architect
Japanese Yamamoto wins Pritzker Architecture Prize
This year’s Pritzker Architecture Prize goes to the Japanese Riken Yamamoto. photo
© -/photo courtesy of Tom Welsh/dpa
Combining private life and community is a concept that Riken Yamamoto learned from his family. A well-known building by the new Pritzker Prize winner is in Switzerland.
The Japanese Riken Yamamoto will receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize this year for his buildings that promote community and gathering. “Yamamoto, architect and social advocate, connects public and private spheres and inspires harmonious societies despite a diversity of identities, economies, politics, infrastructures and housing systems,” said the jury in Chicago. The laureate’s work, particularly in the Asian region, is deeply rooted in maintaining community life in which people support each other.
In German-speaking countries, Yamamoto (78) is best known for the building “The Circle” at Zurich Airport, behind whose sloping facade there are shops and a park. Other buildings are mainly in Japan, China and Korea. Previous Pritzker Prize winners include the Briton David Chipperfield, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster and Peter Zumthor. The award is considered the highest in the world of architecture.
Yamamoto’s aim in his buildings – including libraries, fire stations and universities – is to deconstruct traditional ideas of freedom and privacy. “For me, recognizing space means recognizing a whole community,” Yamamoto is quoted as saying. The current architectural approach favors privacy over social relationships. But the freedom of each individual can also be honored when living together in architectural space.
Riken Yamamoto was born in Beijing, China, in 1945, but grew up in Yokohama, Japan, after World War II. The linking of public and private spaces is a concept that he was inspired by in his parents’ house. He explains his interest in architecture, among other things, with a profound experience in the Kôfuku-ji Temple, a five-story Buddhist building.
After receiving his master’s degree in architecture in 1971, he founded his office Riken Yamamoto & Field Shop in 1973. His career is also based on extensive road trips with, among others, his mentor Hiroshi Hara, during which he studied community dynamics of different cultures. He also traveled through many countries in the Mediterranean region as well as through North, Central and South America. Yamamoto has received numerous awards for his work and lives in Yokohama “in community with his neighbors.”
Pritzker page