Elizabeth Diller, co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), Momoyo Kaijima and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto of Atelier Bow-Wow, a Tokyo-based architecture studio, have been named as the 2022 Wolf Prize Laureates in Architecture given by the International Wolf Foundation, began activities in 1976.

Since 1978, the Wolf Foundation awards the acclaimed, international Wolf Prize. 

The foundation is known as "a highly prestigious Foundation", that both celebrates and promotes exceptional achievements in the Sciences and the Arts worldwide. 

Given annually, the Wolf Prize awards renowned artists and scientists "for their achievements for humanity and for friendly relations between peoples, regardless of nationality, race, color, religion, gender, or political outlook."

The Wolf Prize has a very prestigious international reputation, and is conceived as the second most important in the world after the Nobel Prize. 

More than 30 per cent of the recipients of the prestigious Wolf Prize have gone on to win a Nobel Prize.

Elizabeth Diller. Image © Geordie Wood

"They have developed the agency of architecture through an expanded field, in engaging politics"

DS+R co-founder Elizabeth Diller was awarded the 2022 Wolf Prize for Architecture "for her exceptional and influential work connecting architecture to artistic practice, engaged in the public domain."

"At a time of considerable world change, when social and cultural values have been questioned, these three are outstanding in challenging norms to advance the field of architecture and its wider influence. Whilst very different in their production, they share a common vital quality of bringing research, pedagogy and practice into critical confluence for the advancement of their field," stated the Foundation. 

"In doing so, they reveal the degree to which art, science, and engagement with society, require values that can be interrogated and challenged, as a central part of their contribution." 

Evening view of The Shed, from 30th Street. Photo © Iwan Baan. Courtesy The Shed.

Elizabeth Diller founded New York-based firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) with her partner Ricardo Scofidio in 1981. She is the only woman architect leading the firm DS+R's projects, along with Ricardo Scofidio, Charles Renfro and Benjamin Gilmartin.

High Line Park in New York, the Broad Art Museum in Los Angeles, the major expansion of MoMA, the Shed (also known as The Bloomberg Building) in New York are among significants projects of DS+R.

Momoyo Kaijima (left) (image courtesy of Holcim Foundation) and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (right) (image courtesy of Holcim Foundation)

Momoyo Kaijima and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, founders of Atelier Bow-Wow, a Tokyo-based architecture studio, were awarded the 2022 Wolf Prize for Architecture "for their work that highlights the importance to architecture of its ethnographic and inhabitational characteristics, in their writings and practice”.

"Conscious of the wider affects of architecture, each recipient embodies the idea of collaboration in varied ways, embracing geographic, cultural and methodological differences to be celebrated: excellence through diversity," added the Foundation in a statement.  

"With their radical architectural visions, they continue to be meaningful influencers of future architectural generations." 

"They have developed the agency of architecture through an expanded field, in engaging politics, the city as the base for social action, and the imperative of reaching broader audiences," added the Foundation. 

Tsukamoto and Kaijima fostered their partnership after joining forces in competitions where they achieved many successes—so much so—that they decided to found Atelier Bow-Wow in which they continue to thrive.

The prolific work of this Japanese architectural team spans over three decades. They begin each architectural project with observation: the site, those who will eventually inhabit the building, the behavior of the people in the surroundings, shared spaces, resources, and climate. With all this in mind, they will then try to push “that which exists” a bit further to create a new phenomenon.

BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York (2011) by Atelier Bow-Wow. Image courtesy of Nussli.

BMW Guggenheim Lab in New York (2011), an installation designed for the Bruges Contemporary Art and Architecture Triennial 2015, the Miyagawasuji House (2019) are among key projects of the studio. 

The prize in each field consists of a certificate and a monetary award of $100,000. To date, 345 scientists and artists from all over the globe have been honored.

In 2019, Israeli architect Moshe Safdie was awarded the Wolf Prize for exploring "social concerns of architecture". 

Top image (from left to right): Elizabeth Diller. Image © Geordie Wood, Momoyo Kaijima (image courtesy of Holcim Foundation) and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto (image courtesy of the Wolf Foundation).

> via The Wolf Foundation