Spanish trio of design studio RCR Arquitectes, Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta have won the prestigious Pritzker Prize for 2017.
The laureates are the 39th recipients of the prize and will be awarded £81,000 grant and bronze medallion at the annual ceremony held in Tokyo at the State Guest House this May.
Image courtesy of Hisao Suzuki
The Catalan architects founded RCR Arquitectes in 1988 and is based in the Catalonian region of Olot, which is also their hometown. This is the second time the award has gone to Spanish laureates with its first honouree in 1996.
‘Aranda, Pigem and Vilalta have had an impact on the discipline far beyond their immediate area,’ said the Pritzker jury, chaired by Australian architect Glenn Murcutt.
Image courtesy of Hisao Suzuki
‘Their works range from public and private spaces to cultural venues and educational institutions, and their ability to intensely relate the environment specific to each site is a testament to their process and deep integrity.’
More recently, the architects have completed a crematorium in Holsbeek, Belgium and an entrance to the Garrotxa Volcano Park in Les Preses near Olot. But it’s really their careful approach to architecture and design that won the trio this year's Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Image courtesy of Hisao Suzuki
‘When we begin a project, we are very interested in visiting the place,’ says Carme Pigem. ‘We are used to 'reading' the place as if it spoke to us with its own alphabet – an alphabet established between the site and us.’
‘It is also very important to study what we are to do there. We don't like to start with a typology or assumptions,’ she added.
Other notable projects include Bell-Lloc Winery in Girona and Sant Antoni – Joan Oliver Library, Senior Citizens Centre and Candida Perez Gardens in Barcelona, of which were completed in 2007.
Find out more about the architects in this exclusive interview with Pritzker.
What do you think? Tweet us @DesignCurial
