2012 pritzker prize ceremony in beijing, china

in a joint announcement by both guo jinlon, mayor of beijing and thomas j. pritzker, chairman of the hyatt foundation, beijing, china has been recently revealed as this year’s host city for the pritzker prize award ceremony. the most prestigious award in the architectural profession, the 2012 pritzker prize will be given to the next recipient in an urban context which features a prominent number of structures designed by previous laureates.

nearby landmarks include the ‘beijing national stadium’ (conversationally referred to as the bird’s nest), the site of the track and field events of the 2008 beijing olympics designed by the 2001 pritzker recipients jacques herzog and pierre de meuron of the swiss practice herzog & de meuron. rem koolhaas of dutch practice OMA produced the ‘CCTV headquarters’, a monumental tower defined open void by a central open void and cantilevered upper levels. the exact location of the event has not been decided but will be of historical significance. a series of seminars and building tours of old and new architectural buildings will be offered for guests and program delegates.

‘beijing’s national stadium’ designed by 2001 pritzker laureates herzog & de meuron in beijing, china
image © wojtek gurak | see designboom’s original coverage of this project here
main image: ‘guangzhou opera house’ by 2004 pritzker laureate and pritzker juror zaha hadid, located in the guangdong province, china | image © iwan baan | see designboom’s original coverage of this project here.

‘over the three decades of prize-giving, we have held ceremonies in fourteen different countries, in venues ranging from the white house in washington DC to todai-ji temple in nara, japan. the tradition of moving the event to world sites of architectural significance was established to emphasize that the prize is international, the laureates having been chosen from 16 different nations to date. this will be our 34th event marking the first time we have gone to china.’ – thomas j. pritzker

in reference to his city being selected as this year’s host, beijing mayor guo jinlon stated: ‘the pritzker architecture prize is the most recognized award in the architectural field throughout the world. we believe holding this event in beijing will further raise the awareness of the pritzker prize in china, and promote the development of the architectural industry in beijing and china as a whole. hosting the ceremony in beijing will also attract many globally reputable architecture firms and architects to participate in building beijing as the most liveable city and famous cultural capital.’

(left) ‘CCTV headquarters’ by rem koolhaas of OMA in beijing, china
image © rudenoon
see designboom’s original coverage of this project here.
(right) ‘shenzhen stock exchange’ currently under construction by rem koolhaas of OMA in shenzhen, china
see designboom’s original coverage of this project here.

zaha hadid, the 2004 pritzker prize laureate has been added to the pritzker prize selection jury in september 2011
image © simone cecchetti
see designboom’s original coverage here.

justice stephen breyer has been added to the pritzker prize selection jury in september 2011
image © steve petteway
photographer, supreme court of the united states
see designboom’s original coverage here.

list of previous laureates:

1979  philip johnson
1980  luis barragán of mexico
1981  james stirling of the united kingdom
1982  kevin roche
1983  ieoh ming pei
1984  richard meier
1985  hans hollein of austria
1986  gottfried böhm of germany
1987  kenzo tange of japan
1988  oscar niemeyer of brazil and gordon bunshaft
1989  frank gehry
1990  aldo rossi of italy
1991  robert venturi
1992  alvaro siza of portugal
1994  christian de portzamparc of france
1995  tadao ando of japan
1996  rafael moneo of spain
1997  sverre fehn of norway
1998  renzo piano of italy
1999  norman foster of the uk
2000  rem koolhaas of the netherlands
2002  glenn murcutt of australia
2003  jørn utzon of denmark
2004  zaha hadid of the uk
2005  thom mayne
2006  paulo mendes da rocha of brazil
2007  richard rogers of the uk
2008  jean nouvel of france
2009  peter zumthor of switzerland
2010  partners kazuyo sejima and ryue nishizawa of sanaa, inc. in japan
2011  eduardo souto de moura of portugal