RCR Arquitectes awarded 2017 Pritzker Prize for Architecture

Date
1 March 2017

Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta have been selected as the 2017 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureates, recognised internationally as architecture’s highest honour. The announcement marks the first time that the award has been honoured collectively.

RCR Arquitectes was founded in Olot, Spain in 1988 and has produced notable projects across the world including La Cuisine Art Center (Nègrepelisse, France, 2014), the Soulages Museum in collaboration with G. Trégouët (Rodez, France, 2014) and La Lira Theater Public Open Space in collaboration with J. Puigcorbé (Ripoll, Girona, Spain, 2011).

The 2017 Pritzker Prize Jury citation states: “We live in a globalised world where we must rely on international influences, trade, discussion, transactions, etc. But more and more people fear that because of this international influence…we will lose our local values, our local art, and our local customs…Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta tell us that it may be possible to have both. They help us to see, in a most beautiful and poetic way, that the answer to the question is not ‘either/or’ and that we can, at least in architecture, aspire to have both; our roots firmly in place and our arms outstretched to the rest of the world.”

“They’ve demonstrated that unity of a material can lend such incredible strength and simplicity to a building,” says architect Glenn Murcutt, who chaired the Jury. “The collaboration of these three architects produces uncompromising architecture of a poetic level, representing timeless work that reflects great respect for the past, while projecting clarity that is of the present and the future.”

RCR is the 39th architect to receive the honour including Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Toyo Ito and last year’s winner Chilean architect Alejandro Aravenna.

Above

RCR Arquitectes: La Lira Theater

Above

RCR Arquitectes: Soulages museum

Above

RCR Arquitectes: La Cuisine Art Center

Share Article

About the Author

Owen Pritchard

Owen joined It’s Nice That as Editor in November of 2015 leading and overseeing all editorial content across online, print and the events programme, before leaving in early 2018.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.