Pritzker Architecture Prize

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is the world's most prestigious architecture award, often called the "Nobel Prize of Architecture." Established in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker (1922–1999) and Cindy Pritzker (1923–2025) through the Hyatt Foundation, the prize is awarded annually to a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of talent, vision, and commitment that has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment. Laureates receive a US$100,000 grant, a formal citation certificate, and a bronze medallion based on designs by Louis Sullivan, inscribed with the Vitruvian principles of "firmness, commodity, and delight." Prior to 1987, laureates received limited-edition Henry Moore sculptures. The annual ceremony takes place each May at architecturally significant locations around the world. An independent jury of five to nine professionals—architects, academics, critics, and public figures—selects the laureate through a confidential deliberation process. The prize has been shared in several years: Gordon Bunshaft and Oscar Niemeyer (1988), Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron (2001), Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa (2010), Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta (2017), Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara (2020), and Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal (2021).