The 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize Ceremony will be held in Beijing, China on May 25, 2012, according to a joint announcement by Guo Jinlong, the Mayor of Beijing, China and Thomas J. Pritzker, Chairman of The Hyatt Foundation.
Pritzker elaborated, “Over the three decades of prize-giving, we have held ceremonies in fourteen different countries, in venues ranging from the White House in Washington DC to Todai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. The tradition of moving the event to world sites of architectural significance was established to emphasize that the prize is international, the laureates having been chosen from 16 different nations to date. This will be our 34th event marking the first time we have gone to China.
“It is particularly appropriate that we should go to China because so many of the laureates have projects there, either in work or completed, including one of our earliest laureates, Ieoh Ming Pei, who won the prize in 1983,” Pritzker continued. “Some of the others include the 2002 Pritzker Laureate from London, Zaha Hadid’s new opera house in Guangzhou; the 2001 laureates Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron of Switzerland who designed Beijing’s National Stadium; Rem Koolhaas of The Netherlands whose projects in China include a Television Cultural Center in Beijing and a Shenzen Stock Exchange; and the1999 Pritzker Laureate Norman Foster who has completed the Hong Kong International Airport as well as the headquarters for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banks.”
Mayor Guo Jinlong said, “The Pritzker Architecture Prize is the most recognized award in the architectural field throughout the world. We believe holding this event in Beijing will further raise the awareness of the Pritzker Prize in China, and promote the development of the architectural industry in Beijing and China as a whole. Hosting the ceremony in Beijing will also attract many globally reputable architecture firms and architects to participate in building Beijing as the most liveable city and famous cultural capital.”
Further plans for guests attending the ceremony in Beijing are being formulated, including seminars, and building tours of the city’s old and new architecture. BD+C
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
CHPS debuts high-performance building products database
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) made a new tool available to product manufacturers to help customers identify building products that contribute to sustainable, healthy, built environments. The tool is an online, searchable database where manufacturers can list products that have met certain environmental or health standards ranging from recycled content to materials that contribute to improved indoor air quality.
| Aug 11, 2010
ICC launches green construction code initiative for commercial buildings
The International Code Council has launched its International Green Construction Code (IGCC) initiative, which will aim to reduce energy usage and the carbon footprint of commercial buildings.Entitled “IGCC: Safe and Sustainable By the Book,” the initiative is committed to develop a model code focused on new and existing commercial buildings. It will focus on building design and performance.
| Aug 11, 2010
Green Building Initiative launches two certification programs for green building professionals
The Green Building Initiative® (GBI), one of the nation’s leading green building organizations and exclusive provider of the Green Globes green building certification in the United States, today announced the availability of two new personnel certification programs for green building practitioners: Green Globes Professional (GGP) and Green Globes Assessor (GGA).
| Aug 11, 2010
Potomac Valley Brick launches brick design competition with $10,000 grand prize
Potomac Valley Brick presents Brick-stainable: Re-Thinking Brick a design competition seeking integrative solutions for a building using clay masonry units (brick) as a primary material.
| Aug 11, 2010
Outdated office tower becomes Nashville’s newest boutique hotel
A 1960s office tower in Nashville, Tenn., has been converted into a 248-room, four-star boutique hotel. Designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with PowerStrip Studio as interior designer, the newly converted Hutton Hotel features 54 suites, two penthouse apartments, 13,600 sf of meeting space, and seven “cardio” rooms.
| Aug 11, 2010
HDR, Perkins+Will top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest healthcare design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Healthcare Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Steel Joist Institute announces 2009 Design Awards
The Steel Joist Institute is now accepting entries for its 2009 Design Awards. The winning entries will be announced in November 2009 and the company with the winning project in each category will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship in its name to a school of its choice for an engineering student.
