The Pritzker Prize 2016 was assigned to Alejandro Aravena, a 48-year-old Chilean architect particularly famous for his commitment to social housing. This is the most important international recognition in the world of design, so much so that it is also defined Nobel Prize in architecture. The announcement of the award ceremony by the Pritzker Foundation was accompanied by the jury’s motivation, who explained how the Chilean worked hard to improve urban spaces by welcoming and responding to today’s economic and above all social challenges.
The choice of awarding the Pritzker to Aravena seems to be definitely against the trend with the past. In fact, compared to the previous winners, the Chilean architect is very young and his buildings are rather ‘poor’ and not sensational like those built by the previous designers who took home the coveted prize. Tom Pritzker, son of the one who created the Foundation, explained that the buildings of Aravena ‘they give an economic opportunity to the less privileged, cushion the effects of natural disasters, reduce energy consumption and provide welcoming spaces’.
Has been Frei Otto last year the winner of the Pritzker Prize, which in the past has also seen Italians triumph: Aldo Rossi, in 1990, and Renzo Piano, in 1998.
