Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima.
Photo: Takashi Okamoto
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners in the architectural firm, SANAA,
have been chosen as the 2010 Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The
formal ceremony for what has come to be known throughout the world as
architecture’s highest honor will be held on May 17 on historic Ellis Island in
New York. At that time, a $100,000 grant and bronze medallions will be bestowed
on the two architects.
In announcing the jury’s choice, Thomas J. Pritzker, chairman of The Hyatt
Foundation, elaborated, “This marks the third time in the history of the prize
that two architects have been named in the same year. The first was in 1988 when
Oscar Niemeyer of Brazil and the late Gordon Bunshaft were so honored, and the
second was in 2001, when Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, partners in a
Swiss firm, were selected.”
He continued, “Japanese architects have been chosen three times in the thirty
year history of the Pritzker Architecture Prize — the first was the late Kenzo
Tange in 1987, then in 1993, Fumihiko Maki was selected, and in 1995, Tadao Ando
was the honoree.”
The purpose of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is to honor annually a living
architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of
talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant
contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of
architecture.
Pritzker Prize jury chairman, The Lord Palumbo quoted from the jury citation
to focus on this year’s selection: “For architecture that is simultaneously
delicate and powerful, precise and fluid, ingenious but not overly or overtly
clever; for the creation of buildings that successfully interact with their
contexts and the activities they contain, creating a sense of fullness and
experiential richness; for a singular architectural language that springs from a
collaborative process that is both unique and inspirational; for their notable
completed buildings and the promise of new projects together, Kazuyo Sejima and
Ryue Nishizawa are the recipients of the 2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize.”
Glass Pavilion, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio 2006.
Photo: Hisao Suzuki
While most of their work is in Japan, Sejima and Nishizawa have designed
projects in Germany, England, Spain, France, the Netherlands and the United
States, under their combined name SANAA. The first SANAA project in the United
States began construction in 2004 in Ohio—a Glass Pavilion for the Toledo Museum
of Art. Completed in 2006, it houses the museum’s vast collection of glass
artworks, reflecting the city’s history when it was a major center of glass
production.
While that building was still under construction, the New Museum of New York
City broke ground in 2005 at 235 Bowery. Completed in 2007, the building has
been described as “a sculptural stack of rectilinear boxes dynamically shifted
off-axis around a central steel core.”
O-Museum Iida, Nagano, Japan 1999.
Photo: Hisao Suzuki
The jury citation specifically mentions these projects as well as two
projects in Japan: “the O-Museum in Nagano and the 21st Century Museum of
Contemporary Art in Kanazawa.” The Ogasawara Museum was one of their first
projects together.
The De Kunstline Theater and Cultural Center in Almere, the Netherlands, and
a more recent Rolex Learning Center in Lausanne, Switzerland are also major
projects of SANAA. Other works in Japan include the Naoshima Ferry Terminal and
the Christian Dior Building in Tokyo.
Zollverein School of Management and Design, 2006 Essen, Germany.
Photo: Hisao Suzuki
In Essen, Germany, in 2006, the Zollverein School of Management and Design
was inaugurated in a new building designed by SANAA on an historical coal mining
site. The building is described as an oversized cube (approximately 114 feet in
each dimension) with an unusual arrangement of openings and windows of four
different sizes.
The Serpentine Pavilion in London, their first built project in the United
Kingdom, was in place for three months on the gallery’s lawn — the ninth such
commission in the Serpentine’s series of pavilions. In France, a branch of the
Louvre Museum in Lens will comprise some 300,000 square feet of construction.
In Valencia, Spain, SANAA provided a unique expansion solution to IVAM (Valencian
Institute of Modern Art) in which their existing building housing eight
galleries will be completely enclosed by a translucent skin covering an entire
block, and thus creating new indoor/outdoor public spaces between the building
and the skin. The proposed skin is a light weight perforated metal that allows
daylight, wind and rain to pass through. Construction has not yet begun.
Both architects have extensive lists of completed works and projects as
individual architects.
The Rolex Learning Center, Ecole Polytechnique Federale
Lausanne, Switzerland (EPFL)
2009. Photo: Hisao Suzuki
Upon learning that she was being honored, Kazuyo Sejima had this reaction: “I
am thrilled to receive such an honor. I would like to thank the Pritzker (Hyatt)
foundation, the jury members, the clients who have worked with us, and all of
our collaborators. I have been exploring how I can make architecture that feels
open, which I feel is important for a new generation of architecture. With this
prize I will continue trying to make wonderful architecture.”
And a similar reaction from Ryue Nishizawa: “I receive this wonderful prize
with great humility. I am very honored and at the same time very surprised. I
receive and understand this prize as encouragement for our efforts. Every time I
finish a building I revel in possibilities and at the same time reflect on what
has happened. Each project becomes my motivation for the next new project. In
the same way this wonderful prize has given me a dynamic energy that I have
never felt before. I thank you very much.”
New Museum of Contemporary Art New York City, New York 2007.
Photo: Hisao Suzuki
The distinguished jury that selected the 2010 Laureates consists of its
chairman, Lord Palumbo, internationally known architectural patron of London,
chairman of the trustees, Serpentine Gallery, former chairman of the Arts
Council of Great Britain, former chairman of the Tate Gallery Foundation, and
former trustee of the Mies van der Rohe Archive at the Museum of Modern Art, New
York; and alphabetically: Alejandro Aravena, architect and executive director of
Elemental in Santiago, Chile; Rolf Fehlbaum, chairman of the board of Vitra in
Basel, Switzerland; Carlos Jimenez, professor, Rice University School of
Architecture, principal, Carlos Jimenez Studio in Houston, Texas; Juhani
Pallasmaa, architect, professor and author of Helsinki, Finland; Renzo Piano,
architect and Pritzker Laureate, of Paris, France and Genoa, Italy; and Karen
Stein, writer, editor and architectural consultant in New York. Martha Thorne,
associate dean for external relations, IE School of Architecture, Madrid, Spain,
who is executive director of the prize, augmented the jury citation, saying,
“The architecture of Sejima and Nishizawa explores the ideas of lightness and
transparency and pushes the boundaries of these concepts to new extremes.”
In addition to the previous laureates already mentioned, the late Philip
Johnson was the first Pritzker Laureate in 1979. The late Luis Barragán of
Mexico was named in 1980. The late James Stirling of the United Kingdom was
elected in 1981, Kevin Roche in 1982, Ieoh Ming Pei in 1983, and Richard Meier
in 1984. Hans Hollein of Austria was the 1985 Laureate. Gottfried Böhm of
Germany received the prize in 1986. Robert Venturi received the honor in 1991,
and Alvaro Siza of Portugal in 1992. Christian de Portzamparc of France was
elected Pritzker Laureate in 1994. Frank Gehry of the United States was the
recipient in 1989, the late Aldo Rossi of Italy in 1990. In 1996, Rafael Moneo
of Spain was the Laureate; in 1997 the late Sverre Fehn of Norway; in 1998 Renzo
Piano of Italy, in 1999 Sir Norman Foster of the UK, and in 2000, Rem Koolhaas
of the Netherlands. Australian Glenn Murcutt received the prize in 2002. The
late Jørn Utzon of Denmark was honored in 2003; Zaha Hadid of the UK in 2004;
and Thom Mayne of the United States in 2005. Paulo Mendes da Rocha of Brazil was
the Laureate in 2006, and Richard Rogers received the prize in 2007. Jean Nouvel
of France was the Laureate in 2008. Last year, Peter Zumthor of Switzerland
received the award.
The field of architecture was chosen by the Pritzker family because of their
keen interest in building due to their involvement with developing the Hyatt
Hotels around the world; also because architecture was a creative endeavor not
included in the Nobel Prizes. The procedures were modeled after the Nobels, with
the final selection being made by the international jury with all deliberations
and voting in secret. Nominations are continuous from year to year with hundreds
of nominees from countries all around the world being considered each year.
Further Information:
The Hyatt Foundation
8802 Ashcroft Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90048-2402 • USA
web:
www.pritzkerprize.com
Photos: Courtesy of SANAA.
german version