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| Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has been named the 2019 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner (AFP Photo/Giuseppe CACACE) |
Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has been awarded the Pritzker Prize, considered architecture's highest honor, for a lifetime of work that found global resonance while mining local traditions.
The
87-year-old's over 100 built works range from the Palau Saint Jordi, built in
Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Olympics, to the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Los Angeles, his first international commission.
His
hometown of Otai, Japan is a showcase of his early work, including a medical
hall and annex, and a prefectural library.
"Isozaki
is a pioneer in understanding that the need for architecture is both global and
local -- that those two forces are part of a single challenge," the chair
of the jury, US Justice Stephen Breyer, said as the prize was announced
Tuesday.
"For many years, he has been trying to make certain that areas of the world that have long traditions in architecture are not limited to that tradition, but help spread those traditions while simultaneously learning from the rest of the world," he said.
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The Allianz
tower (R) designed by Japanese Arata Isozaki and Andrea Maffei in
western Milan
stands next to the city's Generali tower (AFP Photo/MIGUEL MEDINA)
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"For many years, he has been trying to make certain that areas of the world that have long traditions in architecture are not limited to that tradition, but help spread those traditions while simultaneously learning from the rest of the world," he said.
Isozaki is
the 46th Pritzker laureate and the eighth Japanese architect to receive the
honor. Winners receive a bronze medallion and $100,000.
