AD Interviews: Shigeru Ban, 2014 Pritzker Prize Laureate

Last week we had the opportunity to interview this year's Pritzker Prize winner, Shigeru Ban, within his Metal Shutters Houses in New York City. The Japanese architect, who was a member of the Pritzker jury from 2006-2009, gave us his thoughtful, humble response to receiving architecture's most prestigious prize, saying the win is an "encouragement for me to continue working to make great architecture as well as working in disaster areas."

Infographic: The Pritzker Prize 1979 - 2015

Last week, Frei Otto was announced as the 40th recipient of the Pritzker Prize, the latest in a long line of talented architects (as well as the first architect to ever receive the Prize posthumously). Learn more about the Prize and its winners after the break!

From #Baffled to #BanstheMan! Twitterverse Reacts to Shigeru Ban's Pritzker Win

We culled the Twitterverse looking for reactions to Shigeru Ban's Prizker win - from readers and critics alike. While the responses were generally positive, some were less so. 

Pritzker Juror Alejandro Aravena on Shigeru Ban: Virtuousity in Service of Our Most Urgent Challenges

The following is Alejandro Aravena's response to the Shigeru Ban's Pritzker win. Aravena is the executive director of the firm ELEMENTAL S.A and a member of the Pritzker Jury who selected Ban as this year's Pritzker Laureate.

Critics and Peers Comment on Shigeru Ban's Pritzker Prize

Yesterday we asked some prominent critics and a few of Ban's peers to weigh in on the Japanese architect's Pritzker win. Curators, architects, and writers praised Ban's approach and conviction, describing what Ban's work signifies to the architecture community. Read on for comments from Architecture for Humanity co-founder Cameron Sinclair, MoMA curators Barry Bergdoll and Pedro Gadanho, Cooper Union classmates Nanako Umemoto and Jesse Reiser, of Reiser + Umemototo, and more.

Shigeru Ban Named Pritzker Laureate for 2014

“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

A Selection of Shigeru Ban's Best Work

Explore the architectural development of Pritzker Laureate Shigeru Ban - from his early, more minimalist residential work in the 90s to his experimental, undulating structures (2010's Pompidou Metz, Nine Bridges Golf Club) to his latest masterpiece in timber construction, Tamedia New Office Building (2013).

15 Things You Didn't Know About Shigeru Ban

You probably know by now that Shigeru Ban has won this year's Pritzker Prize, but did you know he almost went to university to play rugby? Or that he constructed his home without pulling down a single tree? These and many more fun facts on the 38th Pritzker laureate, after the break.

2014 Pritzker Prize to be Announced March 24th

We've just learned that the Pritzker Prize will be announced on Monday, March 24 at 5pm EDT. This prize -- architecture's most prestigious -- has been awarded annually since 1979. Past winners include Philip Johnson, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Oscar Niemeyer and Norman Foster (full list). You can see ArchDaily's coverage of the prize here. Stay tuned for the latest updates on this year's winner. Who do you think deserves to win?

Common Sense in Sustainable Architecture

There are very few sceptics who would question the importance of increasing sustainability in architecture. The enhanced social value through better living conditions, physical value in a healthier and less-polluted environment, long-term monetary value via reduced operating and maintenance costs, and ethical value through fairness to future generations are self-evident.

Wang Shu's Partner Lu Wenyu: I Never Wanted a Pritzker

In an interview with Spanish newspaper El País, Lu Wenyu defends her husband Wang Shu for solely receiving the Pritzker Prize in 2012. Despite the fact that the couple co-founded Amateur Architecture Studio and have worked side by side ever since, Wengyu maintains that her husband would have shared the Prize with her - she just didn't want it.

Children's Bicentennial Park / ELEMENTAL

Chile has had an incredible economic growth in the last decade, but the urban standards have not increased proportionally. Santiago for example, has no single place where to go for a long walk.

Las Cruces Lookout Point / ELEMENTAL

La Ruta del Peregrino (Pilgrim’s Route) has an approximate length of 117 kilometers.  Over two million people every year travel from different states of Mexico to walk through the mountain range of Jalisco. Starting in the town of Ameca, their final destination is Talpa de Allenda where they go to visit Virgin Rosario as an act of devotion, faith, and purification. 

The Opera House Project: Telling the Story of Australia's Icon

To coincide with the 40th anniversary of the completion of Danish architect Jørn Utzon's Sydney Opera House, The Opera House Project takes you on a journey from the project's inception in 1954 - known as Design 218 - to the completed masterpiece up to 2012, and all the personal, political and technical struggles that the designers were faced with. As expressed by Sam Doust, writer and director of the project, the epic journey is based on an "aspiration to perfection" and then the "failure to achieve it".

Necessary Hauntings: Why Architecture Must Listen to its Forgotten Women

This article, by Alexandra Lange, originally appeared on Metropolis Magazine as "Architecture's Lean In Moment."

Palafito del Mar Hotel / Ortuzar Gebauer Arquitectos

Pedro Montt is a neighborhood on stilts in the city of Castro, Chiloe. It is one of the oldest and most characteristic neighborhoods of the city and of Chile. It takes over the sea, where there are no regulations, only internal codes of a community that has existed for years on the waterfront, over the sea, showcasing a way of living and a culture.

Pritzker Rejects Petition for Denise Scott Brown's Retroactive Award

The Pritzker Prize has finally released their official statement in response to the petition Harvard graduate students Arielle Assouline-Lichten and Caroline James wrote, proposing that Denise Scott Brown retroactively receive recognition for the Pritzker Prize that her husband, Robert Venturi, won in 1991.

Twitterverse responds to Pritzker's Rejection of Denise Scott Brown Petition

We have rounded up some of the reactions to this afternoon's news that Denise Scott Brown would not retroactively receive recognition for the Pritzker Prize that her husband, Robert Venturi, won in 1991.