A funnel-shaped entrance under the south façade of CEPT University, formerly known as the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology, in Ahmedabad, India. It was designed by the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi, who won the 2018 Pritkzer Prize

The winner of the 46th Pritzker Architecture Prize was announced on Tuesday: Arata Isozaki, an architect, urban designer and theorist. So what is this award? And why is it so important?

The Pritzker Prize is frequently called the Nobel of architecture.
This annual international award recognizes a living architect or architects whose work “has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture.” The prominent Pritzker family of Chicago established the award through the Hyatt Foundation in 1979, when the American architect Philip Johnson became the first winner, for a body of work that includes the Glass House in New Canaan, Conn. The prize consists of $100,000 and a bronze medallion.

Does it matter?
Many in the field see the Pritzker not only as a validation of an individual’s work but also as a validation of the profession.

“People rarely think about architecture as an art or architecture as creative expression”

Deborah Berke, the dean of the Yale School of Architecture

Along the way, they have made 3-D printing cheaper and more accessible, often relying on lightweight printers to fabricate architectural components that can be assembled into large structures. These include the “Cabin of Curiosities” prototype in their backyard.