The 2024 Pritzker Prize was awarded to Riken Yamamoto

New York - The Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in the world of architecture, was awarded today to Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto. The jury particularly praised the way he connects public and private spaces. The most winners of this prestigious award come from Japan; 78-year-old Yamamoto has become the ninth Japanese laureate.

Yamamoto is known primarily for his innovative residential projects and educational institutions. In the announcement of this year's laureate, sometimes referred to as the Nobel Prize for architecture, the organizers described Yamamoto as an architect and activist who connects the public and private spheres, creating harmony despite "the diversity of identities, economies, politics, infrastructures, and housing systems."

Jury chair and award winner Alejandro Aravena described him as an "inspiring architect who brings dignity to everyday life." "One of the things we most need in the future of cities is to create conditions through architecture that multiply opportunities for encounters and interactions among people. By carefully blurring the boundary between public and private, Yamamoto positively contributes to the creation of community," he added.

"To recognize space for me means to recognize the entire community," Yamamoto stated. "The current approach in architecture emphasizes privacy and denies the necessity of social relationships. However, we can still honor the freedom of each individual while living together in an architectural space as a republic that supports harmony across cultures and life stages," added the architect, who was born in 1945 in Beijing but moved to Yokohama, Japan, after World War II. Yamamoto's work can primarily be seen in Japan, but his projects can also be found in China and Zurich, Switzerland, as noted by AFP.

Last year, the Pritzker Prize was awarded to British architect David Chipperfield, known primarily for the reconstruction of the Neues Museum in Berlin and Procuratie Vecchie, the oldest of the three buildings lining St. Mark's Square in Venice. Other laureates include Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, and Frank Gehry, one of the architects of the Dancing House in Prague.

The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established in 1979 by businessman Jay Pritzker and his wife Cindy. The award includes a bronze medal and $100,000 (2.3 million crowns). It is not awarded to firms or studios, but to individuals. If more than one is chosen, it is because the jury perceives their work as inseparably connected.