
The Pritzker Prize is the most important award in the field of architecture, awarded to a living architect whose built work "has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture." The Prize rewards individuals, not entire offices, as took place in 2000 (when the jury selected Rem Koolhaas instead of his firm OMA) or in 2016 (with Alejandro Aravena selected instead of Elemental); however, the prize can also be awarded to multiple individuals working together, as took place in 2001 (Herzog & de Meuron), 2010 (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA), and 2017 (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta of RCR Arquitectes).
The award is an initiative funded by Jay Pritzker through the Hyatt Foundation, an organization associated with the hotel company of the same name that Jay founded with his brother Donald in 1957. The award was first given in 1979, when the American architect Philip Johnson, was awarded for his iconic works such as the Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut.
The Pritzker Prize has been awarded for forty-four straight editions without interruption, and there are now 23 countries with at least one winning architect. To date, half of the winners are European; while the Americas, Asia, and Oceania share the other editions. In 2022, Francis Kéré became the first African architect to win the Pritzker Prize.
In terms of gender, six women have won the award: Zaha Hadid (2004), Kazuyo Sejima (2010, together with Ryue Nishizawa), Carme Pigem (2017, together with Ramón Vilalta and Rafael Aranda), Grafton cofounders Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara (2020) and Anne Lacaton (2021, together with Jean-Philippe Vassal). While in 2012, Lu Wenyu, partner and wife of Wang Shu, rejected the proposal to share the award, saying that "I never wanted a Pritzker."
However, this has not been the case for Denise Scott Brown, who did not receive the award in 1991 alongside her partner and husband Robert Venturi. In 2013, organizations and personalities demanded to give the prize retroactively to Scott Brown, a request that was rejected by Peter Palumbo—then president of the jury—who closed down the discussion by explaining that "a jury can not reopen or criticize the work of a previous jury."
These are the Pritzker Prize winners since 1979:
1979. Philip Johnson, United States
_(cropped).jpg?1519329901)
1980. Luis Barragán, Mexico

1981. James Stirling, United Kingdom
1982. Kevin Roche, United States

1983. I. M. Pei, United States

1984. Richard Meier, United States

1985. Hans Hollein, Austria

1986. Gottfried Böhm, Germany

1987. Kenzo Tange, Japan

1988. Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil and Gordon Bunshaft, United States


1989. Frank Gehry, Canada—United States

1990. Aldo Rossi, Italy
1991. Robert Venturi, United States
.jpg?1519338170)
1992. Álvaro Siza, Portugal

1993. Fumihiko Maki, Japan

1994. Christian de Portzamparc, France
_Jacques-Franck_Degioanni.jpg?1519336710)
1995. Tadao Ando, Japan

1996. Rafael Moneo, Spain
1997. Sverre Fehn, Norway

1998. Renzo Piano, Italy
1999. Norman Foster, United Kingdom
2000. Rem Koolhaas, Netherlands

2001. Jacques Herzog + Pierre de Meuron, Switzerland
2002. Glenn Murcutt, Australia

2003. Jørn Utzon, Denmark

2004. Zaha Hadid, Iraq-United Kingdom

2005. Thom Mayne, United States
2006. Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Brazil

2007. Richard Rogers, United Kingdom

2008. Jean Nouvel, France

2009. Peter Zumthor, Switzerland

2010. Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa, Japan
2011. Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portugal

2012. Wang Shu, China

2013. Toyo Ito, Japan
2014. Shigeru Ban, Japan

2015. Frei Otto, Germany

2016. Alejandro Aravena, Chile

2017. Ramón Vilalta + Carme Pigem + Rafael Aranda, Spain

2018. Balkrishna Doshi, India

2019. Arata Isozaki, Japan

2020. Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. Ireland.

2021. Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal. France

2022. Francis Kéré. Burkina Faso—Germany

2023. Sir David Chipperfield, Reino Unido
