Speaking to the Portuguese communication agency Lusa, Álvaro Siza Vieira, winner of the 2015 Building of the Year Awards' office category, stated that the international award is a "strong incentive" to continue working in the architectural field.
Siza's awarded building – named The Building on the Water – is located in Huai'na, Jiangsu Province (China), and was designed together with Portuguese architect Carlos Castanheira for the company Shihlien Chemical Industrial Jiangsu Co.
Showing gratitude for the acknowledgement, Siza highlighted that the building process went as planned, without any drawbacks, and client Mr. Por-Shih Lin contributed a lot with the project. "I use to say the building's owner is the first architect and without his effort it's nearly impossible to get satisfying results," said Siza, the first Portuguese Pritzker laureate.