The Hyatt Foundation has announced that Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima, co-founder of SANAA, has been appointed as the newest jury member for the Pritzker Architecture Prize. 

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the accolade this year, this prestigious award has become architecture’s highest honour for years, carrying the most of architects to the international stage.  

Sejima, having won the 2010 Pritzker Prize as co-laureate with his partner Ryue Nishizawa, will help to decide the recipient of the 2018 Prize. 

The Rolex Learning Center at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland - designed by SANAA. Image courtesy of SANAA.

"During her acceptance speech of the 2010 Pritzker Prize, Ms. Sejima remarked,…this award is not only in recognition of our past works but rather an encouragement toward new architectural creations. It is this credence, alongside her international background and experience, that makes her a welcomed addition to the Jury," said Tom Pritzker, Chairman of Hyatt Foundation.

Ms. Sejima is the co-founder of Toyko-based SANAA, alongside 2010 Pritzker Laureate Nishizawa Ryue, which opened in 1995. She is also a professor at Polytechnic University of Milan, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Keio University, Tokyo, Yokohama Graduate School of Architecture Y-GSA, and a visiting professor at Japan Women’s University, Tokyo.

"I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on the jury and supporting the mission of the Pritzker Prize," commented Ms. Sejima.

Grace Farms by SANAA - is located in New Canaan, Connecticut. Image © Dean Kaufman

Ms. Sejima was appointed as the Director of the 12th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2010, and was named Japan Institute of Architects’ Young Architect of the Year in Japan in 1992. She has taught at various institutions including Princeton University and Polytechnique de Lausanne. She opened Kazuyo Sejima & Associates in Tokyo in 1987, and joined the office of 2013 Pritzker Laureate Toyo Ito upon completing her architectural studies at Japan Woman’s University in 1981.

Her own works include House in Plum Grove (Tokyo) and Inujima Art House Project (Okayama). Notable works of SANAA consist of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Kanazawa), the Rolex Learning Center (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), the Louvre-Lens, and Grace Farms (New Canaan).

The 2018 Pritzker Prize jury, chaired by Glenn Murcutt, architect and 2002 Pritzker Laureate, is composed of Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Washington, D.C., USA, André Corrêa do Lago, architectural critic, curator, and Brazilian Ambassador to Japan, Tokyo, Japan, The Lord Palumbo, architectural patron, Chairman Emeritus of the Trustees, Serpentine Galleries, London, United Kingdom, Richard Rogers, architect and 2007 Pritzker Laureate, London, United Kingdom, Wang Shu, architect, educator, and 2012 Pritzker Laureate, Hangzhou, China, Benedetta Tagliabue, architect and director of EMBT Miralles Tagliabue, Barcelona, Spain; and Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, Mumbai, India.

Martha Thorne, Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize and also Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design manages the open nominations process, which accepts suggestions from architects from all over the world.

Moriyama House by SANAA - is located in a traditional part of Tokyo. Image © Edmund Sumner 

The 2018 Laureate will be announced in March, followed by the official ceremony in Toronto, Canada, this spring. Early this year, the Pritzker Prize launched a new website and viewers can expect a new digital experience through a fully redesigned website, as well as expanded social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Top image: Kazuyo Sejima. Image © Aiko Suzuki

> via The Hyatt Foundation/Pritzker Prize