The Asturian Prince Award was won by Norman Foster

Madrid - The Prince of Asturias Award for Arts for the year 2009 has been awarded to the renowned British architect Norman Foster. This was announced today by the jury that decides on this prestigious award given annually in Oviedo in the north of the country.
    The ceremonial presentation of the award, subsidized with 50,000 euros and a reproduction of a sculpture by the artist Joan Miró, will take place in October, presented personally by the heir to the Spanish throne, Prince Felipe.
    Seventy-four-year-old Foster is considered one of the greatest avant-garde architects in the world. In 1999, he received the highly prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture
    Many projects have emerged from his workshop worldwide, including the new stadium at Wembley, a new airport in Hong Kong, bridges over the Thames in London, or the French Tarn river near the town of Millau. In Spain, he is tasked with renovation work on the FC Barcelona stadium and its expansion. Foster also collaborated with Jan Kaplický before he became famous in Britain.
    The Prince of Asturias Award has been awarded annually since 1981 in eight categories. In 1997, it was awarded in the category of Humanities and Media to then Czech President Václav Havel.