The holder of the Driehaus Prize 2010 is Rafael Manzano Martos

The Spanish architect Rafael Manzano Martos was announced on January 14, 2010, as the eighth laureate of the Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture. This prestigious global award for contemporary traditionalist architects, along with a financial reward of 200,000 USD, was conferred by a committee established by the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame in the USA. The committee members include, alongside sponsor Richard Driehaus, architects Michael Lykoudis, David Schwarz, and Léon Krier, critic Paul Goldberger, founder of the city of Seaside Robert Davis, and president of the American Academy in Rome Adele Chatfield-Taylor. At the same time, the Henry Hope Reed Award (50,000 USD) for the promotion of classical architectural heritage was awarded to art historian Vincent Scully (*1920).

Montemedio, club and hotel, Cádiz

Rafael Manzano Martos (* 1936, Cádiz)

— Studied at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura in Madrid (1963 Ph.D.)
— Lifelong collaboration with architect Fernando Chueca, one of his teachers
— 1962-66 taught at the School of Architecture in Madrid, from 1967 to present at the School of Architecture in Seville, where he moved
— 1970-91 Director of Reales Alcazares in Seville, led the restoration of this historic complex
— 1971-81 led the restoration of the Alhambra palace and the gardens of El Generalife in Granada, 1975-85 conducted excavations and designed the presentation of archaeological finds from the vanished palace of the Moorish caliphs Medina Azahara near Córdoba
— In his own projects, he draws from the forms of classical, Arabic, and Mudéjar architecture (residential houses, hotels, clubs in Spain, the USA, and the Arab world)
— Member of many Spanish and international architectural and archaeological institutions, holder of the Gold Medal for Spanish Art and other awards, author of books and articles on Hispano-Arab art

Selected Realizations

— Casa Fernando Chueca, Seville, 1973-75 – details inspired by photographs of vanished Seville monuments
— Cathedral, Huelva, 1975-80 – restoration and extension of the presbytery
— Villa La Manzana, Cádiz
— Montemedio, club and hotel, Cádiz

Info and photos ©