Pritzker Architecture Prize 2007 Awarded To Richard Rogers

Friday, 30 March 2007 02:06

LOS ANGELES, CA. - Richard Rogers, whose firm Richard Rogers Partnership is headquartered in London, has been chosen as the 2007 Laureate 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 June 4 in London.  At that time, a $100,000 grant and a bronze medallion will be bestowed on the 73-year old architect at The Banqueting House, designed in 1619 by Inigo Jones.

In announcing the jury’s choice, Thomas J. Pritzker, president of The Hyatt Foundation, quoted from the jury citation, “Born in Florence, Italy, and trained as an architect in London, at the Architectural Association, and later, in the United States at Yale University, Rogers has an outlook as urbane and expansive as his upbringing".

In Rogers’ own words, his vision is that cities of the future “will no longer be zoned as today in isolated one-activity ghettos; rather they will resemble the more richly layered cities of the past.  Living, work, shopping, learning, and leisure will overlap and be housed in continuous, varied and changing structures.”

Pritzker Prize jury chairman, The Lord Palumbo elaborated with more of the citation: “Throughout his distinguished career of more than forty years, Richard Rogers has consistently pursued the highest goals for architecture.  Key Rogers projects already represent defining moments in the history of contemporary architecture.  The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1971-1977), designed in partnership with Renzo Piano, revolutionized museums, transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city. Lloyd’s of London in the City of London (1978-1986), another landmark of late 20th century design, established Richard Rogers’ reputation as a master not only of the large urban building, but also of his own brand of architectural expressionism.  As these buildings and other subsequent projects, such as the recently completed and acclaimed Terminal 4, Barajas Airport in Madrid (1997-2005) demonstrate, a unique interpretation of the Modern Movement’s fascination with the building as machine, an interest in architectural clarity and transparency, the integration of public and private spaces, and a commitment to flexible floor plans that respond to the ever-changing demands of users, are recurring themes in his work.”  Terminal 4, Barajas Airport won the 2006 Stirling Prize. 

Rogers is the fourth laureate to be chosen from the United Kingdom, the first three being the late James Stirling in 1981, The Lord Foster (Norman Foster) in 1999, and Zaha Hadid in 2004.  He is the 31st laureate since the prize was founded in 1979.  Rogers was appointed a Labour life peer in 1996 taking the title, The Lord Rogers of Riverside. In addition to London, Richard Rogers Partnership (which will be renamed Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in the UK next month) has offices in Barcelona, Madrid and Tokyo.  Some of the major projects that span the globe include: in New York, the design for a 71-story tower for the World Trade Center site at 175 Greenwich Street; in Washington, D.C., an office building under construction at 300 New Jersey Avenue; in UK, mentioning just a few works — the Leadenhall Building; the Millennium Experience; and an early project, Wimbledon House, a home for Rogers’ parents in the late 1960s; the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff; the Nippon Television Headquarters in Tokyo, as well as several other projects there and in South Korea.

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.

The prize presentation ceremony moves to different locations around the world each year, paying homage to historic and contemporary architecture.  Last year, the ceremony was held in Istanbul, Turkey at the Dolmabahçe Palace. The year before, Chicago’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, designed by 1989 Pritzker Laureate Frank Gehry, was the venue in that city’s new Millennium Park.  The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia was the site in 2004.  Over the years ceremonies have been at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Madrid, Spain; Michelangelo’s Campidoglio in Rome, Italy; Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, in Charlottesville, Virginia; the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, and The White House in Washington, D.C.  The list of venues goes on to include not only a great many of the great museums in the United States, but also many other countries including France, England, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Mexico and Japan.

“It was a fortuitous decision to go to London this year,” explains Hyatt Foundation President, Thomas Pritzker, “but it was a decision made long before the jury selected Rogers as this year’s honoree.  The location for the ceremony is always planned before the laureate is chosen by the jury.”