The prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize was awarded to Chinese architect Liu Jiakun

New York – The Pritzker Prize, the highest honor in the architecture world, was awarded today to Chinese architect Liu Jiakun. The jury particularly appreciated that his architecture "comes with solutions to environmental challenges and a rapidly changing society" while also "celebrating the everyday life of ordinary people."

"Liu Jiakun imagines and creates new worlds that are free from all aesthetic and stylistic constraints. Instead of a style, he has devised a strategy in which he does not repeat one method over and over but rather assesses the specifics and needs of each project," the jury stated in the announcement of this year's laureate, sometimes referred to as the Nobel Prize for architecture.

The 70-year-old native of Chengdu in southwestern China has been practicing architecture for 40 years, and his goal is to "create a beautiful, just, and dignified environment for living." He also strives for his architecture to balance commercial and human needs, writes the AP agency.

Among his works highlighted by the jury in their statement are the West Village complex in Chengdu and the building of the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in Chongqing. In both cases, the jurors appreciated the creative approach to architecture, where West Village offers people a glimpse into an environment that connects nature with the built metropolis, and SFAI shows alternative solutions for maximizing space, writes AP.

"I always try to be like water – penetrating a place without having my own fixed form and seeping into the local environment and the place itself. Over time, water gradually hardens, transforms into architecture, and perhaps into the highest form of human spiritual creation. Yet it retains all the characteristics of the given place, both good and bad," the architect expressed about his work.

Last year, the Pritzker Prize was awarded to Riken Yamamoto from Japan, which has the highest number of recipients of this prestigious award. The jury at that time also appreciated how he connects public and private spaces. Other laureates include Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, and Frank Gehry, one of the authors of the Dancing House in Prague.

The Pritzker Architecture Prize was founded in 1979 by entrepreneur Jay Pritzker and his wife Cindy. The award includes a bronze medallion and $100,000 (2.4 million crowns). It is not awarded to firms or studios, but to individuals. If more than one is selected, it is because the jury perceives their work as inseparably connected.