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“Shigeru Ban is a tireless architect whose work exudes optimism. Where others may see insurmountable challenges, Ban sees a call to action. Where others might take a tested path, he sees the opportunity to innovate. He is a committed teacher who is not only a role model for younger generation, but also an inspiration.” -- Pritzker Jury 2014

Citing his innovative approach to structure and material as well as his commitment to compassionate design, the Pritzker Jury has selected Japanese architect Shigeru Ban as the 2014 winner of the Pritzker Prize. Ban is the thirty-eighth recipient of the Pritzker Prize and its seventh Japanese recipient.

Ban, who studied at Sci-Arc and Cooper Union, first gained international recognition for his experimental, creative use of unconventional materials, particularly paper and cardboard. However, he has more recently gained fame for bringing low-cost, high-quality design to those most in need of it, such as refugees and victims of natural disaster.

According to the jury, the Pritzker Prize recognizes architects who both display “excellence in built work and who make a significant and consistent contribution to humanity." Shigeru Ban, whose approach is as innovative as it is humanitarian, "reflects this spirit of the prize to the fullest.”

Read the Jury’s full citation after the break…

The UIA (International Union of Architects) is inviting architecture students to enter its "Healthcare Otherwhere" competition, part of their World Congress in Durban, South Africa this summer. Against a backdrop of poor health outcomes caused by poverty, the competition challenges students to propose how architecture might be involved in promoting good health by designing a building in the Warwick Junction area of Durban. Registration has been extended to April 17th. You can register here.

After Facebook assumed the former Sun Microsystems complex in Palo Alto in 2011, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg set out to find an architect capable of handling a grand design for its main main headquarters building. Zuckerberg chose world famous architect Frank Gehry for the job (amid major concessions to the city of Palo Alto).

If he was looking for impact, Zuckerberg could have made no better choice. Gehry's past designs have become renowned tourist attractions, like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. They are considered some of the most important works of contemporary architecture on the planet.

Photos of the Gehry model that will become Facebook's new HQ have been floating around for a couple of years. But with the building slated for completion next year, Facebook provided these new, exclusive images to Business Insider of what the world can expect from Gehry's latest design:

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UPDATE: Sadly, according to ARCHITECT, Pharrell has canceled his appearance due to a "scheduling conflict." 

Pharrell Williams, the Grammy awarding winning musician and entrepreneur whose recent collaboration with Despicable Me 2 has inspired the world to be “happy,” will be joining architect Jeanne Gangand “Cool Spaces” producer Stephen Chung as the featured keynote speakers at the 2014 AIA National Convention in Chicago. As reported by ARCHITECT, Williams is likely to discuss issues that transcend music, as his interests seem to be evolving from furniture and fashion design to architecture; he has even mentioned collaborating on a pre-fab home with the dame: Zaha Hadid.

In this intriguing article in the Telegraph, Stephen Bayley critiques protecting cities' "traditional" view corridors out of nostalgia (or fear of bad architecture). On the premise that "not all development is bad" and that "the only cities that do not develop are dead ones", Bayley argues forcefully for better, rather than less, city building. You can read the full argument here.

As Mies van der Rohe said, “God is in the details.” And what detail could be more important than the door - that pivotal point where architecture first greets the user? To help inspire, we’ve created a new Pinterest board dedicated entirely to functionally adept and beautifully designed doorways.

You can view the board, here, and continue after the break for a selection of the board’s most popular doors...

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A Washington D.C. nonprofit (THEARC) has launched a nation-wide competition soliciting designs for the proposed 11th Street Bridge Park from architects and landscape architects. With the culmination of the competition, the committee hopes to select a design that connects and re-engages residents from both sides of the river with the each other and the water, while establishing a new civic space that serves as stimulator for economic development.

Designated as a “21st century play space,” the new park will occupy a space spanning the length of three football fields across the Anacostia River. If approved, it would host a performance space, education center, cafe, water sport and activity areas, as well as integrate public art throughout landscape. 

You can learn more and register for the 11th Street Bridge Park competition here. A video providing insight on the location can be found after the break...

The construction of Hudson Yards, the biggest private real estate development in the history of the United States and currently the largest development in New York City since the Rockefeller Center, is gaining momentum. The vast infrastructural project in the heart of the city is set to enclose an active rail yard with an expansive platform, paving the way for 28 acres (and 17 million square feet) of commercial and residential space. Housing over 100 commercial units, 5000 residences, 14 acres of open public space, an enormous school and luxury hotel all on top of a working train depot, the project will directly connect to a new subway station and meet with the High Line.

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UPDATE: The ArchCouncil of Moscow reports that the Melnikov House has been listed as a cultural heritage site of federal value, an important step in its conservation. The following article first appeared on ArchDaily on April 23rd, 2013.

Peter Eisenman, Steven Holl, and Rem Koolhaas are among the many architects who have signed a letter pleading for the preservation of one of Konstantin Melnikov’s greatest works, the Melnikov House. As we reported in December of 2012, the Melnikov’s house 83-year old foundations have weakened considerably since the onset of neighboring construction. Unfortunately, the situation has only worsened “significantly” over the last few months.

Read more about the state of the Melnikov House, and what architects are doing to try and prevent its deterioration, after the break...

With completion in sight (May 2014), Davis Brody Bond has released detailed information on the design of the subterranean 9/11 Memorial Museum in Manhattan. Located beneath the sculptural voids that form the 9/11 Memorial, the new museum has transformed a fixed set of geometric constraints into an emotional journey that gently descends visitors 70 feet below the ground level to the original foundations of the World Trade Center towers.