image © The Hyatt Foundation / The Pritzker Architecture Prize

It has been officially announced that the 2016 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize will be announced on Wednesday, January 13 at 10am EST. The Pritzker Architecture Prize honors a living architect or architects 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.

Shigeru Ban. image Shigeru Ban Architects / Kartikeya Shodhan. Pritzker Prize winner in 2014.

The Pritzker family of Chicago established the international prize through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979. The Hyatt Foundation sponsors the prize, which is granted annually. It is often referred to as “architecture’s highest honor.” The award consists of US $100,000 and a bronze medallion, conferred upon the laureate at a ceremony held each year at an important site throughout the world.

Toyo Ito. image © Yoshiaki Tsutsui. Pritzker Prize winner in 2013. 

Past winners of this most prestigious award include Shigeru Ban (2014), Toyo Ito (2013), Wang Shu (2012), Zaha Hadid (2004), Peter Zumthor (2009), Philip Johnson (1979), see the full list here. Please stay tuned for the latest updates on this year’s winner and let us know who do you think deserves to win?

Wang Shu. image courtesy of Zhu Chenzhou/AP/The Hyatt Foundation.  Pritzker Prize winner in 2012.

The Pritzker Prize jury includes prestigious experts ranging from five to nine members. Jury members serve for multiple years to assure a balance between past and new members and are entrusted with selecting the laureate each year. No members of the Pritzker family or outside observers are present during jury deliberations which usually take place during the first months of the calendar year. The jury members are recognized professionals in their own fields of architecture, business, education, publishing, and culture.

2015 Jury Members of Pritzker Prize: Lord Peter Palumbo, 2005-present (Chair), Stephen Breyer, 2012-present, Yung Ho Chang, 2012-present, Kristin Feireiss, 2013-present, Glenn Murcutt, 2010-present, Richard Rogers, 2015-present, Benedetta Tagliabue, 2014-present, Ratan N. Tata, 2013-present, Martha Thorne, 2005-present (Executive Director).

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> via pritzkerprize.com