Alejandro Aravena wins Pritzker Prize 2016

Chilean architect Alejando Aravena has just been announced as the 2016 Laureate of this year's Pritzker Prize. Pictured: San Joaquín Campus, Universidad Católica de Chile, 2014.

(Image credit: Nina Vidic )

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 2 August 2022

We had an inkling that Alejandro Aravena was off to great things, ever since we first encountered his clever, considerate and socially conscious designs – him winning the director's role for the upcoming 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale only reinforced this belief. Now the most coveted architecture prize, the Pritzker, has just come to confirm it.

Chilean architect Aravena has just been announced as the 2016 Laureate of this year's Priztker Prize, following in the steps of Frei Otto, Wang Shu, Shigeru Ban and Toyo Ito to receive the prestigious distinction. He will be given his award during a formal ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in New York on 4 April.

'The jury has selected an architect who deepens our understanding of what is truly great design. Alejandro Aravena has pioneered a collaborative practice that produces powerful works of architecture and also addresses key challenges of the 21st century,' says chairman and president of the Hyatt Foundation (who sponsor the prize), Thomas Pritzker. 'His built work gives economic opportunity to the less privileged, mitigates the effects of natural disasters, reduces energy consumption and provides welcoming public space. Innovative and inspiring, he shows how architecture at its best can improve people's lives.'

Similarly, chair of the jury of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Lord Peter Palumbo expressed his 'sense of wonder and revelation' upon visiting Aravena's work.

Buildings at the Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, including the UC Innovation Center – Anacleto Angelini, 2014; the Siamese Towers, 2005; Medical School, 2004; School of Architecture, 2004; and the Mathematics School, 1999, are among the work in the architect's growing portfolio.

To say that we are looking forward to Aravena's upcoming Venice Biennale composition of events, titled 'Reporting from the Front', is an understatement. We can't wait for the event to kick off in May 2016.

the steps of Frei Otto Wang Shu — The architect, pictured, follows in the steps of Frei Otto, Wang Shu, Shigeru Ban and Toyo Ito in recieving the prestigious distinction.

Aravena's clever, considerate and socially conscious designs earned him the award. Pictured: San Joaquín Campus, Universidad Católica de Chile, 2014.

The atrium at Universidad Católica de Chile, 2014.

Writer’s Cabin at Jan Michalski Foundation, Montricher, Switzerland, 2015.

Dining hall and office building for Arauco Forest Company, 2015.

Mathematics School at Universidad Católica de Chile, 1999.

Medical School at Universidad Católica de Chile, 2004.

Bicentennial Children’s Park in Santiago, Chile, 2012.

Ocho Quebradas House in Los Vilos, Chile.

Siamese Towers, San Joaquín Campus, Universidad Católica de Chile, 2005.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit The Pritzker Architecture Prize’s website (opens in new tab)

TOPICS

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture Editor at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018) and Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020).