Shigeru Ban wins 2014 Pritzker Prize

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Cardboard Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2013. Image: Stephen Goodenough

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Hualin Temporary Elementary School, Chengdu, China, 2008. Image: Li Jun

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Takatori Paper Church, Kobe, Japan, 1995. Image: Hiroyuki Hirai

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Japan Pavilion, Hannover Expo, Hannover, Germany, 2000. Image: Hiroyuki Hirai

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Naked House, Saitama, Japan, 2000. Image: Hiroyuki Hirai

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Nicolas G Hayek Center, Tokyo, 2007. Image: Hiroyuki Hirai

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Paper Emergency Shelter, Haiti, 2010. Image: Shigeru Ban Architects

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Tom Pritzker, chairman and president of The Hyatt Foundation – sponsor of the Pritzker Prize, has announced that Tokyo-born architect Shigeru Ban is the recipient of the 2014 Pritzker Prize.

In its citation, the Pritzker Prize jury noted: “Shigeru Ban is a force of nature, which is entirely appropriate in the light of his voluntary work for the homeless and dispossessed in areas that have been devastated by natural disasters. But he also ticks the several boxes for qualification to the Architectural Pantheon – a profound knowledge of his subject with a particular emphasis on cutting-edge materials and technology; total curiosity and commitment; endless innovation; an infallible eye; an acute sensibility – to name but a few.”

When contacted at his Paris office Shigeru Ban said: “Receiving this prize is a great honor, and with it, I must be careful. I must continue to listen to the people I work for, in my private residential commissions and in my disaster relief work. I see this prize as encouragement for me to keep doing what I am doing – not to change what I am doing, but to grow.”

In announcing this year’s laureate, Tom Pritzker said, “Shigeru Ban’s commitment to humanitarian causes through his disaster relief work is an example for all. Innovation is not limited by building type and compassion is not limited by budget. Shigeru has made our world a better place.”

The 2014 Pritzker Prize jury was made up of its chairman, The Lord Palumbo; Alejandro Aravena, architect and executive director of Elemental in Santiago, Chile; Stephen Breyer, US Supreme Court Justice; Yung Ho Chang, architect and educator, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; Kristin Feireiss, architecture curator, writer, and editor, Berlin, Germany; Glenn Murcutt, architect and 2002 Pritzker Laureate, Sydney, Australia; Juhani Pallasmaa, architect, professor and author, Helsinki, Finland; and Ratan N Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, Mumbai, India. Martha Thorne, associate dean for external relations, IE School of Architecture & Design, Madrid, Spain, is the executive director of the prize.

For more information visit www.pritzkerprize.com.