For the second time, a Portuguese architect has won the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The 2011 winner, 58-year-old Eduardo Souto de Moura of Porto, Portugal, joins Alvaro Siza (the 1992 winner) in the honor.
Since opening his own practice in 1980 in Porto, much of Souto de Moura’s work has been built in Portugal, but he also has designed projects in Spain, Italy, Germany, the U.K., and Switzerland. His work ranges in scope from residences to sports stadiums to skyscrapers. In fact, Souto de Moura has designed many types of housing through the years, from single-family residences to multiple-home projects and apartment buildings.
According to the Pritzker Prize jury, Souto de Moura’s body of work “is of our time, but also carries echoes of architectural traditions.”
The citation concludes:Eduardo Souto de Moura’s architecture is not obvious, frivolous, or picturesque. It is imbued with intelligence and seriousness … His buildings have a unique ability to convey seemingly conflicting characteristics—power and modesty, bravado and subtlety, bold public authority and a sense of intimacy—at the same time. For architecture that appears effortless, serene, and simple, and for the care and poetry that permeates each project, Eduardo Souto de Moura receives the 2011 Pritzker Prize.”
Each year, the Pritzker Architecture Prize (founded in 1979) honors a living architect whose built work demonstrates talent, vision, and commitment and who—through architecture—consistently has made significant contributions to humanity and the built environment. Pritzker Prize laureates are awarded a $100,000 grant and a bronze medallion, and are honored in a formal ceremony.
The 2011 Pritzker Prize jurors were: The Lord Palumbo (chairman); Alejandro Aravena, architect, executive director, Elemental, Santiago, Chile; Carlos Jimenez, professor, Rice University School of Architecture, and principal, Carlos Jimenez Studio, Houston; Glenn Murcutt, architect and 2002 Pritzker Laureate, Sydney, Australia; Juhani Pallasmaa, architect, author, and professor, Helsinki, Finland; Renzo Piano, architect and 1998 Pritzker Laureate, Paris, France and Genoa, Italy; and Karen Stein, writer, editor, and architectural consultant, New York.
