another award that has influenced the 'Top 10' is the Mies van der Rohe EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture, organised as a joint initiative between the European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation in Barcelona since 1988. Recent winners of this prize, which is granted every two years, include Hadid, Koolhaas, Moneo, Zumthor and Foster. In the penultimate edition, 2007, the prize went to the Spanish studio, Mansilla + Tuñón Arquitectos, for the Contemporary Art Museum of Castilla y León (MUSAC).
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Published in Finances and Services by Antonio Alonso / Miguel Ángel García Vega on 22/03/2010
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