Sei sulla pagina 1di 28

ALL MATERIALS

ARE

FOR PUBLICATION ON OR AFTER

MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2003

MEDIA KIT
ANNOUNCING THE

2003

PRITZKER ARCHITECTURE PRIZE LAUREATE


Photo Booklet
The photo booklet contains a photo of Jrn Utzon and a selection of full color reproductions of his works. This does not represent a complete catalogue of the Laureates work, but rather a representative sampling. They are all 200 line screen lithographs printed on high gloss stock. These replace the need for using black & white continuous tone prints. They may be re-photographed using 85 line screens for black & white newspaper reproduction, and they can be re-sized, either 50% larger or smaller with no degradation in the image quality or moire effect. The same holds true for the B&W images in the media text booklet. For color reproduction, you may download high resolution images suitable for printing from our web site at PritzkerPrize.com. If downloading is a problem, we have a limited number of CDs with hi-res images available.

Media Text Booklet


Previous Laureates of the Pritzker Prize ............................................. 2-3 Media Release Announcing the 2003 Laureate ................................. 4-6 Drawings of Jrn Utzon ............................................................................ 7 Members of the Pritzker Jury ................................................................... 8 Citation from Pritzker Jury....................................................................... 9 Comments from Individual Jurors ................................................... 10-11 About Jrn Utzon .............................................................................. 12-20 Drawings of Jrn Utzon .......................................................................... 20 Fact Summary Chronology of Works, Exhibits, Honors ............ 21-22 Drawings and B&W Photographs of Utzons Works ...................... 23-24 2003 Ceremony Site .......................................................................... 25-26 History of the Pritzker Prize ............................................................. 27-28
Note to Editors: .or complete details on the history of the Pritzker Prize and previous laureates, see www.pritzkerprize.com.

MEDIA CONTACT
The Hyatt Foundation Media Information Office Attn: Keith H. Walker 8802 Ashcroft Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90048-2402 phone: 310-273-8696 or 310-278-7372 fax: 310-273-6134 e-mail: jenswalk@earthlink.net http:/www.pritzkerprize.com

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs/drawings are courtesy of Jrn Utzon/Utzon Architects. Permission is granted for media use in relation to the Pritzker Architecture Prize. They may not be used for any other advertising or publicity purpose without permission from the individual photographers. Photo credit lines should appear next to published photos as indicated in these media materials.
1

R E V I O U S

L
1979

A U R E A T E S

Philip Johnson of the United States of America


presented at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. 1980

Luis Barragn of Mexico


presented at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. 1981

James Stirling of the United Kingdom


presented at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. 1982

Kevin Roche of the United States of America


presented at The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois 1983

Ieoh Ming Pei of the United States of America


presented at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York 1984

Richard Meier of the United States of America


presented at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 1985

Hans Hollein of Austria


presented at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California 1986

Gottfried Bhm of Germany


presented at Goldsmiths Hall, London, United Kingdom 1987

Kenzo Tange of Japan


presented at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas 1988

Gordon Bunshaft of the United States of America and Oscar Niemeyer of Brazil
presented at The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois 1989

Frank O. Gehry of the United States of America


presented at the Todai-ji Buddhist Temple, Nara, Japan

R E V I O U S

L
1990

A U R E A T E S

Aldo Rossi of Italy


presented at Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy 1991

Robert Venturi of the United States of America


presented at Palacio de Iturbide, Mexico City, Mexico 1992

Alvaro Siza of Portugal


presented at the Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago, Illinois 1993

Fumihiko Maki of Japan


presented at Prague Castle, Czech Republic 1994

Christian de Portzamparc of France


presented at The Commons, Columbus, Indiana 1995

Tadao Ando of Japan


presented at the Grand Trianon and the Palace of Versailles, France 1996

Rafael Moneo of Spain


presented at the construction site of The Getty Center, Los Angeles, Calfiornia 1997

Sverre Fehn of Norway


presented at the construction site of The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain 1998

Renzo Piano of Italy


presented at the White House, Washington, D.C. 1999

Sir Norman Foster (Lord Foster) of the United Kingdom


presented at the Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany 2000

Rem Koolhaas of The Netherlands


presented at the The Jerusalem Archaeological Park, Israel 2001

Jaques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Switzerland


presented at Thomas Jeffersons Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia 2002

Glenn Murcutt of Australia


presented at Michelangelos Campidoglio in Rome, Italy

.or publication on or after Monday, April 7, 2003

Danish Architect Jrn Utzon Becomes 2003 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate
Los Angeles, CADanish architect Jrn Utzon, who designed what has arguably become the most famous building in the world, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, has been chosen as the 2003 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize which marks its 25th anniversary this year. The 84 year old Utzon has retired to a house he designed for himself on the island of Majorca, but his two sons, Jan and Kim, continue the practice of Utzon Architects in Haarby, Denmark. In announcing the jurys choice, Thomas J. Pritzker, president of The Hyatt Foundation, said, Jrn Utzon has designed a remarkably beautiful building in Australia that has become a national symbol to the rest of the world. In addition, in a most distinguished career, he has designed several other significant works, including housing complexes, a church, residences, and other commercial buildings. We are delighted that the jury has seen fit to recognize this great talent as we celebrate our first quarter of a century. Pritzker Prize jury chairman, Lord Rothschild, commented, Jrn Utzon created one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty known throughout the world. In addition to this masterpiece, he has worked throughout his life fastidiously, brilliantly, quietly and with never a false or jarring note. He is therefore a most distinguished recipient of the Pritzker Prize. The formal ceremony for what has come to be known throughout the world as architecture's highest honor will be held on May 20, 2003 in Madrid, Spain. At that time, a $100,000 grant and a bronze medallion are bestowed. Utzon is the first Dane to become a Pritzker Laureate, and the 27th honoree since the prize was established in 1979. His selection continues what has become a ten-year trend of laureates from the international community. Bill Lacy, an architect, spoke as the executive director of the Pritzker Prize, quoting from the jury citation which states, Utzon has always been ahead of his time. He rightly joins the handful of Modernists who have shaped the past century with buildings of timeless and enduring quality.
4

Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic and member of the jury, commented further saying, It has taken half a century to understand the true path of architecture in our time, to pick up the threads of continuity and the signposts to the future, to recognize the broader and deeper meaning of 20th century work that has been subjected to doctrinaire modernist criticism and classification, or tabled as history. In this light, the work of Jrn Utzon takes on a particular richness and significance. Another juror, Carlos Jimenez from Houston who is professor of architecture at Rice University, said, Singular is an attribute that embodies the life and work of Jrn Utzon. The unique resolve and erudition of this architects few but compelling works have captured the imagination of architects and the public alike ever since his brilliant debut in the international scene almost fifty years ago. And from juror Jorge Silvetti, who chairs the Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, Paradoxically, while the act of awarding in 2003 the Pritzker Prize to Jrn Utzon may be perceived as long overdue, it comes at such a particular moment in the development of architecture as to be timely and exemplary. In the current frenzy of unbound personal expressionism and blind subordination to attention-grabbing production techniques, his explorations remind us that both expression and technique are servants and secondary to more profound and foundational architectural ideas. His work shows us that the marvelous and seemingly impossible in architecture depend still on genial minds and able hands." The purpose of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is to honor annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture. The distinguished jury that selected Utzon as the 2003 Laureate consists of its chairman, Lord Rothschild, former chairman ofthe National Heritage Memorial Fund of Great Britain and formerly the chairman of that country's National Gallery of Art; and alphabetically: the late Giovanni Agnelli, chairman emeritus of Fiat from Torino, Italy; Frank Gehry, architect and 1989 Pritzker Laureate; Ada Louise Huxtable, author and architectural critic of New York; Carlos Jimenez, professor at Rice University School of Architecture, and principal, Carlos Jimenez Studio Houston, Texas; Jorge Silvetti, chair man, department of architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design. The prize presentation ceremony moves to different locations around
5

the world each year, paying homage to historic and contemporary architecture. Last year, the ceremony was held in Michelangelos Campidoglio in Rome, Italy. In 2001, Charlottesville, Virginia at Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello was the venue. In 2000, the ceremony was held in Jerusalem in the Archaeological Park surrounding the Dome of the Rock. Philip Johnson was the first Pritzker Laureate in 1979. The late Luis Barragn of Mexico was named in 1980. The late James Stirling of Great Britain was elected in 1981, Kevin Roche in 1982, Ieoh Ming Pei in 1983, and Richard Meier in 1984. Hans Hollein of Austria was the 1985 Laureate. Gottfried Boehm of Germany received the prize in 1986. Kenzo Tange was the first Japanese architect to receive the prize in 1987; Fumihiko Maki was the second from Japan in 1993; and Tadao Ando the third in 1995. Robert Venturi received the honor in 1991, and Alvaro Siza of Portugal in 1992. Christian de Portzamparc of France was elected Pritzker Laureate in 1994. The late Gordon Bunshaft of the United States and Oscar Niemeyer of Brazil, were named in 1988. Frank Gehry was the recipient in 1989, the late Aldo Rossi of Italy in 1990. In 1996, Rafael Moneo of Spain was the Laureate; in 1997 Sverre Fehn of Norway; in 1998 Renzo Piano of Italy, in 1999 Sir Nor man Foster of the UK, and in 2000, Rem Koolhaas of the Netherlands. In 2001, two architects from Switzerland received the honor: Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Last years laureate was Australian Glenn Murcutt. The field of architecture was chosen by the Pritzker family because of their keen interest in building due to their involvement with developing the Hyatt Hotels around the world; also because architecture was a creative endeavor not included in the Nobel Prizes. The procedures were modeled after the Nobels, with the final selection being made by the international jury with all deliberations and voting in secret. Nominations are continuous from year to year with hundreds of nominees from countries all around the world being considered each year.
###

43

42

Sydney Opera House (under construction) Sydney, Australia 1957-1973


Photos this page by John Garth/Max Dupain

44
7

THE J URY
C HAIRMAN The Lord Rothschild
Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery Former Chairman, National Heritage Memorial Fund London, England

*Giovanni Agnelli
Chairman Emeritus , Fiat Torino, Italy

Frank O. Gehry
Architect and Pritzker Laureate 1989 Los Angeles, California

Ada Louise Huxtable


Author and Architectural Critic New York, New York

Carlos Jimenez
Professor, Rice University School of Architecture Principal, Carlos Jimenez Studio Houston, Texas

Jorge Silvetti
Chairman, Department of Architecture Harvard University, Graduate School of Design Cambridge, Massachusetts

E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR Bill Lacy


State University of New York at Purchase Purchase, New York
*deceased
8

Citation from the Jury


Jrn Utzon is an architect whose roots extend back into history touching on the Mayan, Chinese and Japanese, Islamic cultures, and many others, including his own Scandinavian legacies. He combines these more ancient heritages with his own balanced discipline, a sense of architecture as art, and natural instinct for organic structures related to site conditions. The range of his projects is vast, from the sculptural abstraction of the Sydney Opera House to handsome, humane housing; a church that remains a masterwork with its remarkably lyrical ceilings; as well as monumental public buildings for government and commerce. His housing is designed to provide not only privacy for its inhabitants, but pleasant views of the landscape, and flexibility for individual pursuits in short, designed with people in mind. There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent. I like to be on the edge of the possible, is something Jrn Utzon has said. His work shows the world that he has been there and beyond he proves that the marvelous and seemingly impossible in architecture can be achieved. He has always been ahead of his time. He rightly joins the handful of Modernists who have shaped the past century with buildings of timeless and enduring quality.

Note to editors: The following are some additional comments from individual Pritzker Prize Jurors:

Jrn Utzon created one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty known throughout the world. In addition to this masterpiece, he has worked throughout his life fastidiously, brilliantly, quietly and with never a false or jarring note. He is therefore a most distinguished recipient of the Pritzker Prize. Lord Jacob Rothshild Pritzker Jury Chairman It has taken half a century to understand the true path of architecture in our time, to pick up the threads of continuity and the signposts to the future, to recognize the broader and deeper meaning of 20th century work that has been subjected to doctrinaire modernist criticism and classification, or tabled as history. In this light, the work of Jrn Utzon takes on a particular richness and significance. In a forty year practice, each commission displays a continuing development of ideas both subtle and bold, true to the teaching of early pioneers of a new architecture, but that cohere in a prescient way, most visible now, to push the boundaries of architecture toward the present. This has produced a range of work from the sculptural abstraction of the Sydney Opera House that foreshadowed the avant garde expression of our time, and is widely considered to be the most notable monument of the 20th century, to handsome, humane housing and a church that remains a masterwork today. Ada Louise Huxtable Pritzker Juror "Singular is an attribute that embodies the life and work of Jrn Utzon. The unique resolve and erudition of this architects few but compelling works have captured the imagination of architects and the public alike ever since his brilliant debut in the international scene almost fifty years ago. Although few and far apart each work startles with its irrepressible creativity. How else to explain the lineage binding those indelible ceramic sails on the Tasmanian Sea, the fertile optimism of the housing at .redensborg, or those sublime undulations of the ceilings at Bagsvaerd, to name just three of Utzons timeless works. He is an architects architect, luminous in the clarity of his expansive trace, wise in the serenity of his island life." Carlos Jimenez Pritzker Juror

10

"I believe that the choice of Jrn Utzon for this years Pritzker Prize is a very important choice. It is important because Utzon made a building well ahead of its time, far ahead of available technology, and he persevered through extraordinary malicious publicity and negative criticism to build a building that changed the image of an entire country. It is the first time in our lifetime that an epic piece of architecture gained such universal presence. The trials and tribulations suffered by Utzon did not, however, prevent him from continuing to work and to produce superior, relevant, beautiful buildings. He has, by his own choice, remained out of the limelight and did not seek this prize. It sought him. His talents, his perseverance, and his honorable presence in the world of architecture merits his choice as this years recipient of the Pritzker Prize. .rank Gehry Pritzker Juror "Paradoxically, while the act of awarding in 2003 the Pritzker Prize to Jrn Utzon may be perceived as long overdue, it comes at such a particular moment in the development of architecture as to be timely and exemplary. In the current frenzy of unbound personal expressionism and blind subordination to attentiongrabbing production techniques, his explorations remind us that both expression and technique are servants and secondary to more profound and foundational architectural ideas. His work shows us that the marvelous and seemingly impossible in architecture depend still on genial minds and able hands." Jorge Silvetti Pritzker Juror This years prize validates and celebrates the work of one of the Master Architects of the 20th century, Jrn Utzon. He rightly joins the distinguished company of a handful of Modernists who shaped the most notable buildings of our time; buildings that stand for entire cities, and even continents, in our collective memory. Bill Lacy Executive Director

The bronze medallion awarded to each Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize is based on designs of Louis Sullivan, famed Chicago architect generally acknowledged as the father of the s k y s c r a p e r. O n o n e s i d e i s t h e n a m e o f t h e p r i ze. O n t h e re v e rs e, t h re e w o r d s a re i n s c r i b e d , f i r m n e s s, c o m m o d i t y a n d d e l i g h t , T h e s e a re t h e t h re e c o n d i t i o n s r e f e r r e d t o b y H e n r y Wo t t o n i n his 1624 treatise, The Elements of Architecture , which was a translation of thoughts originally set d o w n n e a rl y 2 0 0 0 ye a rs a g o by M a rc u s V i t r u v i u s i n h i s Te n B o o k s o n A rch i t e c t u r e, d e d i c a t e d t o t h e R o m a n E m p e r o r A u g u s t u s. Wo t t o n , w h o d i d t h e t ra n s l a t i o n w h e n h e w a s E n gl a n d s f i rs t a m b a s s a d o r t o Ve n i c e, u s e d t h e c o m p l e t e q u o t e a s : T h e e n d i s t o bu i l d w e l l . We l l - b u i l d i n g h a t h t h re e c o n d i t i o n s : c o m m o d i t y, f i r m n e s s a n d d e l i g h t .
11

about Jrn Utzon


Note to editors: It would be impossible in this brief media kit to provide a complete biography or to outline and discuss all of Jrn Utzons work. Rather an attempt is made to highlight some important aspects of his life, and some of his projects and thoughts on architecture. A detailed chronological list of his projects and honors is provided in another section of this kit. A selected bibliography is also provided for anyone wanting further research.

Jrn Utzons father was director of a shipyard in Alborg, Denmark, and was a brilliant naval architect, many of whose yacht designs are still in production today. Several family members were excellent yachtsmen, and the young Jrn, who was born in 1918, became a good sailor himself. Until about the age of 18, he considered a career as a naval officer. It was about this time, while still in secondary school, that he began helping his father at the shipyard, studying new designs, drawing up plans and making models. This activity opened another possibility that of training to be a naval architect like his father. However, yet further influences were introduced during summer holidays with his grandparents. There he met two artists, Paul Schrder and Carl Kyberg, who introduced him to art. One of his fathers cousins, Einar Utzon-Frank, who happened to be a sculptor and was a professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, provided additional inspiration. Jrn took an interest in sculpting. At one point, he indicated he might want to be an artist, but was ultimately convinced that architectural school would be the best career path. Even though his final marks in secondary school, particularly mathematics, were poor, his excellent freehand drawing talents were strong enough to win his admission to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He was soon recognized as having extraordinary architectural gifts. When he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 1942, because of World War II, he, like many architects of that time, fled to neutral Sweden where he was employed in the Stockholm office of Hakon Ahlberg for the duration of the war. Following that he went to Finland to work with Alvar Aalto. He had begun to admire the ideas of Gunnar Asplund, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright while still in school. Utzon acknowledges that Aalto, Asplund and Wright were all major influences. Over the next decade, he traveled extensively, visiting Morocco, Mexico, the United States, China, Japan, India, and Australia, the latter destined to become a major factor in his life. All of the trips had significance, and Utzon himself describes the importance of just one: As an architectonic element, the platform is fascinating. I lost my heart to it on a trip to Mexico in 1949, where I found a rich variety of both size and idea, and where many platforms stand alone, surrounded by nothing but untouched nature. All the platforms in Mexico are placed very sensitively in the landscape, always the creations of a brilliant idea. They radiate a huge force. You feel the firm
12

ground beneath you, as when standing on a great cliff. Let me give you an example of the power in this idea. Yucatan is a flat lowland area covered by an impenetrable jungle which everywhere attains a certain height. The Maya people used to live in this jungle in villages surrounded by small cultivated clearings. On all sides, and also above, there was the hot, humid, green jungle. No great views, no vertical movements. But by building up the platform on a level with the roof of the jungle, these people had suddenly conquered a new dimension that was a worthy place for the worship of their gods. They built their temples on these high platforms, which can be as much as a hundred metres long. From here, they had the sky, the clouds and the breeze, and suddenly the roof of the jungle was transformed into a great, open plain. By means of this architectonic device they had completely transformed the landscape and presented their eyes with a grandeur that corresponded to the grandeur of their gods. The wonderful experience of going from the denseness of the jungle to the vast openness above the platform is still there today. It is like the liberation you feel up here in the Nordic lands when, after weeks of rain, cloud and darkness, you suddenly emerge into the sunlight again. The idea of the platform would manifest itself in many of Utzons designs over the years, including that of the Sydney Opera House, where he described it as follows: ...the idea has been to let the platform cut through like a knife and separate primary and secondary functions completely. On top of the platform the spectators receive the completed work of art and beneath the platform every preparation for it takes place. Utzon continued, To express the platform and avoid destroying it is a very important thing, when you start building on top of it. A flat roof does not express the flatness of the platform...in the schemes for the Sydney Opera House...you can see the roofs, curved forms, hanging higher or lower over the plateau. The contrast of forms and the constantly changing heights between these two elements result in spaces of great architectural force made possible by the modern structural approach to concrete construction, which has given so many beautiful tools into the hands of the architect. The saga of the opera house actually began in 1957, when, at the age of 38, Jrn Utzon was still a relatively unknown architect with a practice in Denmark near where Shakespeare had located Hamlets castle. He was living in a small seaside town with his wife and three childen one son, Kim, born that year; another son Jan, born in 1944, and a daughter, Lin, born in 1946 all three would follow in their fathers foosteps and become architects. Their home was a house in Hellebk that he had built just five years before, one of the few designs that he had actually realized since opening his studio in 1945. He had just entered an anonymous competition for an opera house to be built in Australia on a point of land jutting into Sydney harbor. Out of some 230 entries from over thirty countries, his concept was selected described by the media at the time as three shell-like concrete vaults covered with white tiles. It has become the most famous, certainly the most photographed, building
13

of the 20th century. It is now hailed as a masterpiece Jrn Utzons masterpiece. The Sydney Opera House is actually a complex of theatres and halls all linked together beneath its famous shells. Since its opening in 1973, it has become the busiest performing arts centre in the world, averaging some 3000 events a year with audiences totaling some two million, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week closing only on Christmas and Good Friday. Books have been written, and films made chronicling the sixteen years it took to complete the Sydney Opera House. One such book is by Franoise Fromonot, Jrn Utzon - The Sydney Opera House . Utzon, who is described as being an intensely private person was unwittingly entangled in political intrigues and besieged by a hostile press, which eventually forced him out of the project before it was completed. But he was able to accomplish the basic structure, leaving just the interiors to be finished by others. As Pritzker Laureate and Juror Frank Gehry puts it, Utzon made a building well ahead of its time, far ahead of available technology, and he persevered through extraordinary malicious publicity and negative criticism to build a building that changed the image of an entire country. It is the first time in our lifetime that an epic piece of architecture has gained such universal prescence. In the last year, plans were announced to refurbish the interiors, and Utzon, now 84, has high hopes that the interior will be full of color rather than a black hole. His son Jan is part of the new design team as Jrn Utzons representative. Their firm, Utzon Architects, has an agreement with the Sydney Opera House Trust and indirectly with the Australian government to work toward future development and renovation of the building. One aspect is to develop a Design Principles document, which will take a reader through the building explaining the underlying principles for the design decisions that produced the end results. The document will serve as a manual or guideline for future generations when alterations or modifications to the building are contemplated. Another aspect is to provide actual designs for a number of changes and modifications which are presently needed if the building is to comply to todays expectations. Current work is concentrating on some of the interior spaces and access to the western foyer from the western boardwalk. Jrn Utzon has stated recently, It is my hope that the building shall be a lively and ever-changing venue for the arts. Future generations should have the freedom to develop the building to contemporary use. But Jrn Utzon has contributed far more than one masterpiece in his lifetime. As noted architectural author and critic Ada Louise Huxtable points out in her Pritzker Jury comments, In a forty year practice, each commission displays a continuing development of ideas both subtle and bold, true to the teaching of early pioneers of a new architecture, but that cohere in a prescient way, most visible now, to push the boundaries of architecture toward the present. This has produced a range of work from the sculptural abstraction of the Sydney Opera House that foreshadowed the avant garde expression of our time, and is widely considered to
14

be the most notable monument of the 20th century, to handsome, humane housing and a church that remains a masterwork today. She refers to the Utzons church in Bagsvrd, a community just north of Copenhagen, where in the 16th century, the King of Denmark allowed an exisiting church to be pulled down to provide bricks for the restoration of a building for the university. The town was without a church building for 400 years, until their pastor happened to see some of Utzons work. At an exhibition of my works, including the Sydney Opera House, says Utzon, there was also a drawing of a small church in the centre of a town. Two ministers representing a congregation that had been saving for 25 years to build a new church, saw it and asked me if I would be the architect for their church. There I stood, and was offered the finest task an architect can have a magnificent time when it was the light from above that showed us the way. The genesis of the design according to Utzon, went back to a time when he was teaching at the University of Hawaii where he spent time on the beaches. One evening, he was struck by the regular passage of clouds thinking they could be the basis for the ceiling of a church. His early sketches showed groups of people on the beach with clouds overhead. His sketches evolved with the people framed by columns on each side and billowing vaults above, and moving toward a cross. Its not surprising that the end result provoked this comment from another Pritzker Juror, Carlos Jimenez who is an architect and teacher himself: ...each work startles with with its irrepressible creativity. How else to explain the lineage binding those indelible ceramic sails on the Tasmanian Sea, the fertile optimism of the housing at Fredensborg, or those sublime undulations of the ceilings at Bagsvrd, to name just three of Utzons timeless works. Both jurors Jimenez and Huxtable singled out housing in their comments. There are two courtyard-style housing estates in Denmark designed by Jrn Utzon: the Kingo Houses in Helsingr and the houses in Fredensborg. His interest in courtyard-style housing was first shown in a competion for Skne, Sweden in 1953. He based his designs on his own experiences. His family home in lborg had a nursery garden in front. The neighbors all had huts, sheds or some kind of shelters for a variety of activities raising rabbits, boat-building, or simply storing items for family activities. Traditional Danish farmhouses had four sheltering sections set around a central courtyard. Further, Utzon had studied Chinese architecture which described their farm houses as being completely closed to the outside, but opening onto a central court. And he learned of a Turkish building regulation that allowed no one to block the view of existing houses. Designing with these tenets in mind, he won the Swedish competition, but the project was never realized. Not long after that, he took his Swedish plans to the Mayor of Helsingr along with a study he had done on a poorly designed and executed housing development that had been built in Denmark. He was able to convince the Mayor that he could provide his Swedish design for the same cost as the poorly done one. The Mayor put a tract of nine acres of land with a pond and rolling hills at his
15

disposal for his housing plan. Utzon commissioned a show house from a firm of builders. The house was a success and eventually 63 houses were built within cost restrictions set up by the government to keep the costs below a certain level for low income workers. The 63 houses were built in rows following the undulations of the site, providing a specific view for each house, as well as the best situation possible for sunlight and shelter from the wind. Utzon likes to describe the arrangement of the houses as like flowers on the branch of cherry tree, each turning toward the sun. The individual houses are L-shaped with a living room and study in one section, and the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom in the other. Walls of varying heights closed the remaining open sides of the L. The success of these houses at Helsingr led to another for the Dansk Samvirke, a support organization for Danish citizens who have worked for long periods abroad in business or the foreign service. They wanted a development for retirees who had returned to Denmark and could live in a community and share their experiences. Utzon accepted the task of conceiving the program and designing the houses, even though no site had been found, and without fee if the project was not built. He helped find the site in Fredensborg, North Zealand, and developed a plan that allowed each house to have a view of and direct access to a green slope. Since there was no comparable society as this anywhere, Utzon had to invent the details of the project and make them conform to his idea for the individual houses. One of the things the committee wanted was a centre where the residents could meet, along with a dining room and kitchen, a communal lounge and party area. Some office space was needed as well as several guest rooms for the residents guests, which in effect became a small hotel. In the end, the Fredensborg development was designed with 47 courtyard and 30 terraced houses. The terraced houses were grouped around a square in staggered blocks of three, with all entrances from the square. A detailed account of this project is available in a book titled Jrn Utzon - Houses in Fredensborg by Tobias Faber with photographs by Jens Frederiksen. In addition to these projects in Denmark and Australia, Utzon has accomplished exceptional projects in Kuwait and Iran. In the former country, he designed the building to house the National Assembly. The invitation to compete for Kuwait National Assembly reached Utzon in 1969 while he was teaching at the University of Hawaii. There were few constraints to the project. The site was along the ocean front, with haze and white light and an untidy town behind, as Utzon describes it. As a result of his travels, Utzon had developed an affinity for Islamic architecture. In the definitive book by Richard Weston titled simply, Utzon, the project is described as follows: The complex was conceived as an evolving fabric with, initially, ragged edges but of uniform height save for the representative spaces the covered square,
16

parliamentary chamber, large conference hall and mosquewhich would rise as visually dominant group. These four major elements formed the corners of an incomplete but clearly implies rectangle, and the highest surfaces of their distinctive roofs as specified in a three-dimensional sketch were to lie in the same plane to create a firm strong grouping to hold the rest of the complex (which in its nature is irregular as it grows) together. Dominate it as Utzon explained in a note next to the sketch. The mosque was flat-roofed and anchored one corner of this spatial core it would later be angled slightly toward Mecca and its autonomy was stressed by making it independent of the office grid. The other roofs were sag curves, reflecting Utzonss interest in fabric as a metaphor for concrete we may recall it was shortly before this time that he had explored the Bagsvrd Churchs cloud-vaults with fabric models. It should be noted that in February of 1991, Iraqui troops, retreating before the international alliance, set fire to the building. Since, a 70 million dollar restoration was undertaken resulting in a number of departures from Utzons original design. Back in 1947 when Utzon was still a struggling young architect, a relative offered him an opportunity to supplement his meagre income by going to work in Morocco preparing designs for factories there. The few months he spent there provided his first experience with Islamic architecture, which, just as the trip to Mexico had done, became another decisive influence on his work. In 1958, he was approached to design a branch of the Iran National Bank in the university area of Teheran, Utzon was delighted to take the job because of his intense interest in Islamic architecture. The client wanted the bank to stand out from its neighbors so, as described by Richard Weston in his book, Utzon, Utzon decided to set it back on a raised platform framed by boldly projecting flank walls, thick enough to contain services. To one side the flank wall was doubled to form a servant zone to accommodate an office, private interview rooms and other support spaces; two additional administrative floors spanned between the outer walls above the entrance. The raised platform made for a dramatic entrance sequence: visitors pass through a low dark space, roofed by V-shaped beams, andd then enter the open banking hall which expands dramatically both up and down, affording a sight of the whole interior. In 1985, Utzons practice included his two sons, Jan and Kim. Ole Paustian, who headed one Denmarks leading furniture companies, asked them to design a new showroom in a waterfront area of Copenhagen Harbor that would be an extension of one of Paustians existing warehouses. Utzon designed the showroom and an adjacent restaurant with sketches and sent them to his two sons who executive the final drawings and plans. Much later in 2000, Kim Utzon completed the complex with an adjacent office building and yacht club. Currently, Jrn Utzon lives in retirement with his wife Lis, on the island of Majorca, where they originally began building a home in 1971 and completed it
17

two years later. It was almost twenty years later, that the Utzons decided to build another house on Majorca, nestled on the side of a mountain. The decision to build there was prompted by several reasons: the glare from the sea became very tiring for eyes weakened by a lifetime of close work with drawings; the pounding surf became more of a disturbance than a comfort; and there were more and more intrusions by architecture buffs seeking to wander the site. Can Feliz, as the new home is named in a site called Paradise, the design harks back to Utzons love of the platform concept. The house has been described as a miniature acropolis. Jrn Utzon can be described as an artist and architect whose response not only to ancient cultures, such as Islam, the Mayans, Japanese and Chinese, but also his affinity for nature, and the use of natural materials, places him in a firmament populated by only the most gifted of all the ages. One unrealized project bears mentioning here the Silkeborg Museum of Fine Arts. A Danish artist named Asger Jrgensen (who later changed his name to Asger Jorn) approached Utzon in 1961 to build an addition to the Silkeborg Museum where a collection of his art work could be housed. He even volunteered to pay the architects fees because he could not see anyone other than Utzon designing the addition. The following is a portion of Utzons own description of the project, which provides a closer look at the architects thought processes: The musuem, which lies in an old, well-stocked garden with a wing divided into bays, is designed so that it does not disturb the surroundings, but concentrates 100% on the interior. A building of several storeys above the ground would be like a bull in a china shop, and the respect for the existing calm wing of the museum calls for a solution that will not dominate the surroundings on account of its size. It feels natural to bury the museum in the ground to a depth corresponding to the height of a three-storeyed building and only to allow the upper part - the roof lights taking up one storey - to appear above the ground level. The design of this buried museum has a character rather like a cave or an oven. Because they are direct continuation of the walls of the museum, the visible one-storey roof lights suggest this cave-like character and clearly demonstrate the reason for their special design. In contrast to a square room, a cave has a distinct enclosed effect thanks to its natural shape without right angles. Continuous shapes such as we have in the museum express and emphasise the quadrilateral canvases and objects in the same powerful way that a cyclorama on a stage emphasises the individual characters and the flats. The floor, too, has been included in this continuous movement, and these dramatic shapes also correspond well with the idea of digging the museum out underground. The inspiration for the design of the museum comes from many different experiences -including my visit to the caves in Tatung, west of Peking, where hundreds
18

of Buddha sculptures and other figures are carved in caves in the rocks by the bank of the river. These sculptures appear in all shapes in contrast to or in harmony with the surrounding space. The caves are all of varying sizes and shapes and with varying illumination. The old Chinese sculptors haave experimented with all possibilities, and the most fantastic thing is a cave that is almost filled with a Buddha figure with c.7-metre-high face. Three platforms linked by ladders give the visitor the possibility of walking around and coming to close quarters with this gigantic figure. Here, in this museum, it is possible to exhibit paintings and sculptures the size of a three-storeyed building so that it is possible to walk around the objects on all levels on the system of ramps, and perhaps the possibility of this kind of exhibition leads to a new line of development in decorative art in place of the ordinary form in public buildings today, which are merely easel paintings on a gigantic scale. The various works of art can also be exhibited individually or in groups in every conceivable manner. It will also be possible in one of the large ovens to isolate a single large painting or sculpture that must be viewed on its own. The continuous space in the museum provides surprising background effects with varied light for paintings and sculpture - a background effect of the same infinite character as a cyclorama on a stage. The chimneys give the museum a clean, but varied roof light. The amount of light can be varied by means of blinds, and if it is so desired the roof light in the chimneys can be replaced with direct spotlight directed on a single object. The mullions supporting the roof lights are provided with suspension points so that they act like rigging loft in a theatre, so there will be the possibility of placing an object anywhere in the room. The light mainly falls in along the walls and on the floors without disturbing shadow effects at the corners, and the irritation element from the direct light from above is avoided. It will be with a sense of surprise and a desire to penetrate down into the building that the visitor for the first time sees the three-storeyed building open beneath him. Unconcerned - stairs and corridors which normally disturb - the viewer will glide almost effortlessly down into the museum via the ramp, taking him through the space. Strict geometry will form the basis for a simple constructional shape. The visible curved external surfaces are to be clad with ceramics in strong colours so that the parts of the building emerge like shining ceramic sculptures, and inside the museum will be kept in white. In the work with the curved shapes in the opera house, I have developed a great desire to go further with free architectural shapes, but at the same time to control the free shape with a geometry that makes it possible to construct the building from mass produced components. I am quite aware of the danger in the curved shapes in contrast to the relative safety of quadrilateral shapes. But the world of the curved form can give something that cannot ever be achieved by means of rectanglular architecture. The hulls of ships, caves and sculpture demonstrate this.
19

While Jrn Utzon has retired with his wife to one of the houses he designed on Majorca, his sons, Jan who is 58 and has been working with his father since 1970, and Kim, who is 46, both carry on with Utzon Architects. A daughter, Lin, who is an artist of giant porcelain murals and other decorative media, works closely with architects. A third generation of Utzons, a son and daughter of Jan, have both received their architecture degrees.

45

Project for a Museum at Silkeborg


Utzon designed the museum addition to be underground so it would not overpower the existing buildings.

20

. ACT S UMMARY
Jrn Utzon 2003 Laureate, Pritzker Architecture Prize
Biographical Notes
Birthdate and Place: April 9, 1918 Copenhagen, Denmark
Education

1953

1954 1956 1957 1958

Royal Academy of Arts Copenhagen, Denmark

Awards and Honors


1942 1965 1966 1973 1978 1981 1982 1992 1994 1998 Royal Academy of Arts Gold Medal awarded for his project for a conservatorium in Copenhagen Elected .ellow - Royal Australian Institute of Architecture Awarded the Plaque of Honor by the Bunddeutscher Arkitekten, Germany Gold Medal - Royal Australian Institute of Architecture Gold Medal - Royal Institute of British Architects Prize of the Danske Arkitektur Landsforbund Alvar Aalto Medal - Helsinki, .inland Wolf Prize, Israel Gold Medal - .rench Academy of Architecture Sonning Prize - University of Copenhagen Additional honors: Eckersberg Medallion - Denmark C. Hansen Medallion - Denmark Prince Eugen Medal - Sweden BDA Gold Medal - Germany Order of Australia Townplanning award - Sydney, Australia Keys to the City of Sydney The Queens Gold Medal - England Honorary Doctor - Honioris Causa - Lund University, Sweden Honorary .ellow - AIA - USA Gold Medal - AIA - USA Honorary .ellow, Scottish Chapter, RIBA - England Member of the Academy - Italy Member of the Academy - Sweden Honorary Doctor of Science in Architecture University of Sydney, Australia The Danish Precast Concrete Element Award The Danish .urniture Prize

1959

1960 1963 1964

1965

1966 1967 1968

1969

Chronological List of Selected Projects and Built Works


1945 (Description in italics indicates built work) Submission of Crystal Palace Competition (with Tobias .aber) Project for a crematorium Scheme for a water tower on Bornholm Project for Oslo Central Station (with Arne Korsmo), Sweden Project for a commercial school in Gteborg (with Arne Korsmo) Management Plan for the Vestre Vika district of Oslo (with Arne Korsmo) Sketches for housing and factory in Morocco Utzon House, Hellebk, Denmark
21

1971

1972 1973

1946 1947 1948

1978

Wins Competition for economical housing in Skne, Denmark Middleboe House, Holte, Denmark Competition for the Langelinie Restaurant (3rd Prize) Competition for a housing, school and community centre complex at Elineberg, Sweden (1rst Prize) Kingo Housing Project (63 houses) at Helsingr (completed in 1958) On January 29, Utzon is declared the winner of the competition for the Sydney Opera House Competition for an education centre in Hjstrup (1rst and 3rd Prizes) Project for a commercial centre Competition for a school near Helsingr (winner) Villa Banck, Helsingborg, Sweden Competition for the Copenhagen International Exhibition Melli Bank in Teheran, Iran Competition for a management plan for .rederiksberg (winner) Development project for housing complex at Birkehj Housing Scheme at .redensborg (completed in 1962) Competition for a management plan for Elviria, Spain .irst sketches for Utzon House at Bayview Competition for Opera House in Madrid, Spain Competion for theatre in Zurich, Switzerland (winner) Competition for University Art Museum in Berkeley, Calfornia Competition for Wolfsburg Theatre, Germany Competition for Odense University Centre Project for .arum town centre Stadium Project, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Utsep furniture project Project for an underground theatre in a cave at Jeita, Beirut, Lebanon Education Centre in Herning, Denmark (partially completed) Espansiva Catalogue Housing Second project for an Asger Jorn Museum in Silkeborg Utzon House, "Can Lis," in Majorca, Spain (completed in 1973) Kuwait National Assembly (designed with Jan Utzon and completed in 1982) Sydney Opera House officially inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II Bagsvrd Church, Denmark (completed in 1976) Project for a leisure village and swimming pool at Vendsyssel Project for a national swimming stadium, Copenhagen

1952

1985

1986-89

1987

1988 1992

1994 19981999

Paustian Showroom, Copenhagen (completed in 1987) Project for a 1 km long pier in the harbor at Copenhagen, with offices, retail spaces, a hotel and conference center. (Utzon Associates) completed 1992 Project for petroleum tanks, Herning, Denmark (Utzon & Associates) Project for a Scandinavian Centre for San .rancisco (a large scale project with cruise ship terminal, exhibition centre, retail spaces, theme park and a hotel, all to be located on a combination of piers in San .rancisco Harbor. Telephone boxes for KTAS Kalkbranderihavnen - a large scale project for the development of a northern free port in Copenhagen (offices, residential, shopping mall, exhibition centre, swimming stadium, and yacht club with related marina. Project for the Danish Museum of Modern Art Esbjerg Theatre and Concert Hall Complex (Utzon Associates) completed 1997 Skagen Visitors Centre (Utzon Associates) completed 2001 Utzon House, "Can .eliz," Majorca, Spain A continuing program of schools and teachers colleges being erected in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Angola. (Utzon Associates) Dunkers Cultural Centre - Halsingborg, Sweden. (Utzon Associates) Completed in 2002.

Publications
Some Books on Jrn Utzon for additional research: Utzon by Richard Weston - Edition Blndal 2002 Jrn Utzon - Houses in .redensborg by Tobias .aber - Berlin, Ernst & Sohn 1991 Utzon and the Sydney Opera House by P. Drew Annandale, New South Wales, Inspire Press 2000 Jrn Utzon - The Sydney Opera House by .ranoise .romonot - Corte Madera, California, Gingko Press/Electa 1998 The Masterpiece: Jrn Utzon - A Secret Life by P. Drew - South Yarra, Victoria, Hardie Grant Books 1999 Sydney Opera House by P. Drew - London, Phaidon 1995 Utzon Mallorca by Christian Norberg-Schulz and Tobias .aber - Copenhagen, Arkitektens .orlag 1996. It should be noted that there is an enormous body of work written by and about Jrn Utzon. The Weston book noted above has an extensive and detailed bibliography that includes periodicals and films as well as books.

47

46

Bagsvrd Church Denmark - 1973-76


above - two preliminary sketches by Jrn Utzon, and below - a photo of the completed building by Keld Helmer-Petersen

22

Paustian Showroom Copenhagen, Denmark


Preliminary studies by Jrn Utzon

48

23

Kuwait National Assembly


top and bottom - original sketches by Jrn Utzon, and in the center, a photo of the realized building

49

50

51
24

2003 Pritzker Prize Ceremony Will Be Held in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Madrid, Spain

His Royal Highness King Juan Carlos I of Spain will preside over the ceremony honoring Jrn Utzon of Denmark as the 2003 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate. The ceremony will take place in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando of Madrid on Tuesday, May 20. The guests assembling from around the world for the Pritzker Prize will have an opportunity to see some of the academy's fine art collection that compliments those of the Prado and Thyssen-Bornemisza. There are five remarkable Zurbarn life-size portraits of monks, as well as several still lifes. There are also works by Velsquez, Rubens, and Goya to mention but a few. It is also Spain's most important center for the study of art printing processes such as engraving and etching. Some of Goya's copper plates (among some 8000 printing plates archived there) are displayed in rotating exhibitions. This is also the home of the national print collection. Following the ceremony, guests will be transported to La Quinta Palace for a reception and dinner. Quinta del Pardo is a former royal hunting lodge in the vast park that stretches from Madrid to a range of snow covered peaks that can be seen in the distance. The land around the building was originally terraced as beautiful gardens, some of which still exist today. The building was restored in 1973 when then Prince Juan Carlos used it to hold his official audiences until Franco died in 1975. The international prize, which is awarded each year to a living architect for lifetime achievement, was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation in 1979. Often referred to as architectures Nobel and the professions highest honor, the Pritzker Prize has been awarded to seven Americans, and (including this year) twenty architects from fourteen other countries. The presentation ceremonies move around the world each year paying homage to the architecture of other eras and/or works by previous laureates of the prize. Thomas J. Pritzker, president of The Hyatt Foundation, in expressing gratitude to the Royal Family for making it possible to hold the event in these historic settings, stated, This is the second time we have had the great pleasure to come to Spain. The first was in 1997 when we went to Bilbao where the Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum was nearing completion. While that building is a celebration of contemporary art, this year at the Fine Arts Academy, we will be paying homage to a repository of historic masterpieces." The collection began with Spanish and foreign artists working in Madrid. On being admitted to the academy, new members contribute a piece of their own work. The collections have grown substantially from private legacies until today it numbers over a thousand paintings and sculptures dating from the 16th century. The Pritzker Prize has a tradition of moving the ceremony to sites of historic and/or architectural significance around the world. It was held twice in Italy, the first being in 1990 at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice when the late Aldo Rossi received the prize. As the sites are usually chosen each year before the laureate is selected, there is no intended connection beyond the two. Retrospectively, buildings by Laureates of the Pritzker Prize, such as the National Gallery of Arts East Building designed by I.M. Pei, or Richard Meiers new Getty Center in Los Angeles have
25

been used. In some instances, places of historic interest such as Frances Palace of Versailles and Grand Trianon, or Todai-ji Buddhist Temple in Japan, or Prague Castle in The Czech Republic have been chosen as ceremony venues. Some of the most beautiful museums have hosted the event, including the already mentioned Palazzo Grassi: Chicagos Art Institute (using the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room designed by Louis Sullivan and his partner, Dankmar Adler, which was preserved when the Stock Exchange building was torn down in 1972. The Trading Room was then reconstructed in the museum's new wing in 1977). New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art provided the setting of 1982 Laureate Kevin Roches pavilion for the Temple of Dendur. In homage to the late Louis Kahn, the ceremony was held in Fort Worths Kimbell Art Museum in 1987. Californias Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens was the setting in l985. In 1992, the just-completed Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago was the location where Alvaro Siza of Portugal received the prize. The 20th anniversary of the prize was hosted at the White House since in a way, the Pritzker Prize roots are in Washington where the first two ceremonies were held at Dumbarton Oaks, where a major addition to the original estate, had been designed by yet another Pritzker Laureate in fact, the very first, Philip Johnson. In 2000 in Jerusalem, the Herodian Street excavation in the shadow of the Temple Mount provided the most ancient of the venues. Just two years ago, the ceremony was held at Monticello, the home designed by Thomas Jefferson, who was not only the third president of the United States, but also authored the Declaration of Independence. The ceremonies have evolved over the years, becoming, in effect, an international grand tour of architecture. One of the founding jurors of the Pritzker Prize, the late Lord Clark of Saltwood, as art historian Kenneth Clark, perhaps best known for his television series and book, Civilisation , said at one of the ceremonies, A great historical episode can exist in our imagination almost entirely in the form of architecture. Very few of us have read the texts of early Egyptian literature. Yet we feel we know those infinitely remote people almost as well as our immediate ancestors, chiefly because of their sculpture and architecture. # # #

26

A Brief History of the Pritzker Architecture Prize


The Pritzker Architecture Prize was established by The Hyatt Foundation in 1979 to honor annually a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture. It has often been described as architectures most prestigious award or as the Nobel of architecture. The prize takes its name from the Pritzker family, whose international business interests are headquartered in Chicago. They have long been known for their support of educational, religious, social welfare, scientific, medical and cultural activities. Jay A. Pritzker, who founded the prize with his wife, Cindy, died on January 23, 1999. His eldest son, Thomas J. Pritzker has become president of The Hyatt Foundation. He explains, As native Chicagoans, it's not surprising that our family was keenly aware of architecture, living in the birthplace of the skyscraper, a city filled with buildings designed by architectural legends such as Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and many others. He continues, In 1967, we acquired an unfinished building which was to become the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Its soaring atrium was wildly successful and became the signature piece of our hotels around the world. It was immediatly apparent that this design had a pronounced affect on the mood of our guests and attitude of our employees. While the architecture of Chicago made us cognizant of the art of architecture, our work with designing and building hotels made us aware of the impact architecture could have on human behavior. So in 1978, when we were approached with the idea of honoring living architects, we were responsive. Mom and Dad (Cindy and the late Jay A. Pritzker) believed that a meaningful prize would encourage and stimulate not only a greater public awareness of buildings, but also would inspire greater creativity within the architectural profession. He went on to add that he is extremely proud to carry on that effort on behalf of his mother and the rest of the family. Many of the procedures and rewards of the Pritzker Prize are modeled after the Nobel Prize. Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize receive a $100,000 grant, a formal citation certificate, and since 1987, a bronze medallion. Prior to that year, a limited edition Henry Moore sculpture was presented to each Laureate. Nominations are accepted from all nations; from government officials, writers, critics, academicians, fellow architects, architectural societies, or industrialists, virtually anyone who might have an interest in advancing great architecture. The prize is awarded irrespective of nationality, race, creed, or ideology. The nominating procedure is continuous from year to year, closing in January each year. Nominations received after the closing are automatically considered in the following calendar year. There are well over 500 nominees from more than 47 countries to date. The final selection is made by an international jury with all deliberation and voting in secret.

The Evolution of the Jury


The first jury assembled in 1979 consisted of the late J. Carter Brown, then director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; J. Irwin Miller, then chairman of the executive and finance committee of Cummins Engine Company; Cesar Pelli, architect and at the time, dean of the Yale University School of Architecture; Arata Isozaki, architect from Japan; and the late Kenneth Clark (Lord Clark of Saltwood), noted English author and art historian. The jury that selected Jrn Utzon as the 2003 laureate comprises the chairman, Lord Rothschild, former chairman of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and former chairman of the board of trustees of the National Gallery in London; the late Giovanni Agnelli, chairman emeritus of Fiat, of Torino, Italy; Frank Gehry, architect and 1989 Prtizker Laureate; Ada Louise Huxtable, American author and architectural critic; Carlos Jimenez, a principal of Carlos Jimenez Studio and professor at the Rice University School of Architecture in Houston, Texas; and Jorge Silvetti, architect and chairman, Department of Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Others who have served as jurors over the years include the late Thomas J. Watson, Jr.,

27

former chairman of IBM; Toshio Nakamura, former editor of A+U in Japan; and architects Philip Johnson, Kevin Roche, Frank Gehry, all from the United States, and Ricardo Legorreta of Mexico, Fumihiko Maki of Japan,and Charles Correa of India. Bill Lacy, architect and advisor to the J. Paul Getty Trust and many other foundations, as well as a professor at State University of New York at Purchase, is executive director of the prize. Previous secretaries to the jury were the late Brendan Gill, who was architecture critic of The New Yorker magazine; and the late Carleton Smith. From the prize's founding until his death in 1986, Arthur Drexler, who was the director of the department of architecture and design at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, was a consultant to the jury.

Television Symposium Marked Tenth Anniversary of the Prize


Architecture has long been considered the mother of all the arts, is how the distinguished journalist Edwin Newman, serving as moderator, opened the television symposium Architecture and the City: Friends or Foes? Building and decorating shelter was one of the first expressions of mans creativity, but we take for granted most of the places in which we work or live, he continued. Architecture has become both the least and the most conspicuous of art forms. With a panel that included three architects, a critic, a city planner, a developer, a mayor, a lawyer, a museum director, an industrialist, an educator, an administrator, the symposium explored problems facing everyone not just those who live in big cities, but anyone involved in community life. Some of the questions discussed: what should be built, how much, where, when, what will it look like, what controls should be allowed, and who should impose them? For complete details on the symposium which was produced in the tenth anniversary year of the prize, please go the "pritzkerprize.com" web site, where you can also view the video tape of the symposium.

Exhibitions and Book on the Pritzker Prize


The Art of Architecture, a circulating exhibition of the work of Laureates of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which has been touring for ten years, may find a permanent home in Palm Springs, California. Watch for full information on this development on the web site. The Art of Architecture had its world premiere at the Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago in 1992. The European debut was in Berlin at the Deutsches Architektur Zentrum in in 1995. It was also shown at the Karntens Haus der Architektur in Klagenfurt, Austria in 1996, and in 1997, in South America, at the Architecture Biennale in Sa Paulo, Brazil. In the U.S. it has been shown at the Gallery of Fine Art, Edison Community College in Ft. Myers, Florida; the Fine Arts Gallery at Texas A&M University; the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.; The J. B. Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky; the Canton Art Institute, Ohio; the Indianapolis Museum of Art Columbus Gallery, Indiana; the Washington State University Museum of Art in Pullman, Washington; the University of Nebraska, and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Its most recent showings were in Costa Mesa, California; and museums in Poland and Turkey. Another exhibition, designed by Carlos Jimenez, titled, The Pritzker Architecture Prize 1979-1999 , which was organized by The Art Institute of Chicago and celebrated the first twenty years of the prize and the works of the laureates, was shown in Chicago in 1999 and in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum in 2000. It provided, through drawings, original sketches, photographs, plans and models, an opportunity to view some of the most important architects that have shaped the architecture of this century. A book with texts by the late J. Carter Brown, Bill Lacy, British journalist Colin Amery, and William J. R. Curtis, was produced to accompany the exhibition, and is still available. Co-published by Abrams of New York and The Art Institute of Chicago, the 206 page book was edited by co-curator Martha Thorne. It presents an analytical history of the prize along with examples of buildings by the laureates illustrated in full color. The book celebrates the first twenty years of the prize and the works of the laureates, providing an opportunity to analyze the significance of the prize and its evolution.

###
28

Potrebbero piacerti anche