The 2013 Pritzker Prize was awarded to Toyo Ito

photo: Yoshiaki Tsutsui

New York - The Pritzker Prize, the most prestigious award for architects worldwide, has been awarded this year to Japanese architect Toyo Ito. The jury honored him, according to Reuters, primarily for the creativity of his designs and the timelessness of his buildings.
     At the beginning of his career, Ito distinguished himself primarily with small imaginative projects, including the White U house he built for his sister in 1976. The building, which symbolized a return from skyscrapers to a life closer to the ground, contained two long corridors, one leading to the architect's sister's room and the other to her daughter's room.
     Among the most well-known designs of the seventy-one-year-old architect is the Sendai Mediatheque completed in 2001. The jury of the Pritzker Prize also highlighted it in its evaluation, stating that the building's variable concept is not limited by the boundaries of modern architecture. Ito himself claims about his art that he "tries to erase conventional meaning with minimalist tactics."
     The Pritzker Prize was founded in 1979 by American entrepreneur Jay A. Pritzker and his wife. The prize, which was awarded last year to Chinese architect Wang Shu, includes a reward of $100,000 (nearly two million crowns).