Denise Scott Brown.

This morning, Arielle Assouline-Lichten and Caroline James (members of “Women in Design” at Harvard University Graduate School of Design) have sent a second open letter addressed to the members of the jury of the Pritzker Prize. The letter comes as a response to the Jury’s latest decision to exclude architect Denise Scott Brown from the prize her partner and husband Robert Venturi had received. Assouline-Lichten and James write:

To The Pritzker Architecture Prize & 2013 Jury Members:

Lord Peter Palumbo, Chair

Alejandro Aravena

Stephen Breyer

Yung Ho Chang

Kristin Feireiss

Glenn Murcutt

Juhani Pallasmaa

Ratan N. Tata

Martha Thorne, Executive Director

We have received your response to the Petition of over 18,000 people, which includes the support of nine Pritzker Prize laureates. We stand firm in our conviction of equal recognition for equal work.

Your letter dated June 14 states that “a later jury cannot re-open, or second guess the work of an earlier jury, and none has ever done so.” However, the rules of the Pritzker Architecture Prize are made by the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Thus, your refusal to not revisit the 1991 prize is a choice.

It’s important that we distinguish the nature of our appeal: it is to obtain explicit recognition of Denise Scott Brown’s material contribution to the work that the Pritzker Jury believed to merit the prize. Our sole objective is to correct the record.

We are deeply concerned that there is a systemic bias in the awarding of the Pritzker Prize, which has led in particular to the exclusion of women, and the prolonging of a myth of the lone male hero in architecture. Just one year ago, Lu Wenyu was also excluded from receiving due recognition for her work with Wang Shu that merited the Pritzker Prize in 2012. As equal partners in their respective firms, Lu Wenyu and Denise Scott Brown deserve the same respect that their male counterparts have received. Addressing these biases now is a moral and decent act to ensure that these injustices won’t happen again.

The current Pritzker Jury has the power to set the record straight. In doing so, the Pritzker jury will send a resounding message that fair recognition is essential to progress, and realizing the full potential of creativity in the architecture profession.

We look forward to hearing from you shortly, and to working together to bring justice and equal recognition to the architectural profession.

Signed,

Women in Design

Harvard University

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